Start point: Brotherilkeld, car park at the bottom of Hardknott Pass (NY 214 011)
Brotherilkeld Farm – Lingcove Bridge – Great Moss – Little Narrowcove – Pen (448) – Scafell Pike – Mickledore – Lord’s Rake – West Wall Traverse – Scafell – Slight Side (449) – Catcove Beck – Brotherilkeld Farm
Distance: 12.2 miles Total Ascent: 1327 metres Time Taken: 5 hours 45 minutes
Weather: Very cold at valley level -4°C. Once into the sunshine it was just like a summer’s day – shirt sleeves all the way!
The weather turned out even better than I was expecting today – I thought it would be clear, but it was unbelievably so and very warm with a temperature inversion to boot! I have been ‘saving’ this walk for a while which includes a steep scramble up to Pen, a subsidiary summit of Scafell Pike, and the scrambles of Lord’s Rake and the West Wall Traverse. It is for this reason that the walk had to be Angus-less; he would never have managed it today. As it turned out, it was one of the most memorable days I have ever had in the fells – one to remember. I make no apologies for the number of photos included in today’s walk – there could have been lots more, it was so hard to weed them out. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
![30.01.06-002 30.01.06-002](https://www.stridingedge.net/wp-content/gallery/2006-01-30-scafell-pike/cache/30.01.06-002.jpg-nggid0512531-ngg0dyn-0x0x85-00f0w010c010r110f110r010t010.jpg)
Scafell at the head of Upper Eskdale from Brotherilkeld. The cold, dark valley contrasts with the sunlit higher slopes.
![30.01.06-033 30.01.06-033](https://www.stridingedge.net/wp-content/gallery/2006-01-30-scafell-pike/cache/30.01.06-033.jpg-nggid0512540-ngg0dyn-0x0x85-00f0w010c010r110f110r010t010.jpg)
Esk Buttress with the rocky peak of Pen, the first target of the day. How the heck are you supposed to get up there?
![30.01.06-062 30.01.06-062](https://www.stridingedge.net/wp-content/gallery/2006-01-30-scafell-pike/cache/30.01.06-062.jpg-nggid0512548-ngg0dyn-0x0x85-00f0w010c010r110f110r010t010.jpg)
Looking north to an inverted Ennerdale with Mellbreak and the Loweswater fells showing through the cloud. Great Gable is in the foreground on the right.
![30.01.06-064 30.01.06-064](https://www.stridingedge.net/wp-content/gallery/2006-01-30-scafell-pike/cache/30.01.06-064.jpg-nggid0512550-ngg0dyn-0x0x85-00f0w010c010r110f110r010t010.jpg)
The valleys to the east are inverted as far away as Ingleborough and Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales.
![30.01.06-079 30.01.06-079](https://www.stridingedge.net/wp-content/gallery/2006-01-30-scafell-pike/cache/30.01.06-079.jpg-nggid0512558-ngg0dyn-0x0x85-00f0w010c010r110f110r010t010.jpg)
Whitfell with the cairn visible and Black Combe beyond. North Wales is on the horizon over the sea of cloud.