DALES to LAKES, Day 9: skiddaw

You know it’s been difficult trying to write up my diary each night since I’ve arrived in the Lakes. Not that what I’ve been doing has been any more demanding or time-consuming. If anything, I’ve done relatively shorter distances (albeit with a greater number of ascents) and probably been out for less time than I had with the Dales anyway.

I think difficulties with fitting in writing have largely been because of the early starts (so may work out roughly the same duration for each day now I think about it!), which have been driven partly by the need to secure parking, but also to avoid late finishes in the dark. So I guess I’ve got valid reasons! I have been writing some stuff on a daily though and will be putting out my days in the Lakes alongside this one, which will be great to see published!

I’ve had an incredible day exploring regions of the Lakes I had never explored before, which has made it a wonderful way to end this adventure. You notice quite prominent distinctions between the fells when in a different part of the Lakes, which is intriguing considering it’s trickier to do in other national parks. Although this underlines the uniqueness of the Lakes, I guess it also shows how I’m becoming more familiar with the whole place!

The Hike

After wasting around 2km wandering around Great Crosthwaite trying to locate the correct footpath I breezed towards a quaint little village called Applethwaite to take the route I had earmarked towards Skiddaw. I decided to do it in an anti-clockwise direction starting with Carl Side, then taking a quick detour out to Long Side + Ullock Pike, straddling along Longside Edge, before heading back through the Carl Side plateau to take the scree-ridden trail up Skiddaw.

I was really unsure about what route to take thereafter because I was certain there were trails that weren’t marked on the OS map I had, so I took the one I deemed most adventurous! I skipped + hopped towards Skiddaw Little Man, jollied along through Jenkin Hill and found the path I knew existed towards the summit of Lonscale Fell. After soaking in the scenes I lingered off the hills via a trail running parallel to Whit Beck towards Latrigg, before heading back to my car in Crosthwaite via some refreshing woods.

Highlights

Morning Drive

I drove through the Lake District in the morning, almost 30 miles, from Windermere to Keswick, which involved gliding through Grasmere in the Central Fells. I literally felt as though I was passing through a series of tourist postcards, such was the beauty of everything I encountered, from the lakes to the mountains and everything in between. It hugely underlined how much of my experience of the Lakes has been constrained to the Eastern Fells when there is so much more to engross myself with across the whole district!

Carl Side

This was the first fell I summited and man, for some reason, I found it a really tough climb! Maybe it was fatigue creeping in from all the days I’ve been hiking, but I also reckon it was the weather, as this was by far the warmest day throughout the whole trip. The sun was beaming down on me strong all morning + any breeze was belatedly welcomed. At the same time though, every time I ascended the views over Derwent Water + Keswick were epic, simply mesmerising. Coming down this fell would be enthralling, eyes glued to the view ahead. I met this guy who works for the Rivers Trust taking the same route who said in the winter the views go incredibly far + beyond, across sea! WOW!

Skiddaw

So the summit wasn’t all that to be honest. The views weren’t dramatic, largely because it sat on a very wide plateau, but I guess it’s an achievement to climb Skiddaw considering it’s the 4th highest peak in the Lakes. I found a good viewpoint overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake and had a spot of lunch with a random group of cool people who were probably old enough to be my parents but who cares! One of them reminded me of myself, as she was someone who was always pushing the boat + wanting to do more, much to the chagrin of her friends!

Little Man

But yes, they were really cool to chat to + share stories + experiences with. The same woman, I bumped into her + the only guy in her crew when ascending Skiddaw Little Man (the others didn’t want to do the extra peak on their route) and I grabbed a selfie with them. She called me an inspiration when she left to re-join the rest of her crew. That was uplifting to hear, and I reckon a big part of it was that I was out here on my own, and that inspired her. That’s cool, I feel good about that to be honest.

What a dope name by the way, Little Man! I often call children and young people little people with affection, and I more or less let my inner child loose when I was here! I had similar views overlooking Keswick here like I did at Carl Side, only this time I had a clear crisp view of the Central + Eastern Fells alongside Derwent Water and the North Western Fells. It was beautiful man. I made my little usual wanders to spots where there was a sudden drop to get that epic view. I felt like I was simmering in the fire of my element, glowing in the embers I respired.

