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Buttermere, High Stile and Red Pike. Wed 02 Feb 2005 |
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Picked Eric up at 6:15 then drove to Buttermere. We parked near the small church of St James and set off through the village and along the path on the south side of Buttermere and through Burtness Wood. There was a very high 'tide mark' around the lake and we wondered how all the driftwood came to be washed up over a metre higher than the outlet level. Several trees had been blown over during the New Year storms and surprisingly some were snapped off part way up. Mostly they just uproot and fall over. |
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| As we emerged from the trees we took the steep path SW up by the river, heading for High Stile. The cloud level seemed to start about 2000ft so we had some views for the first part of the climb. As we reached the steepest part, through the rocky section, the mist closed in. At least there was little wind. Over the summit of High Stile we turned and followed a compass bearing towards Red Pike. The path soon appeared and briefly the way ahead cleared, but not for long. At Red Pike we were back in the cloud and so took the quick way off the mountain by taking the steep chute down to Dodd. Just before the saddle the path improves to stepped stones, which we followed down to Bleaberry Tarn. | |
| By now it was lunchtime so a quiet place by the tarn was found and rucksacks searched for flask and sandwich box. The cloud had lifted a bit but was still hanging around. Across the tarn a young lady arrived from the other direction and ate her lunch as we ate our. As we set off down back to Buttermere she joined us on the trail. As it was damp and slippery she though a bit of company would be safer. Earlier I'd commented on Eric's slow climb up but when she referred to our pace as 'like a couple of mountain goats' it made Eric's day! | |
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Back in Buttermere we had a look in the Church of St John. It was interesting to see the memorial tablet to Alfred Wainwright (1907-1991), which is positioned in the SE window and looks out towards Haystacks, where his ashes were scattered. |
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