Bowfell and four more fells from Langdale • Walking the Cumbrian Mountains

Name of walk	Bowfell and four more fells from Langdale
Date of walk	2011-05-31
Distance walked (miles)	15
Duration of walk	10 hours 30 minutes
Weather	Some sun
Peaks on walk	Bowfell, Esk Pike, Great End, Seathwaite Fell, Rossett Pike
Walked with	Ged and Kas the blind dog
Parking	Lay-by by Rossett Bridge

Yesterday Ged, Kas and I drove to Great Langdale to climb Bowfell (2960ft), Esk Pike (2903ft), Great End (2984ft), Seathwaite Fell (2073ft) and Rossett Pike (2132ft). A walk of about 15 miles over very rough terrain that would eventually take us nearly ten and a half hours to complete…..a LONG walk!!!! The last three weeks have been awful with non-stop gales, I was actually happy to be working! It is now half-term week and I was hoping to get a couple of walks in if the weather improved. This was the day, for once the winds were only 20-45mph with some buffeting on the summits…..it beats 70mph!!!

We started at the lay-by next to Rossett Bridge as we didn`t want to fork-out £6 for the car park at the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, it did mean walking along the road for ten minutes until we reach the path leading to Stool End Farm.

I took this photo on the drive down to Great Langdale. Our route up The Band is straight ahead with Crinkle Crags and Bowfell behind. The Langdale Pikes on the right.

We set off walking at 9am. Here we are approaching Stool End Farm with The Band behind.....I think it is going to rain!

It rained for most of our acsent of The Band, but as we approached Bowfell the rain stopped and the mist started to clear. The Three Tarns route up Bowfell goes diagonally left, we were going to walk the Climber`s Traverse which goes off around to the right. A much more "interesting" route.

The view back down Mickleden (our route back). My car is somewhere beyond the trees. Pike o`Stickle and Harrison Stickle on the left, Coniston Water top right.

Kas leads the way along the Climbers Traverse

You can now see why this route is "interesting"! Tripping over is not advisable!

Bowfell Buttress.

The waterspout at the start of the route up the Great Slab. Wainwright says that "Nothing better ever came out of a barrel or bottle."

Looking over Rossett Pike to Langstrath.

We head up the side of The Great Slab, climbing over boulders.

On the top of The Great Slab.

Looking down The Great Slab and at our route up over the boulders.

We then headed for Bowfell summit. It had taken us three hours to reach the summit. There was a cold wind so we didn`t hang about! Looking over to Scafell and Scafell Pike.

View down into Eskdale.

We head for Esk Pike ahead.

Kas and me on Esk Pike. Glaramara behind me. We had a short, ten minute lunch break in the shelter.

Looking into the Langstrath Valley.

Derwent Water.

Looking over to Broad Crag and Ill Crag.

Descending from Esk Pike with our next Fell, Great End, on the left and Sprinkling Tarn and Seathwaite Fell centre.

On the summit of Great End looking over to Great Gable and Green Gable and down to Sty Head Tarn

Looking over Seathwaite Fell to Seathwaite and Borrowdale.

The Wasdale Valley. Lingmell on the left. Yewbarrow, Red Pike and Pillar ahead, Kirk Fell on the right.

The large summit cairn on Scafell Pike is clearly visible.

Heading back down to Esk Hause. Esk Pike on the right with Bowfell sticking out behind.

Diagonally left to right is the path from Esk Hause that we have just descended. We have arrived at Sprinkling Tarn.

We now head up Seathwaite Fell. Looking across one of the many tarns on Seathwaite Fell with Great End, the fell we have just come down from, behind.

We take in the south summit and head for the north summit with the big cairn and good views.

View down into Seathwaite and Borrowdale

We then return to the track back up to Esk Hause cutting around the near side of Sprinkling Tarn. View back down the path that leads to Sprinkling Tarn.

The "quick" detour to Seathwaite Fell has taken us over two hours. We now head towards Angle Tarn and Rosset Pike.

Angle Tarn.

The view down Mickleden from Rossett Pike summit. It was now 5pm and we have the final descent down Rossett Gill to do and the long walk down the valley, so about another two hours until we reach the pub.....

Making our way down the final section of the Rossett Gill path.

It took us one hour to descend the gill path. Looking back up to pointy Rossett Pike.

It took another hour of walking/hobbling (by this stage my knee was killing me!) to reach the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel where we sat in the pub garden with a cold drink…… Then we had to get up again for the ten minute walk back to the car! Than`ll teach us to be misers!!!

I think a ten and a half hour walk is a little excessive! I shouldn`t need to take two lots of pain-killers in order to complete a walk! But it was either that or have people think I suffered from Tourettes, as shouting a profanity with every step was very tempting!

Jo.