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OS Grid ref: NY 31778 18954
Lat/Long: 54.561088, -03.055122
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I arrived at Legburthwaite and left my car on the old abandoned
stretch of road under a tree. There were a few other cars
already parked. Today’s route is following one I did on 5 Jan
2005. I set off north back along the B5322. I left the road
through a small gate and a path heading east up towards Castle
Rock. |
Crossing the culvert. |
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Its not shown on any of the maps but is well used. In fact there
are no paths shown up the west side of Watson’s Dodd and the
only reference to a route is in Wainwright's Easterns Fells
book. I came to a concrete water channel which I assume feeds
into the nearby Thirlemere. A concrete bridge crosses it then
the path winds steeply up though the rocks and trees and by the
east side of Castle Rock. This is where all traces of the path
vanished. I had nice views looking north across High Rigg to
Helvellyn which had an interesting cloud above. |
Castle Rock. |
Warning on Castle Rock. |
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From Castle Rock to High Rigg & Helvellyn. |
View from an old camp pitch. |
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I then had a short steep descent through deep ferns, over a
fence then started the climb of Watson’s Dodd. The first part
was quite steep and I deviated from the 2005 route as I wanted
to check out the location of an old camp in 2005. I continued
upwards passing occasional rock out crops but still no view of
the summit. Then I came to a view of the grassy summit dome with
still a long way up to go. I still find it amazing that this
route isn’t used as there is no sign of a path anywhere. |
Watson's Dodd. |
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I reached the summit cairn and turned right to head for
Stybarrow Dodd along the main path and a less steep ascent. The
path doesn’t go over the actual summit and then it descends
steeply down to the top of Sticks Pass. This is a main
crossroads of paths and a young lady was sitting there having
sandwiches. I said hello, turned right and started the descent
to the west side of Sticks Pass. The path was very eroded and
was mostly loose and dry. |
Sheepfold on Sticks Pass. |
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I kept to the grass where I could as I wanted to reduce the risk
of slipping. I reached to old stone sheepfold then approaching
Stanah Gill the descent became very steep. I was glad to reach
the footbridge at the waterfall and a much easier track. At the
village hall I check the parking facilities and an honesty box
is available with a suggested £2 donation. |
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