Scrambling Course - Lake District

Monday-Tuesday, 22-23 August 2016

Magda bought tickets for Cumbria Vegan Festival which was to take place on 20th August. I decided to extend the trip to The Lakes by booking a scrambling course with Graham Uney. My aim was to practise basic ropework, learn how to build belays and abseil so that I would gain enough confidence to tackle grade 3 scrambles. On top of this, we planned to spend a night at Priest's Hole. The last thing did not pan out due to horrible weather but at least we visited a couple of good pubs in Windermere with our new friends.

On Sunday, on our way from Windermere to Chapel House Farm campsite in Borrowdale, we stopped in Keswick and did a bit of indoor climbing in the King Kong Climbing Centre. The place was a bit crowded and smaller than I imagined but we managed to get some exercise before the course. We had to hire shoes and belay device but we had our own harnesses which we brought for the course.

We have never been to Chapel House Farm campsite before. I picked it up due to the fact that we would meet our instructor not far from there. Campsite offers great views of the mountains surrounding Borrowdale. 

View towards High Knot from Chapel House Farm campsite

We were lucky enough to arrive after the Saturday flash flooding has gone away otherwise we would have struggled to get to the campsite. The evening was dry but it was raining at night and in the morning.

Chapel House Farm campsite

On Monday we met with our instructor Graham Uney. We knew Graham from our winter skills course. The plan was to set off from High Lodore Farm Cafe and spend a day at Shepherd's Crag. We scrambled up the Jackdaw Ridge learning mainly about building belays but also basics about climbing gear. Magda and I were swapping leads so that both of us would learn. Even though the morning was wet (earlier we were preparing our breakfast inside the tent) the rest of the day was sunny and dry. Jackdaw Ridge is a very nice scramble where you are surrounded by trees for most of the route and then you come out to the flat point at the top of the crag. From there you can admire views towards Derwent Water and can see the top part of the Little Chamonix climbing route.

Me on top of Shepherd's Crag

View toward Derwent Water. Flooding visible.

High Lodore Farm Cafe car park from above

I have never done abseiling before but was keen on learning this skill in case of having to retreat off a route. We practised on a crag nearby. Sadly I don't remember the name of the crag and only know it is being used by beginners.

After abseiling down to our own surprise we managed to climb back up to the top and this was a moderate climb rather than a scramble! There is hope for us after all.

Magda abseiling

Plan for the second day: Cam Crag Ridge in Langstrath. We met around 9:30am in Stonethwaite and set off south to Cam Crag along Stonethwaite Beck. After the pub, we passed the Stonethwaite camping site which looked much quieter than busy Chapel House Farm. We shall use that campsite next time. We also passed Tilly's Barn which could be worth considering in colder months.

Cam Crag offers various options for scrambling. This is why the Cicerone guide grades this route as 1,2 or 3 scramble depending on the particular variant chosen.

Looking at the start of Cam Crag scramble

The weather was excellent allowing great views towards Bowfell, Crinkle Crags but also Skiddaw and Blencathra. 

Bowfell in the far background

View towards Blencathra and Skiddaw

Pike of Stickle in the background

It took us about an hour to get to the start point and Graham provided us with lots of information about climbing gear, climbing shops and wildlife. We also heard about a secret cave hidden somewhere in the Langstrath valley. We ought to try to find it one day.

We came across quite interesting plant we had no idea about earlier. It is called Sundew and it eats midges. We definitely need more of these plants!

Sundew - a carnivorous plant

The scrambling was good. We were trying to pick rather more difficult sections but stayed within scrambling grades. 

After initial part where we practised using all the gear, the scrambling could be avoided and one could simply choose to walk on grassy slopes. We obviously went for scrambling, this time without a rope. 

Upper sections of Cam Crag scramble

We turned towards the valley of Combe Gill for our return route. We stayed well above the beck and then walked to where we camped on our first night i.e. Chapel House Farm campsite. As we were getting closer to the campsite I recognized a ridge that appears on the cover of the Cicerone scrambling guide for north of Lake District. It turned out to be the Intake Ridge, excellent grade 3 scramble which has been added to my to-do list.

After coming back to Stonethwaite everyone was up for a cold drink. Water drunk straight from a stream earlier provided only brief refreshment. 

Free food

For us, it was a very good and useful two days. At last, I felt confident enough to buy scrambling gear and start using it properly which I did the same week.

Is this supposed to be some kind of irony?