Assuming you drive road M6 north from Manchester. Exit at junction 35 and drive
road A601 and then road A6 towards Kendal. Approximately 16 km from junction 35,
a little before Kendal, turn left (west) onto road A590. Drive approximately 25
km along A590 and turn right onto road A5092. Stay on A5092 approximately 10 km,
and turn right onto road A595. Drive A595 to Gosforth, a little less then 50 km,
and turn right towards Wasdale, and continue east towards the lake Wast Water.
Drive along the west side of Wast Water, and turn right onto the car park at the
north end of the lake.
From the car park walk east towards Scafell Pike, and turn left after you have
crossed the wooden bridge 150 metres above trail head. Follow the path on the
right hand side of the river, and cross the river on a small bridge 350 metres
after the first bridge. Turn right once you have crossed the bridge, making sure
you have the river on your right hand side. You will soon get to a wooden gate,
which you walk though and immediately turn right, following the path close to
the river. Stay close to the river, and cross the river again 950 metres after
the last bridge. This river crossing is not supported by a bridge.
When you get up to 530 metres, a little before the terrain gets flatter, make
sure you fork right. In the flatter section continue directly east, towards the
distinct basin below the ridge between Scafell and Scafell Pike. The normal
route to Scafell Pike climbs onto the ridge from this basin, up Mickledore.
After the flat section there is another climb up to the basin, and after this
climb you should turn right onto a vague path leading towards the gully Lord's
Rake. When you get up into Lord's Rake it is best to ascent on the right side of
the gully. Wherever you climb the gully be very careful not to set stones in
motion, and also be careful if you have climbers above you.
At the top of the gully proceed down a little and then climb up to the edge
above you by following the path to the left of the gravel section straight
ahead. Once up on the edge turn left and walk east across scree, up to a small
saddle north of Scafell. From this saddle turn right (south) and head across to
the summit of Scafell, approximately 200 metres from the saddle.
From Scafell head back down to the small saddle and turn right, following the
path down towards south-east. Note that there is a much shorter route to Scafell
Pike by continuing straight ahead (north) when you get back down to the small
saddle, down Broad Stand, but this route most likely requires a short rope or
some slings. Assuming you follow the path south-west from the mentioned saddle,
turn left down at 820 metres, and head north-east down to the path coming up
from south. This path will bring you back up to the top of Mickledore, on the
ridge between Scafell and Scafell Pike. From here follow the path up to Scafell
Pike summit.
From Scafell Pike walk north-west, following the path that runs on the north
side of Scafell Pike's steep west wall. This path will take you back down to the
path fork at 530 metres, from where you follow your ascent route back down to
the car park.
09. October 2010
On top of the list for our Lake District week-end was obviously Scafell Pike,
the highest mountain in England. And to make the most of it we decided to
include also Scafell, the slightly lower neighbour. Since it was going to be a
long day, with a longish drive and a several hours hike, we did all the
preparations before breakfast, including buying rolls for lunch, and then were
on the road straight after breakfast.
We decided to drive the shortest route, via the steep and narrow roads in
Wrynose Pass and Hardknott Pass, which was a scenic route, but very slow, and
not at all suitable if wintery conditions. After messing around a little in
terms of navigation around Santon and Wasdale, we arrived the car park at the
north end of lake Wast Water a little before 10:00. Here we were faced with a
broken pay-and-display machine for the parking, and after some discussions with
other hikers we all agreed that there was nothing we could do except put a note
in the car that the machine was broken.
Finding the route up to Mickledore was straight forward, and we enjoyed easy
hiking on a nice and sunny morning. But we couldn't help commenting on the pace
and apparent condition of some of the hikers we passed, and wondering if they
would at all be able to make it to the summit.
Below Mickledore we were not sure what route to follow up towards Scafell, but
after a short chat with another couple, and the fact that we saw some other
hikers on their way up towards Lord's Rake, we concluded that the hikers above
us were on the right track. We therefore headed up the path towards Lord's Rake,
and soon found the path to be well defined, which usually is the confirmation
needed if you're wondering about the correct route. At the bottom of Lord's Rake
I immediately got some concerns since there was a hiker above us, and there was
a lot of loose stones in the steep gully. But it turned out this hiker was easy
to overtake, so we just had to focus on ourselves not setting stones in motion.
This issue sorted itself out a little into the gully since there was a path
without loose stones on the right hand side of the gully. At the top of the
gully we had some more navigation issues, but after having descended a little we
noticed a path running up to the edge above us. This path was easy to follow,
and soon we were up in the final scree section towards Scafell.
After a short summit stop at Scafell we started our hike across to Scafell Pike,
and we decided to try to find a route down Broad Stand. This turned out to be a
time consuming exercise, and didn't even produce a result. In total we tried
five different routes, and on several occasions we were sure we had cracked it,
but had to concede. A short rope or a couple of slings would have done the
trick, but I hadn't brought any climbing gear. We also had a near-accident, when
Elisabeth lost the hand-hold on one occasion. I was above her, and all I saw was
that she was on her way to climb up onto a shelf, and then loosing the grip and
disappearing below the shelf. Luckily she had managed to get her hand into a
crack and hold on. After this I decided to play safe and stop any further
searches for a route down Broad Stand, and instead head down the longer route
around the steep section between the two mountains. We therefore went back up
towards Scafell and found the path leading down into the valley east of Scafell.
From here it was easy walking up to Scafell Pike.
Scafell Pike was a busy place this fine Saturday, but because of a strong wind
we didn't stay very long, and instead decided to start our descent. After an
uneventful descent we were back at the car, happy to notice there was no parking
ticket, and happy to change into clean clothes.
For the drive back to Ambleside we decided to follow the main road, along the
coast, which was definitely quicker than our direct route in the morning. It
would also allow us to find a petrol station or a shop, where we could get some
refreshments. Then a slightly boring drive back to Ambleside.
Photos 09.10.2010
Scafell Pike trail head by Wast Water
Turn left after bridge above Scafell Pike trail head.
Turn right through gate at Lingmell base.
Lower section of route to Scafell Pike.
Below Mickledore turn right for Scafell.
Overview of Lord's Rake route to Scafell.
From below Mickledore up to Lord's Rake.
Last part of Lord's Rake route towards Scafell.