Captain's Log

Allen Crags

The rain hit my tent so hard I thought that I might have to right off the day. I sank further down into my sleeping bag luxuriating in an enforced lie-in. Today’s walk would span the Scafell massif and there was no way I was going to go up there in these conditions. Ten minutes later, the rain was battering the canvas harder than ever and I wondered whether I really might be spending the whole day in the tent. After another five minutes though, the pounding abruptly stopped and I took the opportunity to poke my head out of the tent’s door. I’d wildcamped up near to the summit of Allen Crags last night and the view from my tent was straight down along the Langstrath valley. Unbelievably, the sun was illuminating it. Sure, there were plenty of clouds in the sky, but there were patches of blue there too. It was time to get moving before the rain started again.    

This was day 3 of my Bob Graham Round (BGR) Venture and was going to be a tough one. It would involve ticking all the BGR peaks on the Scafell massif. There were only five of them, which  sounded simple enough, until you take into account the elevation of the massif and its rough bouldery terrain. There was also the tricky issue of bridging the significant gap between Scafell Pike and Scafell. The BGR fell runners may take the direct route to Scafell via the grade 3 scramble up Broad Stand, but such an option wasn’t available to me due to my large and heavy rucksack. My alternative route would involve dropping 190m from Mickledore, the col between Scafell Pike and Scafell, and then scrambling up the easier Foxes Rake. I’d climbed this route a couple of times before, but I'd not been encumbered with my worldly belongings strapped to my back on those occasions. Once at the summit of Scafell, it would then be a long descent into the Wasdale valley. Plan A was to finish with a camp at the NT Wasdale campsite. Plan B was to camp at the top of Yewbarrow, the next BGR peak. I didn’t fancy Plan B at all and so I tried not to think about it too much. 

Great End

It was about 08:00 as I traversed the summit of Allen Crags and I was startled by a female fell runner who scooted past me. There were obviously other people who ventured out early too since there were two other groups of walkers ahead of me on the path up to the Scafell massif. Mist had rolled in across the top of the massif, but I could just make out the two groups turning off the main path on to the Great End track. I followed them on the out-and-back to Great End’s summit. Rather mysteriously, I lost both groups in the mist. There aren’t any other easy descent routes from the fell and I began to wonder whether they'd been a figment of my imagination. As I peered over the vertical northern face of the hill, the mist momentarily cleared revealing the tarns on Seathwaite Fell far below. The mist closed back in again and I started to retrace my steps to the main path across the Scafell massif. 

Ill Crag

I started to meet walkers approaching from the other direction. They must have had a very early start. There were areas of the massif that consisted of large boulders and this made walking over them very tricky, especially when carrying a heavy rucksack. It was like making your way across a wide river using large, uneven stepping stones. Care was needed and I stepped slowly onwards. The next BGR peak was Ill Crag, which was about 400m away from the main massif path. The mist cleared for a few seconds revealing the craggy outline of its summit and I headed off in its direction as the mist then rolled back in again. Most walkers have Scafell Pike in their sights and just bypass Ill Crag and so it doesn’t get that many visitors. That’s a bit of a shame since the views from its summit down into Eskdale are stunning. As I made my way to the summit crag, I was startled for the second time in the morning by a fell runner  passing close to me. He deftly hopped across the stones to the summit crag and made short work of the scramble to the top. I was then startled for the third time in the day, when a young male and female fell runner passed me. All runners were wearing high visibility vests and I soon figured out what was going on. This was probably a Bob Graham Round fell running attempt. The first runner was scouting the way ahead and the second runner was pacing the third runner who was actually attempting to complete the BGR within the 24 hours. They didn’t hang about on the top of Ill Crag and immediately set off  to Broad Crag. The ascent of the boulder summit of Ill Crag was a bit awkward carrying a heavy rucksack, but it was safe enough. The mist conveniently cleared to reveal that wonderful view into Eskdale. The three fell runners had chosen a direct route to Broad Crag that was beyond my capabilities with my heavy rucksack and so I just retraced my steps to the main massif path. 

Broad Crag

Broad Crag wasn’t that much further along the massif path. Although I’d been up the peak before, I couldn’t remember whether there was a decent path to the top. The summit crag and its base was surrounded by huge boulders and I ended up scrambling up them to the top. Again, it was more awkward than dangerous. I wasn’t as lucky with the mist this time and so I didn’t get a view. I scrambled back down to the main massif path, surprising some walkers who must have wondered why on earth I was scrambling down big boulders with such a large rucksack. I re-joined the massif path again and headed off towards the highest peak in England, Scafell Pike. 

