All The Gear But No Idea: Pike O'Blisco, Cold Pike, Crinkle Crags & Bowfell

Pike O'Blisco, Cold Pike, Crinkle Crags & Bowfell 15-06-2019

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Route: Wall End, Redacre Gill, Wrynose Fell, Pike O'Blisco, Red Tarn, Cold Pike, Great Knott, Crinkle Crags, Shelter Crags, Three Tarns, Climbers Traverse, Bowfell, Bowfell North Top, Ore Gap, Angle Tarn, Rossett Pass, Mickleden

Date: 15/06/2019
From: Great Langdale

Parking: Great Langdale
Start Point: New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel
Region: Southern Fells

Route length: 11.2 miles (18km)
Time taken: 07:08
Average speed: 1.8mph
Ascent: 1368m
Descent: 1370m

Wainwrights on this walk:
Pike O'Blisco (705m), Cold Pike (701m), Crinkle Crags (859m), Bowfell (902m)

Additional summits: Cold Pike West Top (683m), Cold Pike Far West Top (670m), Great Knott (696m), Crinkle Crags South Top (834m), Gunson Knott (840m), Fourth Crinkle (832m), Fifth Crinkle (822m), Shelter Crags (815m), Bowfell North Top (866m)

Other points of interest: Bad Step, Climbers Traverse

Long summer daylight means you can be flexible with your day, arranging it around the best of the weather. That flexibility would be particularly useful today when heavy rain wasn't forecast to leave the Lakes until late morning. I had a plan in mind to climb the fells enclosing Great Langdale and was confident I'd fit them into a day, even with a late start to avoid the rain. Staying at the campsite at Great Langdale, I even had time to head over to Ambleside for breakfast, sitting in the café waiting for the rain to subside.

It was a cloudy morning in Great Langdale

And subside it did. With the rain beginning to ease, I returned to the campsite, quickly changed into my hiking gear to make ready for a day on the hills. Bowfell would be the highlight today and if my planning worked out, clear summits were likely by the time I reached them later in the afternoon. The morning, however, would be a slightly different affair.

I set off from the campsite under leaden skies, making my way along the soggy road towards Redacre Gill. The snaking road ultimately leads to Blea Tarn and the pass into Little Langdale but I left it as it crosses the stream, joining a path across the fellside which leads towards Pike O'Blisco, the first peak of the day.

Redacre Gill

Cloud lingers below Crinkle Crags

Looking down the road to Mickleden

The path along Redacre Gill

Crinkle Crags

The climb alongside the gill is fairly easy at first before a steeper section gets the heart beating that little bit quicker. After this the climbing because less arduous with a gradual path rising across the fellside, interspersed by a couple of short, rocky gullys. It started raining again partway up the hill, lightly at first before becoming a bit more emphatic. I wondered if I had made an error of judgement as I made it to the summit of Pike O'Blisco.

Red Acre Gill and the Langdale Pikes

Side Pike and Great Langdale

The steeper section to Wrynose Fell

Pike O'Blisco

Things get a little more interesting towards the top

One of the rocky steps en route to the summit

Pike O'Blisco's summit

Pike O'Blisco is one of the more overlooked mountains that form the ring around the head of Great Langdale; loftier fells such as Crinkle Crags and Bowfell tend to draw the attention of discerning hikers. Pike O'Blisco does have an ace up its sleeve, however. It stands in perfect isolation, with steep sides surrounding the twin-peaked summit, affording it with stunning views in all directions, especially of Great Langdale and its popular pikes. At least when it's not raining.

A cairn marks the summit

With the cloud perched on the summit, it wasn't really a place to hang around. A steep descent follows, down into the col containing Red Tarn, a height loss of some 200m but the climb back up towards Crinkle Crags is long and largely shallow which makes the going much easier. I detoured off to make the short climb up to Cold Pike and then over to its two subsidiary tops - probably some of the least visited in the Lake District. With these tops in the bag, I returned to the main path via the small summit of Great Knott. By now the rain had lifted and the skies were looking much less threatening.

Emerging from the clouds

Cold Pike

Red Tarn

Blue skies over the Langdale Pikes

The Langdale Pikes

Cold Pike

A view of the Coniston fells from Cold Pike

Cold Pike's West Top

The top of Eskdale

The Far West Top of Cold Pike

Great Knott

The path between Pike O'Blisco and Crinkle Crags must be one of the most trodden in all of the Lake District but it seems to have received some much-needed care and attention recently from the gang at Fix the Fells and looks all the better for it.

Crinkle Crags

As the carefully constructed path met the rugged and stony beginnings of Crinkle Crags, I began the rollercoaster ride over each small summit along the fell. As I've no doubt mentioned before, the route across Crinkle Crags can be as straightforward or as difficult as you want to make it and it may not come as a surprise to learn that I intended to cross every peak (as you do). This also included tackling one of the trickier parts of the walk; the Bad Step.

