Terrain Overview
Walk Overview
The most central of all Wainwright Fells in Lakeland and the promise of an unsurpassed
360 degree panoramic views was what we hoped for as we decided to climb this Fell.
What we actually got was unfortunately the exact opposite. A dense layer of low cloud
at around 1500 feet spoiled what was an eagerly anticipated walk and made navigation
extremely difficult with not having any landmarks to key on to. For about 30 minutes
or so we got lost in the mist and confused whilst trying to locate Standing Crag
on our way back down.
From Ambleside, take the A591 past Grasmere and take the road on the right
signposted for Armboth as you approach Thirlmere. Follow the narrow road up to
Dob Gill car park which is the start point for this walk
From the car park take the gated exit that leads steeply up towards the Forest
For a large portion the track is stone pitched through the Forest area and in damp
conditions like today the rocks can be slippy
The path levels off a little as we approach Harrop Tarn
Harrop Tarn. After we got down from our climb later on in the day we had the pleasure
of meeting Lisa from Staveley with her dog Molly. Lisa had just finished work and had
parked up at Dob Gill at a time when it was lashing down. I asked her was she going
to the summit; her reply was that she was going for a swim in the Tarn, certainly a
lovely place to do so
On with the walk and soon after passing the Tarn we leave the main track at a
signpost on the left towards Watendlath over 3 miles away
We travel on a well defined path through more Forest up to a hand gate that gives
access to the open Fell side
Through the gate, a clear path climbs up the ridge line towards Standing Crag
Looking towards Standing Crag
The layer of mist that was to mar the rest of the walk
A brief pause before we reach the ridge line
On gaining the ridge line keep on the track as it heads towards a fence line and gate
Through the gate and turn left and follow the fence line over rough grass towards
Standing Crag. The obvious grass rake to the left of the Crag is the route to choose
Climbing the steep grass rake
At the top of the grass rake we turn right and face into the driving rain.
The fence line is key for navigation especially in this poor visibility. Follow
it to its very end
For the largest part a stony and uneven track follows the fence line
Note well the end of the fence. At this point you are approximately ten minutes
across fairly even ground to the summit. The only markers from here on are a
number of iron posts belonging to an old fence line
Under normal conditions it would be fairly easy to follow these posts, but conditions
today made it quite tricky
Approaching the summit (honestly)
The summit cairn
A soaking wet (and probably pissed off) Spud on the summit of Ullscarf
Click here for a total waste of time 360 degree view
In this shot you should be able to see the extent of the Helvellyn range
This picture taken on our return route is near the top of Standing Crag
where we could just about see the Forest that we had initially climbed through
Returning via the grass rake down the side of Standing Crag
Blea Tarn from Standing Crag
