Walk Summary
Relaxing wander along the picturesque Scandale Valley. Climb the miniature Alps of Little Hart Crag. Out-and-back along ridges to High Hartsop Dodd and Middle Dodd. A finale ascent of Red Screes with its dramatic views into the Kirkstone valley.
Date: 08/05/2022
Length: 10.38 miles
Height Gain: 986 m
Terrain: Boggy paths, grass paths, stony paths, lightly used roads
Navigation: Paths can be difficult in places - sometimes trackless (see map), especially around Little Hart Crag. High fells. Map and compass required.
Start: Rydal Road Car Park, Ambleside
Route: Rydal Road Car Park Ambleside, High Sweden Bridge, Scandale Pass, Little Hart Crag, High Hartsop Dodd. Middle Dodd, Red Screes
Map: OL7 The English Lakes South Eastern Area
Weather: Sunny morning, grey afternoon
Walkers: Nun, Mo and Calse
Gallery
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Scandale Highland Cattle
Captain's Log
False Start
This morning we set off in the car in good spirits with the intention of enjoying an epic 8 Wainwright walk from Hartsop. Twenty minutes later we were back at the house drinking a cup of tea. I'd driven up the Ambleside to Kirkstone road but I could see lots of traffic and cyclists around the Kirkstone Inn. I knew there was to be a mass cycling event today, but I didn't think the cyclists were going over Kirkstone Pass. It appears I got the Lakeland Loop in April mixed up with today's Fred Whitton Challenge. I didn't want to get stuck in a traffic jam and so I turned around and drove back to base for a strategic reassessment.
A cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit later, I decided that a 4 Wainwright walk including Little Hart Crag, High Hartsop Dodd, Middle Dodd and Red Screes would be a good alternative. Luckily Calse had not, in a Prosecco fuelled enthusiastic spree, carried out a pre-emptive marking off the 8 Wainwrights on her new 'scratch and reveal' Wainwright map, or else I'd have never have heard the end of it. She revealed this extortionately priced map, a couple of evenings ago, in a ceremony that included a fanfare with a kazoo and a three circuit parade in the living room. I told her that I recorded my Wainwrights in a Google spreadsheet for free, and it was easy to correct any mistakes. In informed her that it also automatically counted the number I'd completed. She still wasn't impressed.
Looking over To Nab Scar
Little Hart Crag
We set off from the house and headed for the track to take us up to High Sweden bridge. Mo had been fiddling with his walking stick to try and get it to tighten. His tutting and groaning got louder and louder until, after 20 minutes, I put him out of his misery and tightened it for him. within 30 seconds.
Some people appeared to be paddling near High Sweden Bridge and so we walked straight by them and onwards up the valley. A number of Highland cattle appear to be free to roam the Scandale valley and Calse is always on edge until we pass them. Two of them were just off the path scratching their backs on a tree and I stopped to take some pictures. When I turned around, Mo and Calse had scooted off and were nowhere to be seen.
Little Hart Crag stands at the head of the Scandale Valley. It is quite low compared to its neighbours, but what it loses in height it makes up for in its impressive cragginess. It looks unassailable from afar, but when you get closer you can see there are easy ways up. It didn't take us long to get up to the summit cairn and then we quickly came down again because there was a bitterly cold wind chilling us.
Little Hart Crag At The End Of Scandale Pass
Impressive Crags On The Fairfield Range (From High Hartsop Dodd)
Summit Of High Hartsop Dodd
High Hartsop Dodd
I had originally intended doing these Wainwrights as a horseshoe walk from Brothers Water. A consequence of doing them from Ambleside was that we had to do an out-and-back walk from Little Hart Crag to High Hartsop Dodd. This was fine by me since the ridge provided stunning views over to the dramatic cliffs of Hart Crag, Dove Crag and Fairfield. At the High Hartsop Dodd summit cairn I pointed out most of the 8 Wainwrights we could have done if we'd done our originally planned walk. It sound a bit like Jim Bowen's Bullseye, '...and this is what you could have done!'.
We headed back to Little Hart Crag but skirted around its southern edge rather than going to its top again. Skylarks and Wheatears looked and sounded as though they were permanent residents in Little Hart Crag's mass of boulders.
Middle Dodd
The climb up Red Scree's western flank is always a trudge. The last time we went up here it was icy with deep snow which made it much more of a challenge. We reached the broken stone wall that contours along the hillside and we headed off towards Red Scree's north edge. Middle Dodd would be another out-and-back part of our route. Civilisation also reappeared as we met many walkers coming up from Middle Dodd and some coming down from the top of Red Screes. It looked like the crows were making the most of the strong winds, and having great fun by diving and gliding along the edge down to Middle Dodd. Looking down on to the Kirkstone Road, we couldn't see any cyclists; it looked like the cycling event had moved on to another part of the Lake District. The summit of Middle Dodd provides a great view over to Brothers Water. The huge north face of Red Screes loomed over us; it was time to do some climbing again and we set off to its summit.
Middle Dodd Summit
Red Screes Summit
Red Screes
Red Screes bark was worse than its bite and it didn't seem that long before we were stood next to its trig. A strong, cold wind had struck up again and a couple had bunkered down in the nearby stone shelter. After the sunny start to the day it was now grey and hazy. We set off down the south edge back towards Ambleside. Not far from the summit, there is a wonderful view down to the Kirkstone Inn at the top of Kirkstone Pass. It looked a long way down. Down to our left we could see walkers making slow progress that goes directly up from the top of the Kirkstone Pass to the top of Red Screes. It is a steep and occasionally scrambly route but it does have the advantage of starting from a high point. I always like the walk down from Red Screes to Ambleside; it is a gradual descent, with easy walking and there is that view down the length of Windermere to keep you occupied. By the time we had got back down into the valley the sun had come out again and summer had returned.
The day had not turned out quite as we expected. We had done 4 Wainwrights instead of 8. But climbing Wainwrights isn't a competition and I'm sure we enjoyed the day just as much.