Walk : The Langdale Pikes - Pike o` Stickle (2,323ft),
Loft Crag (2,270ft), Harrison Stickle (2,403ft)
Date : 15th October 2021
Weather : Brilliant blue sky, sunshine @ 12ēC
Distance : 6.5 miles
Difficulty : 3 to 4 some scrambling required on Pike o` Stickle
(1=easy 5=hard)
Which
area of Lakeland is this walk situated?
Terrain
Overview
Walk
Overview
An
unexpected sunny blue-sky day was forecast for today and it was certainly
delivered. Perfect walking
conditions
and an excellent route from Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel down Mickleden
We
had originally planned to park at the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel however we got
redirected to the car park
at
Stickle Barn near the New Hotel. At the time of writing this the cost was Ŗ7.5
for all day parking.
From
the Western end of the car park a sign posts points out the path towards Old
Dungeon Ghyll. Through
The
gate and keep right towards the Old Hotel
At
the end of the field a foot bridge crosses Mickleden
Beck. Head left from here to the Hotel car park
The
car park at Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel
Walk
round the back of the hotel to pick up the track that leads to Mickleden
Starting
out on the track
Looking
across the Langdale valley towards Cold Pike
The
first sighting of Pike o Stickle from the path
A
close up of the imposing southern face of Pike o Stickle
Looking
to the head of Mickleden towards Rosset Pike and the
deep scar that is Rosset Ghyll
Looking
over to Bowfell from the track
The
level path is followed up to the point just past Troughton Beck where some stone
flags form a bridge
over
the Beck. At this point make a right turn a follow a very sketch path initially
that leads to the left of the
boulder
field
There
is no right or wrong way to travel as long as you keep reasonably close to Troughton
Beck and aim
for
the well-defined ridgeline that leads up to Martcrag
Moor (seen in the centre of the picture)
Looking
towards the head of Mickleden from the path to Martcrag Moor
Looking
across to Bowfell from the track
Probably
one of the better ways to admire the beautiful views by para gliding over the
Langdale valley
And
within seconds he was away
We
have now reached the top of Martcrag Moor and at this
point it is a bit of a walk of flat pathless grass
to
pick up the ridgeline that leads to Pike o Stickle (seen on the right)
A
view of the Skiddaw range from the approach to the
ridge line
Starting
off up the ridge line, initially on boggy grass
Further
on up and the steeper path is stepped as it heads towards the base of the
summit
Here
we are at the base of the summit and today Pike o Stickle is the popular choice
of many. At the base
there
is some steps that lead up to a grassy ledge. From
that point some rock handling and some mild
scrambling
is required. Thankfully ther are plenty of hand hold
to assist with the scramble
The
scrambly section of the climb to the summit
On
the summit of Pike o Stickle and for me, completion of all the fells in Book
Three
A
360-degree view from the summit of Pike o Stickle
Sue
on the summit of Pike o Stickle. Our second fell of the day (Loft Crag) can be
seen to the right and our
third
fell (Harrison Stickle) to the left
Great
Gable peeping up over Glaramara ridge line
We
set off down the connecting ridge line to journey the third of a mile to Loft
Crag
The
ridge line skirts close to the steep declivities between the fells
Looking
back towards Bowfell from the ridge line
In
no time at all Sue reaches the summit of Loft Crag
A
360-degree view from the summit of Loft Crag
The
path to follow across the Col to get to Harrison Stickle from Loft Crag is very
easy to follow
Looking
back to Pike o Stickle and one luck walker has the fell top all to himself
Sue
looks back along the path up to the summit of Harrison Stickle
Sue
on the summit of Harrison Stickle
A
360-degree view from the summit of Harrison Stickle
Looking
towards Pavey Arc from the summit
Looking
across to the North Western Fells from the summit
From
Harrison Stickle we journey back down to the Col and pick up the track that
leads down to
New
Dungeon Ghyll here a close up view of Dungeon Ghyll in full speight
The
path, whilst direct across the face of Harrison Stickle is at time a little
exposed so care is needed
The
steep ravine from the path to New Dungeon Ghyll
A
precariously perched Herdie tucks in to the wiry fell
side grass completely oblivious of our presence !!
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