Lat/Long: 54.542045, -03.274346
OS Grid
ref: NY 17654 17056
I had a windy drive to the start of my
walk from Buttermere. On the final approach the rain started and
was extremely heavy but as I got ready in the car it eased and
almost stopped as I began my walk. I descended down the road and
passed the Fish Hotel then along the track towards Buttermere. |
Buttermere Church |
Scale Force |
|
A sign said that the Dubbs Bridge ahead was closed for repair
but I wasn't going that way and took the right branch along the
track to Scales Bridge. Once over I continued downstream to
follow the track towards Scale Force waterfall. The first part
is easy to follow and good walking but after taking the left
branch for the waterfall it becomes indistinct in places and
very rough and stony. |
Bridge below the Force |
|
I stopped briefly at the Scale Force waterfall then continued
along the path which in places is surrounded by deep ferns. Away
up ahead towards Floutern Cop I could see two large groups of
people with rucksacks approaching. They were young people out
backpacking and after seeing the fourth group I stopped to ask
where they had started. They said Ennerdale.
My original plan was to walk over
Floutern Cop and turn left to follow round to the south side of
Floutern Tarn. |
Sheepfold and Mellbreak |
|
However, I decided to leave the main path and take a
direct route to Red Gill and up to the outlet of the tarn. It
turned out to be a good choice as the walking soon became fairly
easy and it was away from the main path. There was no path as I
crossed the outlet to the tarn as I headed up to the steep
Craig's ahead on the route of an earlier walk I done some time
ago. I continued east towards Starling Dodd although I was in
the middle of nowhere I was surprised to get a good signal on my
phone but there was no path to follow. |
Floutern Tarn outlet |
Starling Dodd in the strong wind |
Mellbreak and Crummock Water |
|
I headed up above Redgill and eventually reached the main
path towards Starling Dodd but the wind was now getting
extremely strong and on the summit the cloud had dropped meaning
I had little visibility. I descended down to Little Dodd and the
visibility improved slightly but my next objective was Red Pike
up a head which was completely covered in cloud. It is a steady
climb and the last section is a steep scramble to the flat
summit area. All that marks it is a stone shelter. |
Red Pike summit |
|
I had no views so continued on over to descend the very
steep route to The Saddle which was quite tricky in places due
to being very loose underfoot. It was here that I started to see
many people who were now climbing up the route I was descending.
I made a short detour out to Dodd which is stuck out on a short
promontory and gave reasonable views of Buttermere and Crummock
Water. I returned to The Saddle then started my descent down the
minor path to the north west. |
From The Dodd looking north |
|
It starts off fairly easy and obvious but then further
down it became more indistinct. I wouldn't describe it as an
easy descent and is probably best just use for a way up.
Eventually I reached the cross wall where I had to climb over
and then through an area of very deep ferns I reached the main
descent path near Ruddy Beck. From here on it was
straightforward and easy to follow but still quite steep in
places. |
The Old School being painted inside |
|
The lower section is through the
woods and once out of those I reached the main path by
Buttermere Dubs. I turned right and returned over Scale Bridge
and back to Buttermere the old School Building which is always
closed when I pass was opened. When I checked there were workmen
inside who were painting the windows, apparently it is only used
for meetings and the main room was a large pile of tables and
chairs. The parking area at the bottom of the pass road was full
and many cars had parked on the narrow steep climb |
