Walk : Slight Side
(2,499 ft) & Scafell (3,162 ft) from Wha House Farm, Eskdale
Date : 30th
June 2021
Weather : Initially cloudy then hot sunshine, high humidity @ 21°C
Distance : 7.5
miles round trip
Time Taken : 2 hours 45
mins to first summit (Slight Side)
Which
part of Lakeland is this walk situated
Terrain Overview
Overview
The safest way
of all the routes that lead up to Scafell avoiding
all the challenges / horrors of Lords Rake & Broad Stand, however a
challenging
route in the heat of this particular day. The
path from Wha House Farm is initially easy to follow
in ascent as the first objective (Slight Side) comes
into view and can be used as a beacon
throughout. However, note well the bland features on the way up to Quagrigg Moss as they will be vital
to locate when (if) returning via this
route. The path from Slight Side to Scafell is not
well defined however in clear conditions just aim for the massive
bulk along first a grassy area eventually
turning in to a scree boulder field. No difficulties
to be had along the way
From the A590
leading to Broughton, and then the minor roads to Foxfield,
Ulpha and Eskdale follow
the signs for Eskdale Green, Dalegarth
Station
The starting
point for this walk is just slightly further on from the station along the
bottom reaches of the
the farm can accommodate about a dozen or so
vehicles and is free of charge
At the northern
end of the car park a hand gate leads on to the open fell side of Goat Crag.
This climbs steadily across the face of the fell towards
Quagrigg
Moss
The path climbs
steeply initially before it levels of somewhat near a wall with sheep pens
Through the hand
gate and the sheep pens and remain close to the wall
There are a
number of undulations as the path climbs gently through a large area of bracken
Once on the
footpath it is easy to follow initially in spite of the dense foliage (Do well
to note what ever little landmarks you see fit - to assist return)
The path,
intermittent at times weaves its way through a set of moraines and eventually
emerges to the vast expanse of Quagrigg Moss. At this
point
Slight Side and
its much bigger neighbour (Scafell) come into view
(just)
We have emerged
from the col in the centre of the picture and here
looking back towards Harter Fell shrouded in mist
On the track
proper now across Quagrigg Moss and heading for
Slight Side
Looking across
to Seatallan from the track
Approaching the
start of the scree section, a decent majority of it
can be avoided by navigating towards the grass when possible
Looking back
across Quagrigg Moss towards Harter Fell
Looking across
over Burnmoor Tarn to Whin Rigg and Illgill Head
Looking across
to Crinkle Crags emerging from the mist
The path through
or alongside the scree is easy to follow, there are
two summits to choose from both of which require a little scrambling over good
rock
The summit of
Slight Side looking towards Cam Spout Crag to the right and Scafell
towering in the centre
Click here for a
360 degree view from the summit … https://youtu.be/fXMayhah6AA
Looking along
the ridgeline of the Scafell massif with the
prominent height of Ill Crag in the centre
We now set off
for Scafell. There is no particular path as such, we just aim to skirt the left hand shoulder of Cam
Spout Crag
Looking
northwest over to Steeple, Scoat Fell and Pillar
Looking back
towards Burnmoor Tarn
Looking back
along our direction of travel from Slight Side as we hit the boulder field on
the upper reaches of Scafell
Almost at the
top now and the first proper glimpse of
At this point we
are nearly at the summit and a magnificent view of the south face of Great
Gable
Made it !!! – the second highest point
in
Looking across Mickledore to
A close up of
Great Gable – a magnificent mountain
A close up of Symonds Knott (that give Scafell
its distinctive view from the Wasdale side) – just behind
that will be the West Wall Traverse and Lords Rake
routes
up to Scafell from the Mickledore side
Looking across
the Mosedale horseshoe from Scafell
summit
Looking down on Wast Water
Journeying back
down to Slight Side
Looking back to
Looking north to
Bowfell
… and of course Crinkle Crags
A much clearer
view now as we cross Quagrigg Moss of Harter Fell
Journeying back
home at the end of another day on the Lakeland Fells
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