Height: 655 metres / 2149 feet Grid reference: NY 49079 11183 Category: The Far Eastern Fells
The summit cairn on Selside Pike
Selside Pike
Selside Pike
Start Point: Roadside parking near the head of Haweswater (NY 479 119)
Mardale – Old Corpse Road – Selside Pike – Captain Whelter Bog – High Howes (Mardale) – Artle Crag – Branstree – North Ridge – Hollow Stone – Mardale
Distance: 4.7 miles Total Ascent: 506 metres Time Taken: 2 hours 30 minutes Start Time: 08:20
Weather: Sunny and warm, 17°C
What a gorgeous day it turned out to be today – there was an early mist but once the sun burned through it was really warm so I was down to shirt sleeves and it really did feel like a summer’s day. It was just about perfect and the sort of day I have been dreaming about for the last 12 months!
A misty start to the day over Haweswater.
The mist was quickly burning off as the sun rose higher.
Panorama from the start of the climb of the Old Corpse Road.
Haweswater.
Looking back along the Old Corpse Road - the nearest ridge is the one used in descent.
Selside Pike summit.
Descending from Selside Pike - High Howes is straight ahead and Branstree central.
Looking back to Selside Pike.
Nothing to see on High Howes apart from two old grey monuments.
Passing between the two small tarns with the survey pillar central.
Haweswater Aqueduct survey pillar.
Looking back to Selside Pike and High Howes from Artle Crag - you can see the survey pillar and one of the small tarns centre right.
One of the cairns on Artle Crag.
Dougal puts the thoughtfully provided Branstree drinking bowl to good use.
The summit of Branstree - nothing much to see here either!
High Street and Blea Water.
The impressive north eastern face of Harter Fell.
Surveying the scene.
Dougal loving the warm sunshine.
A panorama from Branstree.
Haweswater.
Giant eagle shadow over Riggindale?
Rough Crag, High Street beyond.
How it ended up at the head of Haweswater when all the mist was gone.
Mosedale East
Start point: Swindale Lane (NY 516 133)
Truss Gap – Swindale Head – Harrop Pike – Grey Crag – Tarn Crag – Branstree – Artle Crag – High Howes (Mardale) – Selside Pike – Captain Whelter Bog – High Blake Dodd – Old Corpse Road – Swindale Head – Truss Gap
Distance: 11.5 miles Total Ascent: 800 metres Time Taken: 4 hours 30 minutes
Weather: Overcast and dull. 19oC.
It has been very wet of late and the weather didn’t promise much today either but I managed to escape the rain for a walk starting from the remote valley of Swindale circling the even remoter valley of Mosedale. There were no views today, the skies were leaden with the merest peep of sunshine. The terrain is generally boggy in this area and I certainly got a good bootful of water today! The remoteness of this area has some advantages though as I only saw one other person all day.
Truss Gap above Swindale Beck.
Swindale Head with Selside Pike up to the right, the route of return.
Following Mosedale Beck.
The gash of Hobgrumble Gill.
Moraine in the glacial valley of Mosedale.
The footbridge across Mosedale Beck.
Following the fence to Harrop Pike - it looks a bit gloomy up there today.
The summit cairn on Harrop Pike.
Casper and Angus on Grey Crag. If you find a red collar up here it belongs to Casper - he managed to lose it shortly after this photo.
Heading for a gloomy Tarn Crag across the bog.
The summit of Tarn Crag with a survey column, a remnant from construction of the Haweswater aqueduct, beyond.
The survey column.
Branstree - the route is following the fence steeply up to the wall, the summit lying at the end of the wall.
Casper on the summit of Branstree. Angus thought the sunken dish of the trig. station made a good water bowl! You may have heard about the plague of caterpillars that has struck the Lake District recently. After seeing great swathes of them near Skiddaw House last week I can report that there were even more on the south-eastern slopes of Branstree today.
One of the cairns on Artlecrag Pike, Selside Pike beyond.
The O.S un-named top (Birkett - High Howes) from Artlecrag Pike. In the centre is another survey column with a couple of un-named tarns beyond. I don't know about a plague of caterpillars but there was a plague of gulls on the slopes of this fell seen as white dots in this photo.
Selside Pike.
The merest glimpse of Haweswater.
Angus and Casper manage a quick swim in the tarns beyond the survey column.
Heading for Selside Pike.
Cascades on the descent to Swindale Head.
Swindale.
Descending to Swindale Head.
This ancient walled track is the Old Corpse Road between Swindale and Mardale.
Branstree
Start point: Sadgill Bridge, Longsleddale (NY 483 057)
Sadgill Bridge, Longsleddale – Gatesgarth Pass – Branstree (364) – Artlecrag Pike – Selside Pike (365) – High Howes (Mardale) (366) – Tarn Crag (Longsleddale) (367) – Harrop Pike (368) – Grey Crag (Longsleddale) (369) – Great Howe (Longsleddale) (370) – Sadgill Bridge, Longsleddale
Distance: 10.1 miles Total Ascent: 972 metres Time Taken: 3 hour 45 minutes
Weather: Overcast and hazy, a warm 17°C.
Today’s walk was a visit to some of the far eastern fells that I haven’t visited for a good while, starting from Longsleddale. Longsleddale is a lovely valley which is very quiet and Sadgill seems very remote at the end of the long valley road. The weather promised much but failed to deliver any sunshine although it was warm. Indeed, there were more than a few spots of rain towards the end.
Branstree route map.
Longsleddale from Sadgill Bridge.
Looking back to Sadgill on the way to Gatesgarth Pass, the River Sprint meandering down the valley.
Harter Fell from the summit tarn on Branstree.
Selside Pike from Artle Crag.
A glimpse of Haweswater from the survey column between Branstree and High Howes.
Where HAVE you been?!
The survey tower on Tarn Crag, Windermere is in the centre distance.
Harrop Pike.
Bannisdale from Grey Crag.
Grey Crag from yet another survey column on Great Howe.
Goat Scar across Longsleddale from Great Howe.
Longsleddale from Great Howe.
Sadgill.
Angus in the River Sprint beneath Sadgill Bridge.
Longsleddale
Sadgill – Gatesgarth Pass – Branstree (166) – Artlecrag Pike – Selside Pike (167) – High Howes – Tarn Crag (168) – Grey Crag (169) – Great Howe – Sadgill
Started out fine with the snowline being at 500 metres, however on return the snow had made it down to the valley.
Sadgill Bridge at the start of the walk. Five hours later the valley was completely snowbound.
Looking up the lane from Sadgill, Buckbarrow Crag to the right.
Looking along the valley from Brownhowe Bottom, Sleddale Forest in the distance.
The summit cairn of Branstree, well above the snow line now.
One of the large cairns on Artlecrag Pike.
The approach to Selside Pike, High Howes is to the right.
Haweswater appears through the mist on the ascent of Selside Pike.
The summit cairn of Selside Pike.
The Haweswater survey column on the slopes of Branstree in-between two un-named tarns. Artlecrag Pike is behind the column.
...and a close up of the survey column.
The summit cairn of Tarn Crag, near blizzard conditions now.
The summit cairn of Grey Crag - white out!