Gales On Gables

The wind blew us up Green Gable. Nearby Windy Gap was living up to its name. It was blowing so hard I was struggling to hold the camera steady to take a photo.  The wind had now become a side wind and did its best to blow us off the easy scramble up Great Gable's eastern flank. After the scramble we wobbled our way across the summit plateau. At one point I looked back to see  Calse being blown around in a circle and then continue stumbling onwards. I stumbled to the leeward side of the summit rock only to find three smug walkers hogging the spot. There's no other shelter on Great Gable and so we decided not to linger and to make our way down to Styhead Pass. The sidewind had now become a headwind. We descended down Great Gable's bare slope. Calse slipped on some scree and somehow managed to twang her head on her trekking pole. If the wind hadn't been so noisy I'm sure it would have sounded like hitting one of those skull percussion instruments one used at school. A couple of minutes later she slipped down again and managed to thrust the pointed end of her trekking pole into my backside. The wind was really giving us a battering, but there was no where we could shelter until we got down to Styhead Pass. When we did find some shelter we huddled down and regrouped. That was quite a memorable and epic traverse of Great Gable.

Seathwaite Fell

On the way up to Sprinkling Tarn we passed about a dozen Duke Of Edinburghers. They were really quite a glum bunch and it was obvious that most of them didn't want to be out in these windy conditions. One of them tried to generate some interest: 'Let's see if we can find that tarn', he said in a jovial voice. It the wind hadn't been howling I'm sure I would have heard a group groan. After a hundred yards I looked back to find that they had sat down again. it looked like it would be a long day for them, and especially for their leader.

At Sprinkling Tarn we headed off on an out-and-back to Seathwaite Fell's summit. Apart from a few sheep we had the fell to ourselves. It is an interesting fell with a number of tarns and good views over to the Gables, Great End and Glaramara. It culminated in the view down the Seathwaite valley from Seathwaite Fell's summit.

Seathwaite

I normally come up the path that runs alongside Grains Gill and Ruddy Gill, and so it made a change to go down it this time. In the distance we could see Castle Crag in Borrowdale, with Derwent Water and Skiddaw beyond. The wind gradually dropped as we descended down the path. The path is nearly all stone steps and my knees were aching by the time we reached Stockley Bridge. A heron preceded us down the river towards Seathwaite. It stared into rock pools. Presumably there must be fish that make it this far upstream. The sun was out now but I'm pretty sure it would still be blowing a gale up above. A great walk but would have been better with a little less wind.