UKC

Me and some friends are heading up to the Lakes this weekend en route to Fairhead and looking for some advice on what might be in condition right now?

Ideally we'd like to get up on the higher mountain stuff Scafell, Dow Crag, Pavey Ark, but none of us have been to the Lakes much, so unsure of what's likely to be clean and dry at this time of year/ after current weather? (aiming in the E1-5 range). Basically we don't want to walk and hour + in to find a load of damp lichen!

Any recommendations on low key minimal facility campsites near the above would be great too! thanks

It currently looks dry from about 4pm on Friday after a couple of wet days so you'd want fairly fast drying stuff.

From the current forecast I'd say Scafell will be wet. I would predict that Pavey will have some wet and some dry routes with Arcturus (E1 5b), Capella (E1 5b) likely to be wet, whereas stuff above Jack's Rake like Golden Slipper (HVS 5a) more likely to be dry.

The Napes dries quickly and has good routes in the low extremes as well as the more famous easy routes.

Whit's End Direct (E1 5b) and other routes on Gimmer also dry off quickly.

As Lakes Winter says, rain is forecast Weds, Thurs and Friday until the evening. Don't bother with any high crags unless, like Gimmer, they face south or south west... To be honest, you might be best somewhere like Black Crag, Wrynose, where you only have  a relaxed 30min walk-in and can bin it if it's wet. Plenty of good routes there for an evening at HVS to E3 on immaculate rock, e.g. Ann's Agony, Glass Slipper, Slipshod, The First Touch, Yellow Fever, Pocket Crack, Pocket Way. Lightning Crag, 10mins walk away, also has a few more short E1/E2 gems and some hard routes (E5?). Langdale campsite is pricey but pleasant.

If you end up in Borrowdale, try Chapel House Farm campsite - more minimalist, in a beautiful setting with two pubs near. Or, if you don't need a pub, Hollows Farm has a lovely woodland feel to it and is very near Steel Knotts as well as a lot of the crags on the east of the valley, e.g. Shepherds, Quayfoot and the hard bouldering on the Bowderstone.

Burnt Crag, in the Duddon is another option... but I honestly don't think it will dry quickly enough. Someone else be may be more optimistic. Turner House Farm campsite is lovely.

Thanks a lot for the advice. Much appreciated. I will consult the guidebook!