Lonscale Crags

Interestingly, the crew took a different route as the same woman wanted to go through Lonscale Crags, but it’s a shame they didn’t do what I did, because I had an incredible view. I very nearly didn’t take up Lonscale Fell because it would involve going out then back, plus there were no marked trails on my map here. But WOW I was so glad I came because the view from the top of the crags was staggering. The character of the land was something else, a different type of mossy metallic green animated with a melancholic mood, and it included Skiddaw Forest, Mungrisdale Common + Blencathra with it’s sister summits.

When I reached the crags + sat down to soak in the surroundings, I met this old school guy I want to call the Monotone Scrambler! Haha! He was this straight up, stern guy who spoke in one tone about everything, and I was a bit hesitant + cautious when asking him questions + chatting to him because it was hard to gauge how he would respond! But he was cool, and I had so much respect for him considering he scrambled Lonscale Crags several times in different ways! No easy feat for sure, but it was clearly a place of inspiration for him, or what I would describe as a #FREESCENE. Salute the man.

Latrigg

The easy option was to start here with it’s free + accessible car park, but I wanted to leave this to the end because I thought it would be the perfect finish. WOW it was a heck of a climax to end this adventure on! I sat for a while, let it perspire upon my pores + imprint it’s pastels on my palette. I took a group shot for a group from Hong Kong who were dope in returning the favour. Beautiful, another easy access viewpoint I would put on par with Orrest Head in terms of accessibility for the general public.

Lessons

Blencathra + Glenderaterra Beck

Years ago, many years ago, I spent a few days at the Field Studies Centre at Blencathra completing some fieldwork for my A-Level in Geography. It was an amazing fieldtrip, one where I let myself loose + free and showed people my true personality + colours. People loved me thereafter, it was a dope time in my life. People appreciating me for who I am.

I remember scurrying through the river, Glenderaterra Beck, with my old homie Umair and others, and I remember seeing a map that listed Skiddaw as a high summit overlooking us. I never thought I would one day be towering down onto the river having accomplished so much in my life, on my own, whilst being at the beginning of my journey. So much more to achieve + experience, it was a beautiful moment of realisation, recognition + clarity.

Intimacy

When I roll up onto a summit, or encounter a sudden gust of wind, I raise my arms as one would greet an old, cherished friend. This is what being out here means to me, the feeling and connection I often have when scouring screes and darting across reeds and wild grass. I am embracing an energy than can only fulfil and will freely give myself to it. Today my favourite song whilst skipping down hills like Skiddaw Little Man + Jenkin Hill was Salt-N-Pepa’s Push It. It was fun.

Speaking of intimacy, there was more people out hiking in + around Skiddaw than I anticipated to be honest. It was a good thing, I like bumping into people. Yet it was the number of animals I came across the sparked some thought in my mind. I’ve read that with lockdowns + restrictions the number of pets people have has grown, and I feel intimacy is a big part of it.

People need this in their lives, but I find it sad that people find it easier to experience intimacy with animals than other people. I understand why, but it’s a great shame this manifests and inhibits human interaction, as shown by those who prioritise animals over humans in their life. I just feel it’s becoming more pronounced than ever and accelerating loneliness + isolation amongst people.

Eternal

I will forever remember this day as it was the first time I ventured out into the Northern Fells for a trip, an adventure, and experienced a whole new area of the Lakes for the very first time. Although I’m getting ready to leave for home tomorrow it doesn’t feel like goodbye as I’ll be back again soon, and I hope many more times after that also because I’m sure there’s plenty more I’m not even aware exists but will bring bliss.

Venture elsewhere

I think I want to focus future hikes + activities in other areas of the Lakes such as these Northern Fells. I have oodles of experience in the Eastern Fells, knowing Ambleside + Windermere reasonably well, so it’s time to explore new spaces, areas, territories. I guess the Northern Fells is where I will try and place impetus when planning future visits here, alongside the Fells other than the Eastern ones (North Western/Central/Western/Southern).

Sometimes I leave the Lakes, or any area for that matter, disappointed that there was something I wanted to taste but didn’t have the chance to do so, yet I think it’s always great to leave something behind to incentivise a future visit. It means you always have something to look forward to next time.

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To view my photo album from this day visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWVdbWq