UKC

Hi All,

Not done too much walking down Wasdale in the Lakes, so can you advise. If I did Whin Rigg and Illgill Head, is there a suitable path from the latter to Burnmoor Tarn and then Scafell, so I can do all three together?
Cheers, David

In reply to dangerdave:
I`d advise you bought a map and looked at it, or hired a guide.

In reply to sjc:

He probably has a map and isn't in need of a guide, but wants to ask opinions on an area he is less familiar with. Only a guess.

Sorry Dave, probably the area of the Lakes I am least familiar with as well.

In reply to The New NickB: Look at the map

In reply to sjc: I'd love to see this map you seem to have that shows every path that exists. Particularly with the opening up of Access Land a few years ago, there are loads of paths not marked on the maps. Nothing wrong with the bloke asking for a few opinions - unfortunately, I too am not that familiar with that area of the Lakes so can't suggest anything.

In reply to dangerdave:
Yes, there are several, obvious, ways of joining these. As always in the Lakes if you gave thought of it, thousands of other people have already done it and created paths. I seem to remember it being pretty boggy around the tarn itself, though with some duck boarding.

In reply to dangerdave:

I've done Whin Rigg and Illgill Head from Eskdale, then down to the tarn and back down to Eskdale. The path down from Illgill Hill is steep and slippery (or it was when I did it in the rain). Lots of long grass as I recall. On the map there is a path marked from the tarn up to Scafell, but I haven't tried it. The whole thing was shrouded in cloud when I was there. But you'd be looking at a large amount of re-ascent from there, so I imagine it would add up to quite a long day.

In reply to dangerdave:
There is a path most of the way to Scafell from Burnmoor Tarn, up the side of Hardrigg Gill, disappearing towards the top. This route is fine from memory, though it was a few years ago. As Claire says above though, it's a long way up from the tarn, so combined with the Screes would make for a long day.

In reply to dangerdave: Thanks a lot for that folks, except for the odd ball talking about the map - you can get stuffed.
Think I will split the idea up into a couple of days.
Cheers
David

In reply to dangerdave:
http://www.stridingedge.net/Walks/2007/02.%20February/02.02.07.htm

In reply to dangerdave:

Good call as Scafell is too good to rush. Make sure you do Slight Side at the same time and have a look at the aircraft remains (very peaceful spot looking out to the coast).

We did the Illgill Head and Whinn Rigg walk in Dec. Use the path in Mitredale either on the way up or down (so do it from the Eskdale side). Mitredale Head is a fantastic little spot.

In reply to dangerdave:

You could bivvy at Burnmoor Lodge, its a bit creepy.

In reply to dangerdave:


Well i'm gonna jump in with a defence of sjc's comment.

A quick glance at the map will tell you that the descent from Illgill Head is a straightforward hillside, and the slope up to Scafell is equally straightforward.

Why do you need to know if there is a path on the ground ? A single compass bearing from Illgill Head will get you where you want to be, with or without a 'path' to follow.

In reply to dangerdave: There is a path over Whin Rigg and Illgill Head, then down to the west of Burnmoor Tarn. From there, if it's clear, or if you're good with map and compass in mist, then it is far simpler to make a direct ascent up onto Scafell. Any ascent on this side is over steepish, grass which can be tussocky. The area around Burnmoor can be boggy, especially at its northern end.

My preference would be, if based at Wasdale Head, to do WR and IH by walking along the base of The Screes, then ascending WR and following the ridge to IH, then descend to Burnmoor and then to Wasdale, leaving Scafell via Hollow Stones and Lord's Rake for a second day. The ascent of Scafell from Burnmoor Tarn is an uniteresting slog.

The best ways up Scafell from its southern end are from Eskdale, via Slight Side, or via the Great Moss and Cam Spout.

I hope this helps.

In reply to butteredfrog:

creepy tales I heard about Burnmoor

The farmer at Miterdale Head (now ruined, about a mile above Low Place in Miterdale) went to market, telling his wife that he would probably be back the following day. The farmer's wife spent the afternoon making tallow candles. At dusk she looked out to see if her husband was returning, but there was no sign of him. To her surprise, however, an old woman, hooded and cloaked, was approaching from the other direction, down the valley from Burnmoor. The old woman asked for lodging for the night, so the farmer's wife prepared a meal for her. After the meal, the old woman fell asleep in front of the fire and started snoring. Her cloak fell back and revealed a knife and what's more, she was really a man. The farmer's wife panicked and ladled some of the hot tallow from the candle making into the man's open mouth. The farmer returned the next day to find a corpse and his wife, who had gone mad.
Since that day, a choking ghost has haunted the old farmhouse at Miterdale Head.

Coffin road, Before the church at Wasdale Head (St Olaf's) was built, there was no consecrated ground there, so corpses were carried to St Catherine's at Boot. The story goes that a funeral party were crossing Burnmoor with a young man's body on the back of a horse. The mist came down, the horse bolted and couldn't be found. The young man's mother died a few months later, so there was another funeral procession. At exactly the same place, the mist came down and the second horse bolted. After much searching, the first horse, still with the young man on its back, was found. The mother's horse has never been found ...

There used to be a small harmonium at Burnmoor Lodge, and my father has a story of meeting someone at dusk and in mist, who stopped just long enough to say "Don't go up th-there - g-g-ghostly m-music on the m-m-moor!"

I stayed the night in my bivi bag !!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35512950@N06/5603830339/in/photostream

In reply to dixmarra:

Was there on a very grey day last year, you always get the feeling you are being watched. Think its the black upstairs windows - coupled with the Old Testament inscription on the gable end and the shredded remains of about 6 dead sheep in a pile at the back of the building.

In reply to dixmarra:
>
>
Thats interesting, I always thought it was because the ground was so stoney at the head, that unless someone was rich/notable, the effort of digging a grave was too much.

In reply to dixmarra:

When copying and pasting from other forums, perhaps you might like to attribute your quotes to the person you copied them from.

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/forummessages.asp?v=8&urn=2&utn=...

(see posts on 11/11/08 at 16:36 and 16:46).

In reply to dangerdave:

Workington Rambling Club


29th January. Start 8.40 am Cockermouth

A. Nether Wasdale, Whin Rigg, Illgill Head, Burnmoor Tarn, Miterdale, Low Holme, Nether Wasdale.

B. Nether Wasdale, Whin Rigg, Illgill Head, Lakeside Path, Nether Wasdale. 4.30pm*

https://sites.google.com/site/workingtonramblingclub3/home/programme-of-wal...

In reply to On Foot:

Apologies to Jonathan Foote for the use of HIS! version of the popular and well documented stories.
more descriptive versions here
http://esmeraldamac.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/corpse-roads-faerie-and-ghostl...

232http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/thelakes/html/topics/ghosts.htm

oh and I took the young man's body out of the back of the horse.

In reply to dixmarra:

Well, I happen to know that your father wasn't the one who told the story about the harmonium ... sorry if I sounded a bit snotty about it.

In reply to dixmarra: Thank you for attributing me. There's a lot of copyright infringement about and it's nice to see that it doesn't always go that way! Glad you enjoyed the post.