Category: Langdale - Mountain Journeys - Guided Walks

Fell running escapism!

21/3/2020

#trail-running-coach-lake-district

Welcome to the Climbers traverse of Bowfell

The news media and social media both being on overdrive with constantly saddening news and debate regarding the Coronavirus, we have been feeling it very necessary to run away for a while. We are pretty lucky to be able to get into the mountains with minimal travel (and often no travel). Also somewhat unlucky as a Sole trader the government have so far offered no support. There are something like 5 million self employed workers in the UK. That's a lot of people missing out on essential support. Come on Boris!

Anyway, this isn't meant to be a rant, so back to Bowfell and good moments.
We set off from The Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale with our sights on Bowfell. We ticked off The Band then turned right onto The Climbers traverse path. This still had large chunks of compacted snow, so care was required. We reached The Great Slab, my plan had been to drink some fresh water from The Great Spout at this point. However, it was really cold and I wasn't even slightly thirsty, so gave that a miss. We blasted up the central section of the slab in order to avoid the snow, and all too soon we were at the top. The wind was howling and biting into us, this was no place to hang around. So we skipped the summit and bailed straight down to Three Tarns where a little more shelter could be enjoyed. A quick peak over to the Scafell range before a rapid descent down The Band into the valley.

The main paths were quite busy today, but for much of our route we enjoyed solitude and sublime views.

Stay safe and healthy everyone.

Mark & Kate

#bowfell-guided-walking-lake-district

The Great Slab, Bowfell

More trips into the gorge

26/7/2019

#gorge-scrambling-lake-district

Enjoying the spa pool

A last minute booking for the gorge this morning and as we had a walk booked in for late afternoon there was plenty of time for this one too.
Conditions were near perfect, with sunshine, warm temps, and plenty of water. The gorge was also really quiet, so we had loads of time to play around in the pools and tackle the challenges. From the moment we set off I could sense Amy and Sarah were going to be a ton of fun and be totally psyched for everything the gorge has to offer. And they were.

They took on every challenge, climbed the waterfalls, jumped into the pools (many times), and just couldn't get enough of it. It's fair to say that neither were camera shy either, so some good snaps of the trip.

Thanks both for a super fun morning, really hope to see you again for a trip to the Esk gorge.

If you're visiting the Lake District and thinking about booking a fun activity, give us a call and let's make a plan. Gorge Scrambling, Canyoning, Rock climbing, Abseiling, and Guided walks.

Mark

#fun-activities-lake-district

A helping hand :-)

#gorge-scrambling-ambleside

Flight time

#things-to-do-lake-district

Top views too

Classic Langdale

31/5/2019

#jacks-rake-pavey-ark

Nigel nearing the top of Jacks Rake

The Lake District is home to hundreds of great scrambling routes. Some are long enough to fill a day, others are somewhat shorter, so can be enjoyed as part of a walk, or may be linked with other scrambles to create a full day out in the mountains. One of our favourites is this:

Starting from The New Dungeon Ghyll hotel in Langdale there is a very short walk (2 minutes max) to reach Stickle Ghyll. This is where things get interesting. Get in the Ghyll and follow easy rocks up the stream bed, passing waterfalls and cascades along the way, all of which can be tackled direct or avoided via easier alternatives as desired.

After a few hundred metres of fine scrambling, a spur of rock comes down from the hillside on the right, take to this and follow it diagonally rightwards to reach Tarn crag. Walk under this to its right hand edge where 'The Spur' can be joined. This is a grade 2 scramble on lovely rough rock and in a wonderful position high above the Langdale valley.

From the top a gentle walk reaches Stickle tarn, walk around this to reach the magnificent Jacks Rake. This is the best of the 'easier' scrambles in the Lake District. Taking a dramatic line cutting right across the craggy face of Pavey Ark. It may only be a grade 1 route, but not to be under-estimated and certain variations can call for a rope. It is possible to scramble all the way to the summit too.

