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Ullswater Walking Weekend: Saturday 19th September 2015

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The village of Patterdale is perfectly situated at the foot of Ullswater, surrounded on all other sides by high ground, the land to the east is topped by the grassy summit of High Street while to the west the fells climb over steep rough ground to the wonderful summits of Helvellyn & Fairfield. Over the weekend we will climb two of the finest and most contrasting routes that the area has to offer, on Saturday we will climb The Deepdale Horseshoe, one of the best routes to the summit of Fairfield whilst on Sunday we will climb Helvellyn via the wonderful Striding Edge ridge.

Availability: Fully Booked

£44.00
Difficulty: Moderate / Hard
  A high level of exposure on Striding Edge
Distance: Up to 15km / 10 miles approx per day
Ascent: Up to 1070m / 3500ft per day
Duration: 2 Days
Start Time: 10am
Maximum Group Size: 8
Minimum Group Size: 1

 

"Striding Edge is the finest ridge there is in Lakeland, for walkers - it's traverse is always an exhilarating adventure in fair weather or foul, and it can be made easy or difficult according to choice."
A. Wainwright

The village of Patterdale is perfectly situated at the foot of Ullswater, surrounded on all other sides by high ground, the land to the east is topped by the grassy summit of High Street while to the west the fells climb over steep rough ground to the wonderful summits of Helvellyn & Fairfield.

Over the weekend we will climb two of the finest and most contrasting routes that the area has to offer, on Saturday we will climb The Deepdale Horseshoe, one of the best routes to the summit of Fairfield whilst on Sunday we will climb Helvellyn via the wonderful Striding Edge ridge.

 

Summits included on this route:
   
Hartsop Above How
580 metres/1903 feet
Hart Crag
822 metres/2697 feet
Fairfield
873 metres/2864 feet
Saint Sundays Crag
841 metres/2759 feet
Birks
622 metres/2041 feet
Arnison Crag (Optional)
433 metres/1421 feet
Birkhouse Moor
718 metres/2356 feet
Helvellyn
950 metres/3117 feet
Catstycam
890 metres/2920 feet


"on the north side the Fairfield range is magnificent: here are dark precipices, long fans of scree, abrupt crags, desolate combs and deep valleys: a tangle of rough country, small in extent but full of interest, and well worth the exploration."
A. Wainwright



Fairfield from Patterdale (or The Deepdale Horseshoe)

From Patterdale we will climb the long steady ridge over Hartsop Above How, with stunning views over the valleys of Deepdale and Dovedale to either side and the towering crags around Fairfield ahead.

From Hartsop Above How the ridge continues to climb on good paths to the summit of Hart Crag with it's views down over the Rydal Valley.

The path continue north west to the summit of Fairfield, but a short detour to the north of the path will give us the best of the views down into the valleys below.

The summit of Fairfield is a good viewpoint of much of the Lake District, with a great view north over Helvellyn and Striding Edge and west to the Scafell range.

Our descent from Fairfield will bring us down the rocky ridge over Cofa Pike descending to Deepdale Hause before the easy climb up to the summit of St Sundays Crag one of the best viewpoints of the day with a striking view of Striding Edge across the Grisedale Valley.

A short detour from St Sundays Crag brings us down onto the subsidiary summit of Gavel Pike, at the head of the eastern shoulder of St Sundays Crag, here a good path will bring us down to the col above Blind Cove and the grassy slopes of Birks.

After crossing Birks we will descend east onto the low ridge above Glenamara Park and follow this rambling bracken covered ridge to the rocky summit of Arnison Crag with it's wonderful view over the foot of Ullswater.

A short descent from Arnison Crag will bring us back down to Patterdale.

Helvellyn & Striding Edge
One of the most spectacular walking routes in the Lake District, although not the longest it does involve a little exposure along the Striding Edge ridge.

From Glenridding we will climb the good paths to Lanty's Tarn where we will follow the ridge onto Birkhouse Moor with wonderful views of the crags along Striding Edge and Helvellyn and down in the opposite direction over Ullswater to the Eden Valley.

The route now follows the ridge climbing onto Striding Edge where we will follow the sharp ridge until the final steep climb to the summit of Helvellyn.
From the summit we will descend over Swirral Edge to the summit of Catstycam where we will again have great views down to Ullswater and back across Red Tarn to Striding Edge.

A grassy descent from Catstycam will bring us down onto the main path to the old Greenside Mines and on to Glenridding.

The weekend will be based in the villages of Patterdale and Glenridding, there is plenty of good accommodation available in both villages including two good Youth Hostels.

Each participant will be required to bring suitable equipment for their chosen event, please see the Kit List tab above.



Where to meet: Directions will be available upon booking as a download file  
 

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