Haystacks from Gatesgarth
Haystacks from Gatesgarth, Buttermere
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Haystacks & Fleetwith Pike
A great day today climbing Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike from Gatesgarth Farm. A little high cloud in the morning cleared by early afternoon to give clear blue skies and wonderful views.
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Haystacks
A day with excellent views climbing Haystacks, Wainwright's favourite fell, and descending via Fleetwith Pike
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Haystacks from Gatesgarth
A good day today climbing Haystacks from Gatesgarth.
Weset off from Gatesgarth at 10am and climbed the path up to Scarth Gap, as we reached Scarth Gap we caught a heavy hail / snow shower but as we climbed to the summit of Haystacks this cleared giving us some wonderful views.
We descended to Innominate Tarn and as we dropped down towards Black Beck we caught another shower, this time not as heavy as earler, we dropped down to the Warnscale Hut to have our lunches in the dry.
After lunch we descended by Warnscale Beck back to Gatesgarth.
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Haystacks from Gatesgarth
A wonderful clear day today climbing Haystacks from Gatesgarth, very cold but clear views throughout as we climbed by Scarth Gap descending by the Warnscale hut.
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Haystacks
A lovely day climbing Haystacks from Gatesgarth today.
The forecast was looking grim, however at 10am as we were about to set off, it actually looked quite good! The clouds were sitting on the tops of the higher fells, but our objective was sitting nice and clear!
We took the good path across the southern end of the lake to to where the Scarth Gap path climbs steeply up the fellside. The group were already deep in conversation so before we all knew it we were high above the lake on the easier section of the path. We continued on upwards to a slightly winder Scarth gap where we had fab views of Pillar Rock in the mist.
We made our way up Haystacks steep north ridge, and picked the easiest walking and scrambling lines. Soon enough we were on the fine summit soaking up the views. After a snack on the summit we walked east across the plateau, past Inonimate To the top of one of the descent paths.
We opted to descend to the Warnscale Bottom hut for lunch as it will provide some warmth and shelter for a while. The hut was great, and we could have stayed in there for a lot longer! We descended from the hut via the good path back to Gatesgarth.
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Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike
A great day climbing Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike today.
We set off from Gatesgarth just after 10am and climbed to Scarth Gap in good time and climbed the rocky path too the summit of Haystacks.
After the short descent to Innominate Tarn we stopped for lunch out of the cool breeze before continuing by Blackbeck Tarn and down to Dubbs before climbing the slopes of Fleetwith Pike.
The views from Fleetwith Pike were wonderful today, over the Buttermere Valley and out over the Solway to Scotland beyond.
We descended Fleetwith Edge back to Gatesgarth Farm.
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Haystacks from Gatesgarth
Well that was a change for the books! Just a few days ago we were basking in glorious sunshine, and today we wake to snow covered fells! Our walk for today saw us take on Haystacks from Gatesgarth.
Starting from a very blustery Gatesgarth Farm we followed the track along the end of Buttermere and to the bottom of the Scarth Gap path. After gaining just a little height we were already rewarded with amazing views. We slowly climbed upwards with the wind pushing us up the hillside. We reached Scarth Gap where the wind was being funneled through and decided to stop for a bite to eat before making our final ascent. The group all scrambled well in the blustery conditions as we made our way onto the summit. We reached the summit of Haystacks, and after a few quick pics we again retreated for some shelter.
We stopped just off of the summit for round 2 of lunch, from where we had amazing views of a snow covered Great Gable, and Scafell Pike behind that.
After lunch we made our way slowly across Haystacks' tarn topped summit and down to our descent path. This path offered some shelter from the wind which was a great relief! It was this part of the day that the sun made its most constant appearance which made the descent very enjoyable.
Not before too long we were back on the valley bottom and so we made our way back to the farm.
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Haystacks from Gatesgarth
The scorching conditions continued today as we took on Haystacks from Gatesgarth.
