Jacks Rake Pavey Ark
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.
For more information about our activities here in the Lake District please do check out our Activities Page here
Thanks is also due to Mila for helping with the photos. To see what she can do click here 🙂
Mark
