Height: 642 metres / 2106 feet Grid reference: NY 28224 31479
Great Calva from Little Calva.
Great Calva from Little Calva
Little Calva with Dash Fall to the right
Little Calva
Skiddaw
Start point: Peter House Farm (NY 249 323)
Peter House Farm – Dash Farm – White Hause (526) – Little Calva – Great Calva – Skiddaw house – Sale How (527) – Skiddaw – Hare Crag (528) – Whitewater Dash – Peter House Farm
Distance: 11.6 miles Total Ascent: 1100 metres Time Taken: 5 hours
Weather: Overcast with the odd sunny spell. 9°C
Well, at least it wasn’t raining today! It turned out to be quite a pleasant day, more than a bit breezy but there was some sunshine around but it was great to be back up on the high fells again with a few Birkett humps and bumps taken in for good measure.
Great Cockup in the morning sun with Brockle Crags prominent to the right with its distinctive white stones.
Following the Skiddaw House track to Dash Farm. The first objective today is White Hause, the grassy hump in the middle, to the left of and above Dash Farm.
Burn Tod and White Hause.
Little Calva with Dash Fall to the right.
Bassenthwaite lake from the top of White Hause.
Bakestall and Dead Crags from the same place.
White Hause gets some golden sunshine looking back from the climb to Little Calva.
Great Calva from Little Calva.
Bakestall from Little Calva.
Looking south along the geological fault line from Great Calva with Thirlmere glinting in the sun.
High Pike and Carrock Fell across Knott.
Skiddaw from Great Calva with Sale How to the left of the central cleft and Hare Crag to the right.
Hare Crag, the route of descent from Skiddaw.
Sale How with Skiddaw Little Man beyond - the route of ascent.
Crossing the infant River Caldew.
Little Calva and Great Calva from Skiddaw House.
Blencathra is clear of cloud now from the climb - or should that be slog - to Sale How.
Skiddaw, however, remains under cloud from the top of Sale How.
Blencathra over Sale How, Lonscale Fell to the right just before we enter the cloud layer.
A break in the cloud cover on the climb to Skiddaw summit with the sunrays over Derwent Water and Keswick through the low ceiling of cloud.
Newlands Valley.
It was wild on the top of Skiddaw with a cold, cold wind.
Descending through the clouds again towards Broad End. The wind was fierce here and made taking a photo difficult.
The sun is still out over to the east on Great Calva from Hare Crag.
Great Calva again from the descent.
Binsey from the path above Dash Falls.
The upper section of Dash Falls.
Dead Crags and Binsey along the Dash Valley from the falls.
A final view of Binsey.
Skiddaw Forest
Start point: Gale Road End (NY 281 253)
Gale Road – Lonscale Fell – Lonscale Pike – Jenkin Hill – Skiddaw Lesser Man – Skiddaw Little Man – Skiddaw – Bakestall – Birkett Edge – Whitewater Dash – Little Calva – Great Calva (514) – Skiddaw house – Lonscale Crags – Gale Road
Distance: 13 miles Total Ascent: 1190 metres Time Taken: 5 hours
Weather: Overcast, clearing. 20oC.
After the sunshine and blue skies of the last few days, the clouds were hanging ominously over Skiddaw when I set off for a circuit of Skiddaw Forest from Gale Road this morning. From Lonscale Fell onwards, I was in the clouds with Skiddaw being windswept and cold as it so often is. The main objective today was Great Calva as I completed my second recorded set of 214 Wainwright fells on it. I haven’t been actively pursuing that goal and it has taken me 3 years to get round them all again.
A cloud covered Skiddaw at the start of the walk, the blue sky looked promising though.
The Hawell monument and the path to Skiddaw. We weren't going this way though as we descended right to Whit Beck and then continued along the bridleway below Lonscale Fell.
Descending to Whit Beck.
Latrigg and Derwent Water from the steep climb to Lonscale Fell, just before disappearing into the clouds.
Casper at the summit of Lonscale Fell. Someone has been doing a bit of cairn building.
Sat in the bog cotton on Jenkin Hill.
A windswept Skiddaw summit.
Descending the north end of Skiddaw, the clouds fleetingly parted here looking to Lonscale Fell...
...and a glimpse of Bassenthwaite Lake.
Ullock Pike across Southerndale.
Descending to Bakestall.
The Back of Skiddaw from Bakestall.
The route from Bakestall - descend Birkett Edge then climbing steeply with the fence before heading to Little Calva then Great Calva.