Looking over Great Knott towards Pike O'Blisco

The view down to Great Cove

The southern Crinkle

Oxendale and Great Langdale

Long Top - Crinkle Crags' summit

The Bad Step is a deep declivity in the side of Long Top, Crinkle Crags' summit, and requires an awkward scramble to get up it. Having been up and down several times now, I can say that up is much easier than down. I believe the trick is finding a small knuckle of polished rock to give you the first leg up before the rest becomes more straightforward. While imposing at first, the climb is not too difficult. Should you wish to avoid the Bad Step, a large path runs west around the fellside or it can be bypassed a short distance around the east via some grassy ramps.

The Bad Step

The route follows the rock steps to the right

Looking down the Bad Step

The southern Crinkle

Shortly after the Bad Step is the summit of Crinkle Crags. Views down the neighbouring Great Cove and Mickle Door are immense and a scramble up Crinkle Gill looks more and more appealing each time I see it. There are five crinkles in total, Bill Birkett lists them all as separate fells given their relative prominence. From south to north, these are; the South Top, Long Top, Gunson Knott, Fourth Crinkle and Fifth Crinkle. Shelter Crags stands a little further north but seems to be excluded from the main five.

Long Top

Gunson Knott

Mickle Door

The southern Crinkle

Cairn on Gunson Knott

Oxendale

Passing over the final crinkle gives an impressive view of Bowfell standing over Three Tarns - perhaps the iconic view of the mountain with the links and isolated summit clear to see. Once I had made it to the tarns and the top of The Band, I decided to avoid the steep climb up Bowfell, instead favouring a detour around the eastern crags to meet the climber's path to the north. While there is no path here, a traverse across the fellside is straightforward and doesn't require any loss of height.

Bowfell

Bowfell from Three Tarns

The Band

The beginning of the Climbers Traverse

The path is known as the Climbers Traverse and, while entirely correct, is a tad misleading - there is no need to be a climber to use the route, it is simply a means for climbers to reach the imposing Bowfell Buttress, a means I exploited to reach Cambridge Crags and the foot of the Great Slab. It's an exciting route high above Mickleden and one that I would recommend to anyone.

The Climbers Traverse

Mickeden

The Climbers Traverse

Bowfell Buttress

At the end of the traverse is a spring emanating from Cambridge Crags, the perfect spot to refill any dwindling water supplies. Up ahead is Bowfell Buttress and a huge run of scree falling from the heights of Bowfell itself. Overhead is the base of the Great Slab, a geological marvel that really needs to be seen to be truly appreciated. A wide, boulder-filled gully follows the edge of the Great Slab and provides a steep, scrambly route up towards Bowfell's summit.

Great Langdale

Rossett Pike

Lingmoor Fell and a distant Windermere

The boulders alongside the Great Slab

Looking down the boulders

The Great Slab

The final climb to Bowfell's summit

Bowfell has some of the best views in the whole National Park thanks to its isolation and position among the Lakeland giants. You'll be glad to know that my timing had paid off, with the Lake District swathed beneath clear blue skies. Being the afternoon, Bowfell was also uncommonly quiet. The highlight of the view from Bowfell (in my opinion) is the perfect view of Scafell Pike and its neighbour, Scafell, seen in profile to the west.

Bowfell's summit

Esk Pike

Eskdale

The Scafells

After taking in the views, I left the summit to make the easy crossing of Bowfell's north ridge which has a fine view of the Great Slab and the coves below. The ridge terminates at a small summit; Bowfell North Top. From here, it's a steady descent to the red-stained rocks of Ore Gap, a result of the haematite in the rock (there is a suggestion that magnetic compasses cannot be trusted in this locality).

The Scafells

The Great Slab from Bowfell Buttress

Bowfell's North Top

Bowfell from the North Top

Esk Pike over Ore Gap

Ore Gap separates Bowfell and Esk Pike with a path running north down to Angle Tarn, a super mountain lake hemmed in by the towering crags of Hanging Knotts. Here the path is well-engineered once more and would remain so all the way back to the campsite in Great Langdale. The path passes the outlet of Angle Tarn before a short climb to the summit of Rossett Pass.

Esk Pike's interesting south ridge

Langstrath

Allen Crags

Angle Tarn

Rossett Pike

Angle Tarn and Hanging Knotts

The stream flowing out of Angle Tarn

The Rossett Pass provides a major walking route out of Great Langdale, providing a means of reaching Esk Hause. The descent (or ascent) is quite long thanks to a series of wide zigzags but the gradient isn't too steep and the paving is of a high quality. Though late in the afternoon, I still passed a few determined folks making their way up, however, I don't blame them on such a fine afternoon.

Mickleden

Rossett Pike

Pike O'Stickle

Mickleden

The path from Rossett Pike meets the Stake Pass path at a handy guide-stone, marking out the two routes. I don't mind modest signage in the Lake District, so long as it is discreet but serves a purpose. I think they could take a leaf or two out of Snowdon's book in the regard.

Looking up towards Stake Pass

All that's left is a long stroll along the Cumbria Way as it makes its way through Mickleden. It had been a fantastic day - waiting for the weather to clear certainly worked out well. Sun and clear summits - what more could you want?