From here we walked over to Harrison Stickle before making our way back to the valley for a refreshing cup of tea back at The New Dungeon Ghyll.

Big thanks to Nigel and Geoff for joining me on this.

Thanks is also due to Mila for helping with the photos. To see what she can do click here :-)

Mark

#mountain-guide-lake-district

Starting a day of scrambling in Stickle Ghyll, Langdale

#mountaineering-instructor-lake-district

Top of Pavey Ark after a fab day of scrambling

Fell running, Mountaineering, Scrambling, or Sky running....

2/5/2019

#sky-running-lake-district

Looking back to Mickledon and Langdale

Since entering (and somehow finishing) the 21km mountain race at L'Ocaive in Pedreguer, Spain, I've been running a bit more often again. Mostly these runs have been on good trails and undulating rather than mountainous and it's been fun...I think!
We're really lucky where we live there are great walks and runs from the doorstep and a couple that have become regular for me are a circuit of Loughrigg (sometimes including the summit), and Wansfell Pike. Whilst Wansfell Pike is loads steeper, I think it's overall an easy run because I have to walk most of the steep uphills. Stretching the legs on the grassy slopes heading back down towards Windermere is a delight and pretty easy on the knees with all that soft grass.

There's been a few trips into Langdale too, to try combining scrambling with running and this has been fun. Stickle Ghyll scramble quickly gains height then over to Tarn crag for a fun grade 3 route followed by a run over grassy slopes to Stickle tarn to link up with the classic Jack's Rake to the top of Pavey Ark. This is such a brilliant route whether walking or running.
What I have found is that fell shoes that are good on grass and mud are completely rubbish on rock and treacherous on wet rock. I'm sure there's a shoes out there that can cope with both, but hey, this sort of footwear can be mighty expensive and due to being so light, doesn't last long.
So today I approached things differently, taking 2 pairs of footwear. A dedicated fell running shoe, the Mud Claw from Inov 8 - these are unbelievably good on wet grass / mud and feel super secure. In my backpack were a pair of 5.10 Tennies with the stickiest rubber around. The combination worked a treat and I'll definitely be doing this again.

Starting from The Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Langdale I ran along the wide track through Mickleden and across the bottom of Rossett Ghyll before ascending to Angle tarn. Once at Angle tarn I knew the bulk of ascent was behind me and relaxed into a steady pace to Esk Hause. A few walkers were enjoying a break in the shelter there. I continued on to the Hause proper and descended on the Western side of The Tongue, following Calfcove Gill. This was pretty rough and what I should have done was descend on the Eastern side of The Tongue where there is a better path. Never mind, at least this allowed me quick access onto my chosen scramble.

Cockley Pike Ridge - one of the longest continuous scrambles in the Lake District and the setting alone should merit 3 stars. Set high above Upper Eskdale and The Great Moss, with views over to Scafell, Slight Side, Esk Pike, and Crinkle Crags, it's pretty fantastic.
I changed into the 5.10's and set off. This scramble is a mix of broken rocks and small buttresses, it's easy to vary the route to make it more difficult or easier. Today I stuck with some midway ground, so felt about grade 1. By now it was raining quite a lot and freezing cold in the breeze (well I only had shorts & T-shirt on)! Without rushing but going at a steady and controlled pace it was about 25 minutes to reach the top. Over too quickly for sure, but I had covered a big distance in that short time, apparently about 300m of height gain. My legs were trying to tell me this but I hadn't been listening!!

The scramble terminates at a big cairn by the summit of Ill Crag. At 930m above sea level it's one of the big Lakeland tops. By now the mist was think and the rain persistent, so pretty chilly. I did a quick shoe change and considered putting a lightweight jacket on, but didn't bother. Then it was a dash across the plateau to find the main path back to Esk Hause. Back in fell shoes and being initially off-path felt hugely insecure and I did take a tumble. Thankfully, once on the well used path leading to/from Scafell Pike the rocks are cleaner and offer more traction, so no more falls.

The run back to Langdale was pleasant, easy, and fast. Oh and loads of fun. The weather improved too, with blue sky making a reappearance.

