Esk Gorge Lake District
The Lake District has many top quality gorge scrambles. They all have one thing in common, amazing scenery. But as with so many things, some gorges are better than others, this is highlighted whenever we visit the Esk Gorge over in Eskdale. It's not suitable for a quick trip due to the remote nature of the venue, but if you can spare most of the day, this is 'the' place to be. We've explored many of the Lakeland gorges, and yes many are great. Stickle ghyll and Church beck both being absolutely fantastic and well worth doing, particularly as they can be enjoyed in a morning or afternoon session.
However, for those with a little more time and wishing for a wilderness experience, let us introduce the Esk Gorge.
The approach walk is about 45 minutes of gentle uphill, this keeps the crowds away. The scenery is superb, as pretty as anything in Lakeland. As soon as we arrive, there's an entry jump of about 8ft into deep water. If you were at all sleepy, you're not anymore!
And from here on up, it's swim, jump, scramble, jump, swim, scramble and so much more. The surroundings are spectacular, so much so, I find it hard to describe!
Josh and all his pals were all super keen and well up for the adventure. No hesitations on any of the jumps, just point and go, well cool. Nice one lads.
We made really fast progress up the gorge, and had time and energy left over to go for the 'BIG' jump as a finale.
Lovely sunny day, low - moderate water levels too. Couldn't have asked for better conditions or a more willing team.
Thanks to Joe for helping and to Josh and the team.
Mark
Air time - Esk Gorge Lake District
