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Walk                           :  Sergeants Crag (1,873 ft), Eagle Crag (1,650 ft) from Stonethwaite via Langstrath

Date                           :  19th May 2021

Weather                    :  Light cloud and breeze @  14°C

 

Distance                   : 9 miles round trip

Time Taken              : 3 hours 10 mins to first summit (Sergeants Crag)

 

Which part of Lakeland is this walk situated

 

Terrain Overview

 

Overview

 

I had researched this combination of Wainwright peaks for some time and decided for a number of reasons that I didn’t want to take the Eagle Crag

route first with its parts of exposure in certain areas, so opted for the lengthier route of Sergeants Crag first with the short ridge walk to follow.

The initial walk along the length of Langstrath Beck can be done on either side by taking the footbridge early on as you leave the Stonethwaite hamlet

This blog describes the walk from the right hand side of the Beck up to the head of the valley just before Stake Pass. Either way there is a steep and

pathless climb over thick and wiry grass to attain the ridge line by Brown Crag which is key to reaching Sergeants Crag

 

 

Parking in the hamlet of Stonethwaite is at a premium, so be prepared to park on the road leading up to it

 

 

Following the track into Stonethwaite

 

 

Entering the hamlet – keep left

 

 

The limited number of spaces for the early birds

 

 

Just after the Langstrath Country Inn the road changes in to a stony track that heads on out to the valley

 

 

The track meanders its way towards the head of the valley and passes through a series of hand gates

 

 

Sue, Ste and Spud taking a water stop along the route

 

 

Slightly further on and the first good look at Sergeants Crag (right) and Eagle Crags steep north face with the connecting ridge

 

 

Further down the valley and Rosset Pike and Allen Crags come in to view. At this point still easy walking

 

 

Another hand gate and a chance to walk across the valley floor to view Blackmoss Pot in full flow

 

 

Blackmoss Pot

 

 

This part of the walk is pathless but the objective is to keep on heading towards Stake Pass and pass the base of Blea Crag seen here on the left.

At some point it is necessary to cross Langstrath Beck and there are a number of stone banked narrow crossing points which to choose

 

 

Having crossed the Beck a marker cairn shows the way along a slightly more conventional path

 

 

Rosset Pike and Esk Pike at the head of the valley

 

 

The prominent lone tree that signifies the start of the climb is imminent

 

 

At a point when a foot bridge that crosses Stake Beck comes in to view take a left turn and start to climb the steep and pathless fell side

that leads to Brown Crag. There is no right or wrong way to take, the objective is to reach the ridge line near Brown Crag

 

 

We choose to aim for the dip to the right of Brown Crag. Its not possible to do this directly as there are several ravines cut in to the fell side

that need to be negotiated

 

 

After about 30 minutes of zig zagging around the boulders and ravines we approach the ridge line

 

 

So glad to have got that out of the way. Sue and Ste take a breather. In the far distance is Great End and Ill Crag

 

 

Looking across the valley to Cam Crag

 

 

Looking back to the head of the valley – stunning

 

 

At this point on the ridge line the summit of Sergeants Crag comes in to view and is just a fairly level walk across boggy ground which is

sometimes pathless

 

 

Aim for the wall stile

 

 

The summit of Sergeants Crag – click here for a 360 degree view from the summit of Sergeants Crag … https://youtu.be/JLoCg36psjA

 

 

Looking down the ridge route to Eagle Crag just around half a mile away. This is a fine part of the walk

 

 

Coming down now off Sergeants Crag and just follow the line of the wall

 

 

The path leads to a wall sty. After crossing this, there remains the small task of climbing over the wall running at right angles to reach the summit plateau

 

 

Looking back to Sergeants Crag and the connecting ridge

 

 

Looking across Langstrath towards Great Gable

 

 

The summit plateau of Eagle Crag. Click here for a 360 degree view … https://youtu.be/we8LR5E44dE

 

 

With all the pain of the drudge up to the summit behind us – Sue enjoys the view from the summit

 

 

The route back down to Stonethwaite (and safe one) requires you to back track over the fence and head left following the fence line down to Greenup

 

 

After about 30 mins of gradual descent over grass a clear path is taken that leads directly back to Stonethwaite. Here looking at the steep northern

face of Eagle Crag

 

 

One of the many waterfalls on the route back down

 

 

The north face of Eagle Crag with Sergeants Crag in the background

 

 

At long last a proper post walk debrief in the Lily (Ambleside) – its so good too back to near normal

 

 

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