Scafell Pike

The mist cleared again as I descended towards Broad Crag Col and I could make out the large stone plinth on the summit of Scafell Pike. I could see tiny figures standing on the top of it. The climb from the col to the summit was steep and relentless. There was nothing for it but to plod on upwards. The mist rolled back in as I got higher. I heard Scafell Pike’s summit before I saw it. The summit area was crowded with people as I made my way up the stone steps to the summit plinth. As I took a photo to mark my achievement I heard somebody shout,
‘Hi everybody. I’m Jack and I’m now seven months free of alcohol!’ This announcement was made by a young fellow who was standing on top of the trig point. There was a round of clapping from his friends and from other walkers too. Like Jack, it was time to move on and so I went in search for the path to Mickledore, Scafell Pike's col with Scafell.

Foxes Tarn

For some reason I always find the area around the summit of Scafell Pike disorientating, especially when it is misty like today. I generally set off in the wrong direction and today was no exception. I followed my intuition and this led me to some large stone shelters that I couldn't remember seeing before. I knew immediately that I’d gone wrong and so returned to the summit. A quick look at the map revealed that I needed to head northwards initially, before turning south-westwards. I soon found my way onto the correct path to Mickledore. 

After a few minutes I dropped out of the mist and the huge rock face of Broad Stand came into view. Yes, it was a good job that I wasn’t attempting that route today. After reaching the col, I started dropping down the loose scree path towards the entrance to Foxes Rake. The path was steep and slippery and inevitably I ended up on my backside on one occasion. I was glad when I’d dropped down enough to make the traverse across boulders to the entrance to Foxes Rake. The scramble up the rake looked a lot steeper than I remembered and I began to doubt whether I’d be able to climb it with my heavy pack. As I was assessing it, I noticed two figures making their way down along the top edge of the southern side of the rake. That seemed quite an odd choice since it looked far harder and even more precarious than descending the rake itself. I watched them and they both made it to the bottom safely. 

Although the ascent of the rake required quite a physical effort, it didn’t present any technical difficulties. You feel pretty safe climbing it since you are enclosed by the walls of the rake. My quadriceps were burning though by the time I reached Foxes Tarn at the top of the rake. In some respects the rake was the easy part of the ascent of Scafell since there was subsequently a very loose scree slope that had to be tackled. It really was a case of two steps up and one slide down to get to the top. There was a small section where construction of stone steps had been attempted, but these had been overrun by the scree. The ascent seemed to take forever, but at last I reached the top. It was then just a short walk to the understated Scafell summit. There were a few walkers around, but not the masses that I’d encountered on Scafell’s higher sibling. I sat down to take a well deserved break and admire the stunning views into Eskdale. 

Scafell Descent

Initially the path down the western flank of Scafell was steep. It was also scree and quite slippery. Scafell isn’t the most accessible of peaks. Probably the best route up and down is via Slight Side to the south, but that’s really quite a roundabout route. At least the path down the western flank was direct and it did open a wonderful view to Wast Water. It also allowed me to see the massive peaks around the Mosedale valley that would form my route tomorrow. The difficult day and steep scree path began to take its toll and I started to feel a bit tired. I wondered how the BGR fell runners felt as they descended this path. They must feel exhausted and dispirited seeing all those huge Mosedale fells on the other side of the Wasdale valley. At this point they would have ran over 40 miles and climbed over 20,000 feet.  Perhaps not surprisingly, most of those attempting the round give up when they reach the bottom of the Wasdale valley. The almost vertical climb up to Yewbarrow on the other side of the valley is known as the ‘Graveyard of the Bob Graham Round.’ I must admit that the sight of the awesome Yewbarrow was having that effect on me too. There was no way I’d be able to climb it, if I couldn’t camp in the Wasdale valley and had to implement my Plan B to camp on its summit.

Wasdale NT Campsite

A sign announced that the Wasdale NT Campsite was full. Bugger! There was another sign saying that the campsite shop was still open to non-campers. I wandered over to the well stocked shop and bought a wide selection of goodies. Another sign in the shop said that the campsite was full. Without much hope I asked,
‘Is the campsite full? Can I camp tonight?’ The young girl behind the counter looked confused. I told her that every sign I’d seen so far suggested that the campsite was full.
‘Oh no. We’ll be able to fit you in.’ It seems that they were quite prepared to let lone backpackers pitch up. I said a little prayer of gratitude to the hiking Gods.     

The campsite was very good, with excellent facilities and in my desperation to pitch I could just about forgive the National Trust for their extortionate £19 (2026) camping fee. After three days of walking, I was able to restock my supplies from their shop. During the evening, a Coastguard helicopter landed in an adjacent field to pick up some mountain rescue personnel. An hour or so later, it returned and I wandered across to watch it take off again. The casualty seemed okay as he laid in the field with a mountain rescuer. Somebody from the campsite brought him a cup of tea. The helicopter lifted off and headed westwards towards Wast Water.    

 It’s amazing that a walk that was a little over 6 miles could be so challenging. It’s definitely a route that shouldn’t be underestimated. The difficulty of the terrain varied from traversing large boulder fields to negotiating steep scree slopes. There was also all the awkward scrambling too. When the mist cleared, the views from the Scafell massif were amazing though. As I drifted off to sleep, I reflected on the point that tomorrow’s walk was potentially going to be even harder.