What are the best (and worst) Lake District mountain routes? We asked Lakeland experts to nominate their favourite fells and least loved hills, and the results are intriguing. Let the heated debate ensue!
FROM BREATHTAKING BLENCATHRA and hedonistic Helvellyn to miserable Mungrisdale and boring Back o’ Skiddaw, the Lake District is home to the 214 Wainwrights – the iconic tick-list of mountains created by guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright in the 1950s and 1960s.
Whilst many of his choices are undeniably epic, some are arguably dull and uninspiring. Is there a special Wainwright you’d happily hike every week for the rest of your days? Or do you despise one so much you’ve vowed never to set foot on it ever again? We’ve asked regular contributors to The Great Outdoors to propose the very best and worst of Lake District routes, their Wainwrights and Wainwrongs if you like – and their answers throw up a few surprises. n For maps of the best routes featured here, check out thegreatoutdoorsmag.com
VIVIENNE CROW LAKE DISTRICT GUIDEBOOK WRITER
Distance: 7.2km / 4.5 miles Ascent: 765m / 2509ft Duration: 3.5 hours
Most thrill-seekers visiting Blencathra scramble up the razor ridge of Sharp Edge, but there is possibly a better way. Hall’s Fell Ridge – or Narrow Edge as it is also known – is a succession of craggy humps and rocky spines, forming a knobbly arête of eye-watering splendour. Alfred Wainwright described it as “positively the finest way to any mountain top in the district,” with an exhilarating, direct ascent scoring a “bullseye by leading unerringly to the summit”. Award-winning outdoor writer and photographer Vivienne Crow is similarly impressed. She tells TGO: “The sight of this distinctive mountain’s imperious ridges seduces all who enter the Lakes via the A66. The Hall’s Fell approach is narrow and rocky enough to provide a bit of scrambly excitement, but nowhere near as terrifying as Sharp Edge – it’s a must-do route.”
The most common approach to mighty Blencathra begins at Scales and loops northeast to Mousthwaite Comb before ascending Grade 1 Sharp Edge – a knife-edge spine of bare rock that requires scrambling skills and a good head for heights – before descending Hall’s Fell Ridge. But, if that sounds like too much technicality, an ascent of Hall’s Fell and descent of Doddick Fell makes for an equally epic horseshoe walk.
Towering high above Coniston village, The Old Man is a popular fell with high tarns, lofty ridges and the historical remnants of centuries of slate quarrying and copper mining. Some adore it; others see only an industry-scarred, overcrowded summit. “Of course, if you don’t mind a tiresome, stony trudge in the company of dozens of others, then The Old Man’s fine,” says Vivienne