The steep descent of Birkett Edge.
Dash Beck, above the main falls.
Looking back to Dead Crags on Bakestall from the steep climb to Little Calva.
Oops! A bit deeper than you though Casper?
214 Wainwrights completed for the second time on Great Calva.
The summit of Great Calva.
The south cairn of Great Calva looking down the fault line that should have a view to Windermere. Skiddaw House is to the right of the post, encircled by trees with Lonscale Fell beyond.
Skiddaw House.
All that remains of Skiddaw Forest, Skiddaw House behind.
Great Calva.
Passing below Lonscale Fell on the Cumbria Way.
Mungrisdale Common.
The Glenderaterra Valley from Lonscale Crags.
A familiar silhouette - the Coledale fells.
That made me jump! Of course, Skiddaw is clear now as well.
Back O’ Skiddaw
Start point: Bowscale (NY 358 317)
Bowscale – Bowscale Tarn – East Top on Bowscale Fell (387) – Bowscale Fell (388) – The Tongue (389) – Bannerdale Crags (390) – Blencathra – Mungrisdale Common – Cloven Stone – Lonscale Pike (391) – Lonscale Fell (392) – Jenkin Hill (393) – Skiddaw Lesser Man (394) – Skiddaw Little Man (395) – Skiddaw – Bakestall – Whitewater Dash – Little Calva (396) – Knott – Coomb Height (397) – Little Lingy Hill (398) – Great Lingy Hill (399) – Hare Stones (400) – High Pike (401) – Miton Hill (402) – Round Knott (403) – Carrock Fell (404) – Mungrisdale – Bowscale
Distance: 25.8 miles Total Ascent: 2447 metres Time Taken: 10 hours 50 minutes
Weather: Sunny and warm with a slight breeze. 25°C.
Today’s walk was a long circuit of the quiet fells known as ‘The Back o’ Skiddaw’. The weather was very pleasant, not as hot and muggy as it has been recently with a slight, welcome, cooling breeze. The views were absolutely superb at times and I was glad I chose today to do this long walk. The only problem was I forgot my food and 26 miles is a long way without any fuel…
Back O' Skiddaw route map.
Early morning light on Carrock Fell. This was to be the last fell of the walk, some 11 long hours later.
Looking along the Mosedale valley.
Bowscale Tarn, keeper of two immortal fish so legend has it and mentioned by Wordsworth in his poem 'Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle', 1807. '...And both the undying fish that swim, Through Bowscale Tarn did wait on him, The pair were servants of his eye, In their immortality, They moved about in open sight, To and fro, for his delight...'
Strange light and a band of thick low lying cloud to the south from Bowscale Fell's subsidiary east top.
The north western fells seen between Blencathra and Skiddaw.
Blencathra from Bannerdale Crags.
Skiddaw across the summit tarn on Blencathra.
The summit of Blencathra.
Skiddaw from that most derided of Wainwright fells (for not being a true summit), Mungrisdale Common.
Lonscale Fell from Mungrisdale Common. It was a sharp drop off from Blencathra down to Mungrisdale Common then an incredibly steep pull to get back up onto Lonscale Fell via Burnt Horse.
Great Calva from the climb to Lonscale Fell.
The view from Lonscale Pike, the east peak of Lonscale Fell. In the centre is High Rigg with Tewet Tarn visible and Thirlmere behind.
Skiddaw Lesser Man. Little Man and Skiddaw from Jenkin Hill.
There were superb, breath taking views from the climb up to Skiddaw.
The north-western fells from Skiddaw.
Bassenthwaite Lake and Sale Fell from Skiddaw. Not as cold as the last time we were here.
The view reached as far as Scotland over the Solway Firth to Criffel.
Binsey along the Dash Valley. To reach this point was another steep drop off from Bakestall down Birkett Edge and then a hard climb following the fence up to Little Lingy Fell.
The path to Knott.
A quick rest on Coomb Height, Carrock Fell in the background.
High Pike had a welcoming seat...
Evening light and the cloud begins to form on Skiddaw, seen from Round Knott.
Back o’ Skiddaw
Bowscale – Bowscale Tarn – Bowscale Fell (71) – Bannerdale Crags (72) – Blencathra (73) – Lonscale Fell (74) – Skiddaw Little Man (75) – Skiddaw (76) – Bakestall (77) – Little Calva – Knott (78) – Great Lingy Hill – High Pike (79) – Carrock Fell (80) – Mungrisdale – Bowscale
