Mountain Journeys

A guided walk up Crinkle Crags

Friday saw another lovely spring day here in the Lake District and perfect fell-walking weather.

This was the second day out with us this week for Heidi and 8 year old Rocco.  They had also walked up Scafell Pike with us last October, Rocco's first mountain and were keen to experience another.  Rocco requested Don's company again and Don was more than happy to oblige - a day in the mountains being a favourite activity for collies!

Crinkle Crags at the head of Langdale is a beautiful craggy mountain with an unmistakable outline of the five Crinkles, with Pike O'Blisco to the right and Bowfell to the left.  

We took the route from the Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale up to Red Tarn, and from there past Great Knott and on up to the first Crinkle.  There's lots of rough rocky terrain along the tops of the 5 Crinkles which made the walk more interesting with rocky steps to scramble up. 

We got to the Bad Step, a steep section of rock some 10 feet high and from below looking impossible to negotiate.  There is a path to the left avoiding it but as Rocco and Heidi had experienced a day of rock scrambling a few days prior we decided to take the route up the Bad Step.  Once below the rock you can see the polished steps and hand holds on the rock that many people have taken before and Rocco and Heidi both easily ascended it in a few moves.  However, this was not the case for Don which is no longer as agile as he was in his youth and he was happier to be taken on an alternative route to the right, up steep, grassy terrain - much more to his liking!

Lunch was had on Long Top, the second and highest of the Crinkles (859m), and from there it didn't take long to walk over the other Crinkles until we reached the Three Tarns col below Bowfell. From here we descended back to Langdale via the long shoulder of The Bank.


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