After meeting at Gatesgarth Farm we made our way across the base of the lake to the path that climbs to Scarth Gap. We started to ascend up the fellside slowly and took plenty of time to enjoy the spectacular views. There was next to no wind, and it was already feeling very hot, it was going to be a very fine day! As we reached Scarth Gap we gained some great views of Pillar and Kirk Fell. It was at this point not one, but two Tornado Jets flew and banked straight over our heads. They seemd close enough to touch, and the noise was just incredible. After a few seconds of spinning heads and full body tingles we continued on upwards through the slight scrambles and to the lovely summit of Haystacks.
We stopped on the summit for rest and a snack before continuing along the plateau past the many outcrops and the beautiful tarns, most notably Inominate. We enjoyed great views of the Gables, and even the Scafell Massif behind. We found a great little spot by Green Crag for lunch which had a clear view straight down the Buttermere valley over the two lakes. After our extended lunch break in the sun we crossed Warnscale Beck and enjoyed our descent in the sunshine. As we got closer to the valley bottom it just got warmer and warmer, and we could have easily been trekking through Crete!
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Haystacks from Gatesgarth
For some a mountain is only a true mountain if it stands above 600m. This unwritten rule used to have Wainwright foaming at the mouth, especially when it came down to his favorite fell, Haystacks. He loved this mountain, and of all the fells in Lakeland, this was his number 1. What it lacks in stature it more than makes up for with its other fine attributes. Our walk today on Haystacks, despite the lack of ascent, and the few miles walked was most deffinetely a mountain day!
I met Mags and Anne at Gatesgarth at the southern end of Buttermere, and at this point it wasn't raining. However, this did not last long! We followed the path along the shore of Buttermere and joined the Scarth Gap Pass (A massive well done to the teams that have worked very hard over the last year or so improving this path, it's great and thank you!) We climbed up the fellside and traversed to Scarth Gap. The rain had now set in and the wind was quite gusty, but we were determined to get to the top.
We got to Scarth Gap and then scrambled up the western face of Haystacks, one of its many great features. We got to the rocky summit but keen not to stop for long we pressed on towards Inonimate tarn, A.W's final resting place. Despite the rain the visibility wasn't too bad and we had good views of Fleetwith Pike and down to Buttermere.
We worked our way across the tarn topped plateau, around the buttresses past Green Crag. There are a couple of huts in this area which offer great refuge, especially on wet days like this. We opted for the Warnscale Hut. The hut is small but cosy, it had foam mats on the seats, a nice guest book and even some whiskey! (Which we thought best not to drink). After a nice long stop and some drier layers we continued our descent.
This was when our day really started to become a bit of an adventure. A large ghyll cut across the stream and was very swollen. We wern't happy to cross it and took the tough but wise descision to re-ascend to join the path that runs down the other side of Warnscale Beck (The Fleetwith Pike Side). We ascended back up the path to where it crosses the beck, but unfortunately again the swollen beck was blocking the usual crossing point. To find a suitable crossing point we followed the river towards Dubs Bottom a large comb, where the main beck split into many smaller streams which were all individually much easier to negotiate.
With the obstacles tackled we were now back on our descent. We followed the good path down to Warnscale Bottom and then back to Gatesgarth. A fantastic adventure today on a fine mountain!
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Butteremere Walking Weekend
Day 1:
Today our route was to tackle half the Buttermere Fells. After meeting Rob, Karen and Caroline outside the Bridge Hotel in Buttermere we made our way down the footpath that leads to Scale Force Waterfalls. Karen, a fairly new hill walker could not believe the route we were going to do today, as well as not believing she would be able to do it however I knew she was about to be proven very wrong! We contoured around to Scale Force Waterfall, and after a few very pretty pictures we made our way up the hardest ascent of the day. It was on this section we felt a little bit of the days drizzle, but fortunately that was all it was. As we got to just over 500m we got amazing views down to Buttermere and also up to our first summit of the day, Red Pike. We pushed on and tackled the steep flank of Red Pike and were soon enough on top tucking into our sarnies! From here we had breathtaking (not even an exaggeration!) views over to Pillar, the Gables, the Scafells, the Langdales and even through into Keswick.
