Walk

Walk : Ullock Pike (2,230 feet) from The Ravenstone Manor Hotel

Date : 7^th January 201

Weather : Clear blue sky, bright sun @ 4°C

Distance : 3.5 miles round trip

Time Taken : 1 hour 45 mins to summit

Which part of Lakeland is this walk situated

Terrain Overview

Overview

The first couple of days into our 10 day stay in Ambleside in the first week of the year were curtailed heavily by the weather and walking out on the

Fells would have been a pointless exercise. However things picked up for the rest of the week as it goes, and we took the opportunity of the first

decent day to revisit Ullock Pike. A year previously we had come up from Carl Side and Long Side only to have to turn back whilst crossing the

narrow ridge to Ullock Pike due to dangerously strong winds. A sickener given that we were less than 500 yards away from bagging another summit.

The day we chose was absolutely God given – bright sun, blue sky, crisp .. perfect conditions for Fell Climbing

From Keswick on the A66 take the right turn along the A591 towards Carlisle and head towards the clearly sign posted Raven Stone Manor Hotel.

The car park, (free) just before the hotel on the right hand side proved to be very popular today and space was at a premium. There are a few roadside verges

just on the approach for a limited number of cars

The start of the path just in front of the hotel on the A591

Start of the climb through a small wood

The track starts to climb steeply as it cuts through the wooded area

After a very short while, a gate in the fence gives access to the open fell side

The path leads steeply to gain the ridge line of Ullock Pike seen here rising to the right. Navigation is fairly straight forward

We pause a short while to take in the views across Bassenthwaite Lake that start to appear fairly early on into the climb

What’s that big yellow thing ???

Approaching the top of the footpath towards Ling How and a right turn will see us getting on the ridge proper.

A quick look back before we turn right and the Northwestern Fells greyed out by the brilliant sunshine

Looking North over the Solway Firth to Criffel in Scotland. The visibility today was magnificent

And there it is the first peep at the summit. Some steep climbing to get through yet

Looking North over Bassenthwaite towards Binsey

Higher on up the ridge and now the view really does open out. The massive bulk of Skiddaw appears as the path reaches a shallow depression at the Watches

The path veers right through an area of dense bracken. This proved to be very handy coming back down as you could avoid the icy path

Looking over Southerdale and tiny Randel Crag in front of Skiddaw

The path steepens as we ascend The Edge

Sherpa Tennsing all set for the steep pull up. The peak shown here is not the summit which lies some way beyond

The north end of Bassenthwaite Lake

On one of the trickiest parts of the climb were the icy rocky outcrops made progress slow, however no problem for some …. Scary stuff !!!

Derwent Water and a whole host of some of the giants in the Western region

And towards the East … the Helvellyn range

On with the climb and the final part of the ridge leading directly to the summit

Made it … Sue and Ste on the summit of Ullock Pike

Click here for a 360 degree view from the summit … https://youtu.be/uLpSGRpVGNc

It was freezing cold – but worth every step of the climb to be on a summit in Lakeland on a day like today

Looking back all the way down the ridge

On the way back down and The Watches … not an old Druid Stone circle as you could be forgiven for thinking – but a natural rock outcrop in a predominantly grassy area

On the way back down and last light over Grizedale Pike – a fantastic day out on the Fells