So was this a fell running, mountaineering, scrambling, or sky running day? I'm not sure, but if only able to pick one I suppose it has to be mountaineering. That's certainly what it felt like.

For guided walks, scrambles, rock climbing, abseiling, gorge scrambling, and a host of other activities please do give us a call to discuss your plans. We're always happy to offer advice and guidance, and simply happy to chat about the Lakes and share what we know with you.

Thanks for reading

Mark

#trail-running-lake-district

Upper Eskdale from Cockley Pike Ridge

Back out on the Langdale crags

18/9/2018

#langdalevalleyrockclimbing

Afternoon sun lighting Langdale

A last minute booking today saw us out enjoying afternoon sun whilst climbing at Scout crags in Langdale. After lots, and we do mean lots, of rain, the Ghylls were all in spate, we even had to boulder-hop over White Ghyll which is very unusual. This all added a nice sense of drama to the day. Strong winds were shifting the clouds over the valley and giving some stunning light conditions the whole time, such a privilege to be out on such a day.

To the climbing. Justin & Lisa enjoyed around 7 climbs this afternoon, some being repeats in order to spend time on developing technique. The crag was completely dry thanks to the strong winds. We rounded up with a bouldering session which saw to it that all muscles were completely spent. An easy meander back through the fields in the late afternoon sunshine brought the day to an end, lovely.

Thanks Justin & Lisa.

Mark

#rockclimbinglakedistrict

Enjoying dry rock and sun at Scout crags

#climbinginstructorlakedistrict

Bouldering in the sunshine - Langdale style :-)

Guided rock climbing days - Lake District

29/4/2018

#rockclimbingcoursenearambleside

The brilliant 'Route 1' at Upper Scout crag, Langdale

With a fairly settled few days here in the Lake District, we were keen to make the most of it and get out climbing.

Firstly out with Joe for a guided day at Wallowbarrow crag in the Duddon valley. This didn't go quite to plan as it rained quite hard there, so we got 1 route done before the downpour! Thomas is a great route though and worth the drive just for that. 3 pitches of top drawer Severe climbing all the way. The crag was quite busy, clearly many others had seen the good forecast for Duddon!!! We saved the rest of the day with a visit to Raven crag, Walthwaite (Chapel Stile) which was completely dry and a clear sky overhead. We climbed 'Route 1' and 'Route 2' the later having some quite memorable moves and great value at Hard Severe.

We've also spent a couple of days out with local pals Anna & Susan. Firstly visiting Shepherds crag in Borrowdale. Here we climbed 'Chamonix' HS 4b and rather tough I thought! A rather devious move off the big spike. Great route though and one I would definitely repeat. We then moved on to 'Eve' a brilliant VS 4c with a fantastic traverse line on the middle pitch.

And another day in Langdale, the morning spent with Joe (a different Joe) and his family at Copt Howe. Introducing the family to the delights of rock climbing. Langdale helped us no end with this as the weather and views were quite sublime. A great morning had by all.
For the afternoon I met up with Anna & Susan again, the plan was to run up to White Ghyll crag for some scary routes! However the chilly wind got the better of us and we opted to stay low and enjoyed a couple of cruising routes at Upper Scout crag.

Thanks all for a fab few days. Off to Snowdonia tomorrow for a Welsh 3000's before more Lakeland fun :-)

Mark

#rockclimbingcourselakedistrict

Enjoying the classic route of 'Eve' (VS4c) at Shepherds crag

#rockclimbinginborrowdale

Skiddaw beyond Derwentwater, from Shepherds crag

Fun filled Family Adventure Day in Langdale

10/4/2017

Family-adventures-rock-climbing-lake-district

Learning new skills - how to tie in with a re-threaded 'figure of 8' knot.

The Easter holidays are here at last and yesterday was a busy day for us with Mark taking a big group ghyll scrambling in the morning whilst I ran one of our family adventure days for David Temkin and his sons, 11 year old Arieh and 10 year old Solly.