The next section of the route was undulating and after another short climb we were at the highest point of the day (and weekend) on top of High Stile. We soon pressed on and followed the now narrow ridge line along to High Crag, our final summit of the day. From here we descended the steep slopes and followed the path along to Scarth Gap. On this part of the walk we gained fantastic views of Sundays objective, Haystacks. At this point in time Karen didn't want to think about going up Haystacks, but I am sure after a good nights sleep she will be raring to bag it in the morning! We descended down Scarth Gap to the shores of Buttermere Lake and completed the final couple of kilometers along the lakeside.
Without hesitation we all walked straight into the Beer Garden in the Bridge, and were soon sipping cool drinks and tucking into a bag of Walkers, Crackin'!
Day 2:
This morning I was joined by Rob, Karen and Caroline from yesterdays walk, as well as Neil (Birthday Boy) Michelle, Lynda and Mark. We started from Gatesgarth Farm and the morning was looking bright......200m down the track we were all donning our waterproofs, oh well it was coming anyway! The group climbed the track up to Scarth Gap and soon enough we were facing the final scrambly ascent up to the summit of Haystacks. By now we were feeling stronger gusts of wind and the rain was hammering down. We reached the summit at 11.30 and after a few summit snaps, and a quick happy birthday sing song for Neil we made our way East. We passed Inonimate Tarn, the iconic location where A.W's ashes were scattered. The ground was undulating but we were dropping altitude, and eventually we got fantastic views underneath the cloud and down the valley into Buttermere. I led the group to Dubs Hut, on the flank of Fleetwith Pike, where we were able to eat our lunch under the shelter of a slate building. From here we descended down the path back to Gatesgarth Farm. A thoroughly enjoyable day of which everyone enjoyed!
If these sound like your kind of walks you can join us on The Buttermere Fells Walk, Haystacks or even a whole Buttermere Walking Weekend
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Haystacks
A very damp day on Haystacks today, low cloud and rain continued through the walk, as we climbed from Gatesgarth to Scarth Gap and to the summit of Haystacks.
From Haystacks we descended by Innominate Tarn and Blackeck Tarn to descend by Warnscale Beck, stopping in the shelter of the Warnscale Bothy to eat our lunch before descending back to Gatesgarth.
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Haystack and Fleetwith Pike
A good climbing Haystacks from Gatesgarth today, we climbed to Scarth Gap and up to the summit of Haystacks, stopping to admire the god views as they unfolded on the way up before descending by Innominate Tarn and Blackbeck Tarn to stop for lunch on Green Crag with wonderful views down the length of the Buttermere Valley.
After lunch we descended by Little Round How to Dubbs Quarry before climbing above the quarries to the summit of Fleetwith Pike and the steep descent down Fleetwith Edge back to Gatesgarth Farm.
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Haystacks
A great day climbing Haystacks from Gatesgarth today.
We followed the path from Gatesgarth climbing to Scarth Gap Pass and climbed to the summit of Haystacks. The views from the summit were great, particularly over the Ennerdale Valley to Pillar.
After a short stop on the summit of Haystacks to admire the view we continued, descending to Innominate Tarn, stopping out of the wind to eat our sandwiches.
From Innominate Tarn we continued, descending to Blackbeck Tarn and followed the path over Green Crag, descending by the Warnscale Hut and followed the Warnscale path down to the valley and back to Gatesgarth Farm.
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Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike
A perfect day on Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike today.
We set off from Gatesgarth farm at 10am climbing the path to Scarth Gap, the weather was perfect, clear and sunny with great views down over Buttermere.
From Scarth Gap we had some good views over Ennerdale to Pillar, Great Gable and Kirk Fell but from the summit the views were amazing, across the Solway to Scotland in one direction and across the Lake District to Helvellyn in the other.
We stopped on the summit for a quick drink and to admire the views before continuing along the ridge to Innonimate Tarn and then Black Beck Tarn, stopping for lunch at Green Crag with views down over the Buttermere Valley.
After lunch we crossed to Dubbs quarry, taking a look in the bothy before climbing the slope to Fleetwith Pike.
The stunning views were now in front of us as we descended Fleetwith Edge back to Gatesgarth Farm, a great end to a great days walking.
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