We passed the Ritson’s Bar at the Wasdale Inn. Will Ritson was a 19th century local farmer who became famous for his lies. That’s probably an unfair description; maybe a teller of tall tales would be more appropriate. He became proprietor of the Hunstman’s Inn and this became the stage for his storytelling. Even Wordsworth and De Quincey were enchanted by his imagination. Today, Ritson’s Bar stands in honour of the chap and there is even an annual Biggest Liar competition held in his memory (this is held at the Bridge Inn at Santon Bridge). Politicians and lawyers are banned from entering for obvious reasons. Ritson lived to the ripe old age of 111, married seven times and had 19 children. There again, I could be lying. . 

Kirk Fell

The Mosedale valley looked stunning in the morning sun. The berries on the Rowan trees glowed red like the lights on Christmas trees. We soon left the side of Mosedale Beck and started the long haul up the flank of Kirk Fell. At least you could see what was coming up. There was nothing for it, but to lean forwards and start pumping those legs. Initially the path was grassy, but it was dry enough and wasn’t slippery. Occasionally, I’d stop and turn around to admire that wonderful view  down the valley to Wast Water. After a while, we reached the start of the scree. I’d not told the Kapitan and the Cabin Boy about this particular feature of the route. It is quite steep and rocky, but it is safe enough. The few tracks through the scree have probably been made by walkers coming down than going up, since they are too bare to get much traction for ascent. I found it best to stick to the larger stones and to make use of the occasional grass bands. The Cabin Boy had a perpetual look of disappointment on her face and I wondered if we might be in for a long day. By two steps up and one slip back we managed to get to the final section, which was less steep and provided easier walking. Both the Cabin Boy and the Kapitan hung back as I approached the summit cairn. I figured I might be in for some earache about choosing an inappropriate route. It was a sullen platoon that sat at the summit for a break. 

The Cabin Boy and Kapitan hung back as we made our way eastwards over the plateau of the summit. We ticked off Kirkfell Tarn for our Lakeland Tarns Venture. At the descent point to Beck Head, the Cabin Boy said ‘I’m sure the path is over there’ and she pointed towards the south slope. There are multiple tracks down to Beck Head, but I headed in that direction to appease her. The descent isn’t as steep or difficult as it looks from a distance and I was soon down to the col at Beckhead Tarn. The Cabin Boy and Kapitan were still making slow progress down from the track. As they approached, the Kapitan was sent forward with a missive from the Cabin Boy. They would not be doing the traverse of Great Gable. To be honest, I’d half expected this and so wasn’t too surprised. The track up to Great Gable from the col does look a bit intimidating, but it really isn’t as bad as it looks. I knew better to argue the issue though. The Cabin Boy and Kapitan set off on the slippery track down to the Wasdale valley and I continued my journey with the Great Gable traverse. 

Great Gable

The route up to Great Gable from the Beck Head col starts out easy enough. The difficulties become apparent when the scree track turns into larger stones that involve the occasional easy scramble. There are some cairns that help to lead the way through this section and I invariably lose them. I always tend to drift too far south than I should. This isn’t a problem when ascending, but can make it difficult when using it as a descent route. I remember climbing down this route in thick mist and losing the cairns. I ended up drifting too far south, missing the col completely and having to slide down the scree slope to the Beck Head path. It wasn’t dangerous, but it did go to show how easy it was to drift off this route. As I climbed today, I noticed a couple of people descending to my right. They’d drifted too far south too. At least they had a clear view of the Beck Head col to aim for. After a bit more scrambling, I found some cairns and the track again. This led me to the summit crag of Great Gable. I stood on the top of the crag and watched the mist roll in and block my views. A fat fellow appeared out of the fog and approached the summit. I try not to be judgmental about the physical aspects of my fellow walkers, but I feel justified in describing him thus. This was because, as he approached, he shouted over to me ‘I’m too fat for this game.’ I couldn't deny it since it was an obvious truth. Despite the cooling wind he was sweating buckets. He wanted to do Kirk Fell and so I told him about the northwest ridge descent path and to ensure he didn’t drift too far south. I left my fat friend at the summit and headed down the south east path to Sty Head tarn. 

About 10 minutes after leaving the summit, I met two women walking up the path. One of them asked me if there was another path down the other side of Great Gable. I repeated my guidance that I’d given to the fat fellow about the northwest route to Beck Head col. I got the impression that the women hadn’t got a map and so I added that the Sty Head path was the easiest route down the mountain and they might be best returning along the same path in such misty conditions. I left them to it and continued downhill. Stone steps have now been built almost all the way from  Sty Head pass to Great Gable’s summit making the route a fairly easy affair. I dropped below the mist and the views opened up down to Styhead Tarn and beyond to Seathwaite Fell.  It wasn’t long before I stood next to the Mountain Rescue box at the top of Sty Head pass. All I had to do now was descend back down the valley to Wasdale Head. 

Return To Wasdale

I decided to take the valley path back down to Wasdale Head. The path dropped down from Sty Head on a grassy path to Spouthead Ghyll. I met a young couple walking the other way. The man said that they were going to summit Great Gable. ‘What’s the path like  going down the other side?’ he asked me. I repeated the same guidance that I’d given to the fat fellow and the two women near the top. I made a mental note to get some guidance cards printed for the northwest ridge route so that I wouldn’t have to repeat myself all the time. The path zig-zagged down the valley on easy gradients. It is a much easier and more enjoyable path than the higher one to the north, that traverses Toad How and Bursting Knott. There were wonderful views down the valley and over to the chasm of Piers Gill. Further down the valley I came across a couple who were having a lunch break with their snoozing Spaniel. They’d been up to Scafell Pike and were making their way down. ‘There were only half a dozen people up there’ the man told me. A bit different to when I’d been up there last Saturday; there must have been around a hundred people at the summit I reckoned. I continued down the valley and crossed to the north side of the beck just before the outflow from Piers Gill. A little further along I came across a couple who were swimming in one of the pools. It was a hot day, but I bet it still felt a bit nippy for them. 

It was a delightful jaunt along the river and eventually I reached the Moses’ Trod path. There’s also a Moses’ Trod path on the other side of Great Gable, heading towards Honister. This path got named after a quarryman called Moses Rigg who was renowned for smuggling his illegal moonshine along the route. I presumed that this Wasdale path had been named after the same chap. Moses' Trod led me down the valley and back to the carpark. 

It was a rather frosty atmosphere on the drive back to our holiday let. It was so cold that I had to switch on the car’s heater. It would seem I would have to serve penance for taking the Cabin Boy and Kapitan up Kirk Fell’s screes. My plans had been to climb the Piers Gill path tomorrow. A route which would involve walking along the edge of a bottomless gill and culminating in a 15 metre vertical scramble.  I got the impression that I would have to have a rethink this evening.