Stonethwaite, Langstrath, Tarn at Leaves, Glaramara, Cumbria. [ 14.8 km] Mon 28th Jan 2008

Today seems the only reasonable weather forecast for the week. I drove back to Stonethwaite to have another go at Langstrath. I parked in the lane and noticed how much lighter it was than last week. This time I could see the top of Eagle Crag as I set off towards the camp site area. There was a ‘closed’ sign on it as I passed. Up to my right was Alisongrass Hoghouse and further up still Alisongrass Crag; both wonderful names. I took the right side of the river and was soon at the same waterfall I photographed last week. It was interesting comparing images when I got home as the river level was much lower now.

Inside the hidden bothy / shelter

I continued up Langstrath and wondered if I would be able to find the secret bothy / shelter that I knew was somewhere in the area. An internet search had given me some clues. Somewhere near Cam Crag and about 300m altitude was a good guide. A mountaineering club had also put some images on their site taken in the cave but giving no idea where it was. However the key was a photo of one of their members climbing the valley side. I recognised the area and that’s where I was heading. Through the gate at Blackmoss Pot I headed up the fell side. I don’t want to be the one who gives the secret away so I’ll just say that it is there because I found it without too much searching. Even when standing at the entrance its position is not obvious.

I got out my head torch and peered inside. I recognised the layout from the photographs so with a bit of a crawl I was inside. The shelter was originally a natural cave but whoever had constructed the flooring and ancillaries had done a wonderful job. I left a note in the visitor’s book to ask if they could do me a quote for my kitchen. There are two main levels and an intermediate which is a suspended platform forming a sleeping area. As I stood up to investigate it I got the shock of my life. At first it looked like a dead body in a sleeping bag but turned out to be a survival bag with a face mask of Osama bin Laden at the open end. A wonderful spoof, it certainly caught me out. Should I report this find to the authorities? I left the cave and returned everything as I had found it. That part of the day was a success but the next part wasn’t. I was heading up to find a route to Tarn at Leaves but finished up getting too high with no safe route ahead.

Derwentwater from the descent of Glaramara.

I had to descend to find a safe route. I came to the wall at Stickle Brow and followed it to Tansey Gill coming down from the tarn. I then turned up to the left across boggy ground to the saddle on Rosthwaite Fell. I joined a decent footpath and followed it towards Glaramara. The way was easy but was a lot longer than I’d expected. It was quite windy on the summit and wisps of cloud were flying by. I started the steep descent and slowly the wind eased. Towards the final part of the descent I met the first walkers of the day. It was approaching 2pm and they were heading up! I reached the road at Strands Bridge and walked along the road to the empty campsite where I cut across to the Parish Church of St Andrew where I’d hoped to have a look inside. I couldn’t as the door was locked. I carried on and soon reached my car.