Like everyone else on the fells today I had wonderful walking conditions with not a cloud in the sky.  I had planned to park at Cowbridge carpark near Hartsop but it was full (the weather had seen to that) so I parked at Deepdale Bridge instead.  Deepdale is easy walking and eventually leads up to Deepdale Hause between Cofa Pike and St Sunday Crag - but I turned off the main path a mile below the hause.

After the glacial moraines I turned left to pass below Mart Crag.  This proved rather tricky as it involved crossing Deepdale Beck and all the boulders which would normally be wet were covered with ice.  A detour of a hundred yards upstream found a spot where I could wade through shallow water rather than step on icy rocks.  There is no path but there is an obvious line below Greenhow End and before long a waterfall (frozen today) comes into sight.  At the foot of the fall turn right and climb the slope which leads to broken ground below The Step - a grassy area near the top of Scrubby Crag.  I met the sun half way up the slope and I stopped for lunch.  An appointment in the morning meant that I had not started the walk until 11.20 and it was now after 1pm and I was famished.  I took a gully to reach the ledge but it proved to be icy so I called down to a couple below me and they opted for a broken rib to the right of the gully.

Soon we were on the top of Scrubby Crag.  Time did not allow me to visit Fairfield so I turned left, crossed Link Hause and soon reached Hart Crag.  Easy walking along the famous wall brought me to Dove Crag.  Great views in all directions but I headed back down into the shadows and headed for The Strand Crags ridge which is a delightful and surprising feature tucked away between Dove Crag and Dovedale.  I did pick up a path leading over the crags from Hoggett Gill but it is very faint - few people pass this way.  No time to explore Hoggett Gill unfortunately as I wanted to reach Hartsop Hall by dusk.  The path led me to the west of Stangs and I was soon on the main path down Dovedale.  I did reach Hartsop Hall just as dusk fell and was glad of my head torch for the walk alongside Brotherswater and through the woods from Cowbridge to Deepdale Bridge.

A smashing walk on a beautiful day.  Unfrequented Wainwright routes are a mixed bag in terms of quality but the routes up Greenhow End and over Strand Crags are both excellent and I am at a loss to understand why they are not much more popular.  Make a resolution to do them both in the next year.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561542989Fvoyfp

---

Bookmark with:

What's this?