We spent a lovely sunny morning at Scout Crag in Great Langdale, just a short walk from the New Dungeon Ghyll and I was lucky to have Paddy Cave join me to help run the morning session (due to me being slightly out of action still from a recent wrist injury!). So, for a change I was free to take photos, watch the fun and enjoy the views! Arieh had climbed before on a climbing wall, but his father David and brother Solly were new to the activity. As well as climbing 3 routes they also learned how to tie into the rope and to belay. Arieh was able to put to test all that he had learnt on his recent trips to the indoor climbing wall in Manchester – tying on with a re-threaded figure of eight and belaying his climbing partner. David and Solly were also keen to learn and by the end of the morning, with Paddy on hand and keeping a watchful eye, they were all confident to belay each other.

We all returned to the Stickle Barn for a drink and some lunch on the picnic benches before saying goodbye to Paddy and meeting Mark who was to join us for the afternoon.

The afternoon was spent at Cathedral Quarry in nearby Little Langdale for an afternoon of abseiling and tunnel exploration. Whilst Mark set up the abseil we went into the huge cavern where Cathedral Quarry get its name. As often as I go I still always find it an awesome place to be – the sun streaming through the ‘window’ and the huge pillar supporting the enormous cavern. After a little bit of scrambling up rocks and watching people descending the ‘big’ abseil we donned our headtorches and went into the tunnels. Youngsters always love this bit of exploration in the dark and on request from Arieh and Solly we did the tunnels twice!

By the time we got back to Mark, he had the abseil all set up and ready for us. First down was Solly, then Arieh, followed by their father. On the first descent the boys were a little nervous to begin but not for long and by the time they reached the bottom they were already asking to do it again!

Thanks David, Arieh, Solly, Paddy and Mark for a super day out!

Kate

‘Thank you so very much for a wonderful day. Myself, Arieh and Solly enjoyed it so much and you were very kind, patient and attentive with us all. Thank you very much and our sincere thanks to Mark and Paddy whose company we all thoroughly enjoyed. We would recommend you highly and hope to see you again one day’.
David Temkin 9.4.17

If you’re interested in joining us on a Family Adventure Day or on any of our other activities please click here – we’d love to hear from you

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Abseiling at Cathedral quarry.

Family adventures in the Lake District

8/6/2016

family-adventure-day-lake-district

Having fun Rock scrambling on Pike O'Blisco

Last week was half term and with the sun shining every day, we had a very busy and enjoyable week. One popular activity we do is our Family Adventure Day. There are various options depending on the ages of the children, the weather and what our clients want out of the day.

Families who prefer less walking to the day can enjoy the valley option. We spend the morning in Langdale where you are spoilt with views of this popular and beautiful valley; the dramatic skyline of the Langdale Pikes always drawing your eyes to it. We do some fun rock-climbing, starting with easy climbs and testing yourselves on harder ones if you wish. We then head over to Cathedral quarry for a picnic lunch at a place which never ceases to amaze people – you walk through a dark tunnel and appear in a huge cavern, lit up with rays of sun pouring through the ‘window’. This man-made quarry gets its name ‘Cathedral’ from the huge pillar inside the cavern. As well as the caverns there are long, dark tunnels to explore, always good fun - one is 120m long so we take a torch! There is an abseil here too, just long enough for children but long enough to give a challenge.

family-adventure-day-lake-district

Pike O'Blisco Family Adventure Day - children enjoying searching out good rocks to scramble up.

Last week the weather was perfect for an adventurous day out in the mountains. So with two families – 3 adults and 5 children from 8 to 17 years old we drove up to the top of the Wrynose Pass and headed up Pike O’Blisco. We stayed off path for most of the day, scrambling over small rocky outcrops – for anyone not familiar with scrambling, in this case it is very easy rock-climbing on low level rocks, for which you don’t need a rope. Children of all ages love this and the joy of it is that you can choose your route, so it can be easy or a little harder, or you can simply walk around it.

