White Side, Raise and Stybarrow Dodd walk

Walk : White Side (2,832ft) Raise (2,889ft) and Stybarrow Dodd from Thirlspot

Date : 18^th March 2016

Weather : Dry and fine with a temperature inversion @ 16 °C

Distance : 7.5 miles round trip

Difficulty : 2 to 3 – A steep pull up the Western face hard going in parts

(1=easy 5=hard)

Which area of Lakeland is this walk situated?

Terrain Overview

3d view of the route to White Side and Stybarrow Dodd from Thirlspot

Walk Overview

A remarkable day weather wise in the Eastern region of the Lake District with a temperature inversion to be enjoyed on the top of

the first fell (White Side) followed by fast shifting fog on Stybarrow Dodd

Due to the remaining closure of the A591 at Grasmere (because of the storm Desmond) I had to journey via the Kirkstone Pass
through Glenridding and Dockray to get to the A66 Keswick bound before turning on to the open part of the A591 to get to Thirlspot
On the way I came across the inversion that was hanging over the Central and Eastern regions

Due to the remaining closure of the A591 at Grasmere (because of the storm Desmond) I had to journey via the Kirkstone Pass

through Glenridding and Dockray to get to the A66 Keswick bound before turning on to the open part of the A591 to get to Thirlspot

On the way I came across the inversion that was hanging over the Central and Eastern regions

The starting point of the walk, I parked on the grass verge at the side of the A591 and here looking back North you can see the

other edge of the inversion with Blencathra peeping over the top

The walk starts along the path through Thirlspot Farm

Through the farm and across the fields to a gate in the retaining wall on the far side

Through the gate and access to the open fell is gained by crossing the Thirlmere Reservoir water race

The water race

Through the final gate and things start to get quite steep from here on in

Knowing what I now know, my advice would be to head across to the wire fence and “pull your way” up the steep fell side rather
than what I did using the intermittent stone path (formerly the old Pony route)

Knowing what I now know, my advice would be to head across to the wire fence and “pull your way” up the steep fell side rather

than what I did using the intermittent stone path (formerly the old Pony route)

Looking North across to Skiddaw and Blencathra, now slightly more visible

Close up on the Skiddaw range. The empty A591 below

Looking West towards Thirlmere and in the far distance Great Gable and the Scafells

The wired fence and the stone wall come to an end and the journey carries on very steeply over grass heading towards Brown
Crag. The aim here is to head for a marker cairn at the left hand side of the Crag

The wired fence and the stone wall come to an end and the journey carries on very steeply over grass heading towards Brown

Crag. The aim here is to head for a marker cairn at the left hand side of the Crag

The marker cairn. From here, strike a route inwardly (right) away from Brund Gill that runs parallel to the slope. Head round the

base of Brown Crag

Looking right to the towering slopes of Browncove Crags and Helvellyn Lower Man

Baked in sunshine and blue skies. The Scafell range

At this point the path disappears somewhat and the going turns somewhat heavy over sodden grass

Higher up and a series of marker cairns help to keep you on track

From the final marker cairn, the summit (shrouded in mist) becomes visible

The welcome sight of the summit shelter cairn

Wow !! at 2,830 odd feet I find myself at the summit and just above the cloud inversion. Helvellyn and Swirral Edge feature

prominently above the cloud layer

Looking towards the steep ridge leading up to Helvellyn Lower Man

Catstye Cam peeping out of the clouds on the left

A 360 degree view from the summit

Looking South west towards Great Gable

From the summit I headed roughly East towards the second Fell of the day … Raise. A clear footpath can be followed all
the way with little difficulty

From the summit I headed roughly East towards the second Fell of the day … Raise. A clear footpath can be followed all

the way with little difficulty

Within minutes of my journey over to Raise, the inversion returns and starts to cover the previously clear Catstye Cam

Approaching the summit cairn of Raise

Need to move on quickly as the mist is coming in thick and fast

Looking back to Helvellyn Lower Man from the summit cairn

A 360 degree view from the summit

Close up of Helvellyn

Looking North West towards Keswick

The footpath towards the flat topped Stybarrow Dodd

The path seen running across the route to the summit is the Sticks Pass which will be my route back down afterwards

Its difficult to tell which is the higher cairn on the summit of Stybarrow Dodd, there is one that is slightly off the main path

Or, there is this one about a quarter of a mile further East. I did regret visiting this one as the mist came in and navigation
back to the Sticks Pass became quite tricky

Or, there is this one about a quarter of a mile further East. I did regret visiting this one as the mist came in and navigation

back to the Sticks Pass became quite tricky

Thankfully back out of the mist just before I start to descend the Sticks Pass

As I journeyed back down the cloud started to move in for keeps – here looking North towards Bassenthwaite Lake