Seatoller Fell, Grey Knotts, Brandreth, Great Gable, Sty Head, Cumbria.
[ 14.5 km] Wed 05 May 2010

NY 2355 1222
The weather was overcast when I set off and the weather forecast was for more of the same. I followed the road to Seatoller and then up the steep road towards Honister. I followed it to where a wooden bridge crosses Hause Gill and crossed over into the field and straight up the ridge towards Seatoller Fell. There was a convenient gap in the first wall and the next wall had a wooden ladder stile over it.

The terrain now levelled off a bit then I came to a couple of spoil heaps of some old mine workings. The wet ground became wetter for a while then I reached a small tarn at the base of a rocky slope. It seemed to be reasonably clear and about half a metre deep but I couldn’t tell how permanent or seasonal it was. As I climbed up the rocky slope above I entered the cloud and very fine drizzle. A fence line up ahead marked the line of the path coming up from Honister Pass. I followed it to Grey Knotts then on to Brandreth summit where a lot of walkers were arriving along the Fleetwith path which comes in from the right.

It was still thick cloud so I headed off into the rocks to find a sheltered spot to eat my sandwiches. I continued on a compass bearing to rejoin the main path to Green Gable. Fortunately the walkers I’d seen and heard earlier had all gone so I had a peaceful walk. Over Green Gable is a steep and loose descent to Windy Gap then the steep climb to Great Gable starts immediately. Fortunately the first part had some shelter from the slight northerly wind. With poor visibility it’s a good job there were plenty of cairns marking the way.

The ground levels just below the summit and as I arrived a couple of walkers were just leaving and one was still there. I wandered around to see if there were any suitable places to put a tent at some future occasion but there was nothing obvious. Everywhere was rock and stones with no grassy areas. When the lone walker had gone I had the place to myself and had a look at the memorial attached to the summit rock. I then started my descent towards Sty Head. The first part of the path heads down in a SE direction and was well marked and easy to follow. There were still no views, which is a pity. I hadn’t descended far before some flat areas with enough grass on them to pitch a tent appeared. Unfortunately there was no water nearby. I had to descent almost to Sty head before a suitable spring appeared by the path.

By now I was below the cloud and had impressive views of the valleys below and Styhead Tarn, but no summits. Passing the tarn on the way down I decided to keep to the west side of Styhead Gill and descend by the minor path which passes Taylorgill Force. It is very bouldery and much trickier than the well made path on the opposite bank. The descent by Taylorgill Force waterfall is quite steep in places and I wouldn’t recommend it with a heavy pack on. Even on the lower stretch back to Seathwaite it was bouldery and wet so it’s not a recommend way to go.