We scrambled our way up the mountain until we reached the crag of Long Scar, seeing lots of interest on route - sheep and lambs (Herdwicks and Swaledales), plants including Sundew, one of only two insectivorous plants in the UK, and some fascinating rock formations.

Long Scar is a lovely climbing crag about 12m tall and here everyone enjoyed some rock-climbing on the end of a rope on either the ‘easy’ climb or the ‘hard’ climb for those who wanted to challenge themselves, or both! Here we enjoyed a well-earned picnic lunch whilst being treated to stunning of the Lake District fells including Wetherlam, Swirl How, Cold Pike and Crinkle Crags.

Everyone then fancied the idea of abseiling; some were worried because of previous experiences, however the slabs we use on Black Crag are not at all intimidating and perfect for ‘first timers’ and especially good for youngsters too. Everyone did it at least once and the children all came back for another turn. You also get to do some more easy climbing as it is quicker and far more enjoyable to climb back up to the top than to walk around.

family-adventure-day-lake-district

Theo, Georgia, Sarah, Thomas, Eric and Tristan all feeling happily challenged at the top of the abseil.

Time enjoyed always passes quickly and before we knew it was time to return to the cars. Here I left them as the adults were keen to finish their day by testing their driving skills over the famous Hardknott Pass, a single track, twisty road with a gradient of 1 in 3, the steepest road in England (along with Rosedale Chimney in North Yorkshire).

Thanks for a great day out Eric, Johnny, Sarah, Matt, Georgie, Tristan, Theo and Thomas!

A guided walk up Crinkle Crags

12/4/2015

Crinkle-crags-guided-walk

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.

Crinkle-crags-guided-walk

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Langdale Pikes walk

10/11/2014

Having only just returned from 25C heat in Spain, it was quite an awakening to be back out in the Langdales on Saturday.
Julie had bought one of our Gift Vouchers for friends Julie & Stuart, and after a false start earlier in the year, here we were for a day out amongst the magnificent Langdale Pikes.

The weather was being a little unkind, but nothing too dramatic, just a touch of cloud and a splash of rain. We set off from the Stickle Barn car park and headed for Stickle Tarn, our first stop and time to catch our breath, have a bite to eat and make an onward plan.

Low visibility at the tarn made for atmospheric conditions. It was decided to aim straight for Harrison Stickle, the highest of the Langdale Pikes. The ascent was quick and easy, everyone making rapid progress on the well maintained and occasionally steep path. The summit was breezy but quiet, in fact we were the only people around. Wind chill meant this was not a place to linger, so we made haste for the top of the Dungeon Ghyll. Having followed the rightmost path to the stream, I decided to continue onto Loft Crag and backtrack to our descent route from there. On a clear day the views from around here are spectacular, with parts of the mighty Gimmer crag revealing themselves for the eyes delight. Alas, today our visibility was mostly less than 20 metres!

Prior to our descent we passed near to the Neolithic axe working area. To think folk were 'commuting' to here thousands of years ago, incredible and humbling.

Having ticked the summits of both Harrison Stickle & Loft Crag, we returned to the valley a little damper than when we set off, but pleased with our day. The weather had kept the masses away, leaving solitude to be enjoyed that little bit more.

Thanks to Julie, Graham, and Stuart. A pleasure to meet you all and we hope to see you all again before too long.

Langdale Pikes on a clear day

Langdale Pikes

Fell running again

I've been having a go at getting back into fell running. It's been a while since I took this seriously, so am taking it easy at the moment.
So far the runs have been a success. Today I built on that and went for a run on Cauldale Moor to Stoney Cove Pike. The weather was 'Cumbrian' so couldn't really see much! The terrain is actually pretty friendly, although boggy in places, but stones are in place for the worst sections, so no swimming required!

It felt great to be moving fluidly in the mountains, covering distance quickly is so satisfying. Don came with me too, he's a complete natural of course and maybe wondered what all the fuss was about and why I might be out of breath and still going so slow!!

Fell Running - Stoney cove pike