“Height has nothing to do with it, it is your strength that counts”
Lynn Hill
The Black Sail Hut is the most remote Youth Hostel in the country, it's quite a walk in, even along the valley, but boy is it worth the effort! The hut is surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery in the Lake District.
A night at the Black Sail Hostel should be a must for any lover of the Lake District, there's always a warm welcome from the wardens, a roaring fire and great food.
Over this weekend we will walk the Ennerdale Horseshoe route, splitting the long route into two to descend from Haystacks to spend the night in the Black Sail Hut.
The Ennerdale Horseshoe is a popular round often completed by fell runners in just a few hours. Starting from the western end of Ennerdale Water the route soon climbs up the fellside to join the long ridge that climbs to the Buttermere Fells. The route continues up and over Green Gable before turning westward to ascend over Kirk Fell. Now on the return leg the fells that surround Pillar are traversed before we turn north after Haycock to finish over the much gentler slopes just above Ennerdale Water.
“My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing”
Aldous Huxley
Day 1:
Starting from the car park at the western end of Ennerdale Water we start to make our way a short way around the lake clockwise before climbing the fellside over Herdus to our first of many summits, Great Borne. Now above 600m we follow the ridge to the east over Starling Dodd to join the main Buttermere Fells. As we reach Red Pike we are greeted with fantastic views down into Buttermere. We will traverse across High Stile and High Crag before descending to Scarth Gap. From Scarth Gap we will scramble up the western face of Haystacks and to its lovely tarn topped summit.
On our second lowest summit of the weekend, we now start to re-ascend and make our way across the gentle ground to the summit of Brandreth where we can see into the Borrowdale Valley. We continue southwards a short distance to the summit of Green Gable, and if you are feeling energetic we can also take in the giant Great Gable.
From either of these summits we make our way to Beck Head and down into the Ennerdale Valley and the Black Sail Hut.
Day 2:
Day two begins with the climb back to Beck Head and then Kirk Fell's steep eastern face we take in both of its summits before again descending into the Black Sail Pass.
The re-ascent starts again and we climb up the gentle slopes over Looking Stead to the flat top of Pillar, from where we gain superb views back down to Ennerdale Water, and of our entire route. We turn westwards and over Scoat Fell to the fine rocky summit of Haycock.
Every summit from this point onwards is lower, however the ground still undulates along the way. We walk over the long grassy Caw Fell before dropping into the woods. We emerge from the woods with our final short climb up to the summit of Crag Fell. After soaking up the views of our entire route we will descend steeply back to the car park.
What is included in the price:
- A guide for two days walking
- A nights stay at the Black Sail Hut
What isn't included:
- Food, meals are available from the Black Sail Hostel, as is a full bar on the evening. A three course evening meal can be purchased as well as breakfast and packed lunches for day 2. There is also a self catering kitchen at the hostel, please be aware that you will need to carry all food during day 1 though!
Each participant will be required to bring suitable equipment for their chosen event, please see Kit List tab above.
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