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Scafell Pike Walk
Scafell Pike by the Corridor Route
Scafell Pike is a particularly complex
mountain. Its main ridge is a roller coaster of
rocky summits and narrow cols buttressed by
a multitude of towering crags and deeply
indented gills. On all sides, its flanks twist and
turn in a seemingly illogical manor extending
their influence all the way out to Langdale,
Borrowdale, Wasdale and Eskdale. This
geography, at first glance seems a little
baffling, closer inspection will however excite
walkers with a sense of adventure. High, wild
and rocky the main crests always throws up a
challenge, regardless of whether it’s the
middle of summer under blistering blue skies
or a short winters’ day with roaring winds and
driven snow.
The easiest route to Scafell Pike is the direct
line via Brown Tongue from Wasdale. This
route whilst popular with people who just
want to bag the summit only really scratches
the surface of what’s on offer. A better choice
is to indulge in a longer approach that
explores all the nuances of this great
mountain range. Cutting across the western
flank of the range from Sty Head and gaining
height steadily is an interconnecting high-
level shelf called the ‘Corridor Route’. This
natural path puts you in a stunning position
below Scafell’s mighty summit dome at
Lingmell Col where it meets with the Brown
Tongue path. From here you can gain the
summit and then descend to Wasdale down
Brown Tongue Path. By doing this circular
route you’ll get to reach roof of England, but
also, along the way you’ll witness peerless
mountain architecture.
Grade
Strenuousness 3
Navigation 4
Technicality 4
Facts
Distance 12.8km (8 miles)
Total ascent 1070m
Time 6.5 hours
Start/finish Wasdale Head GR NY186085
Terrain Farm tracks, stony bridleway, scree,
steep mountain sides, high mountain cols,
narrow rocky path, rocky gills, rock steps,
exposed col, boulder field and rocky summit.
Maps
OS Landranger 89 or 90 (1:50 000)
OS Explorer OL6 & OL4 (1:25 000)
Harveys Superwalker XT25 Lake District West
(1:25 000)
British Mountain Maps Lake District (1:40 000)
1. NY186085 From the car park at Wasdale
Head Green take the track that heads
northeast to the farm at Burnthwaite passing
St Olaf’s church along the way. At Burnthwaite
go past the farm and turn right to join the Sty
Head bridleway. The bridleway climbs in a
long steep traverse across the slopes and
screes of the southern flank of Great Gable to
gain Sty Head.
2. NY218095 Sty Head is a particularly
important mountain pass. Ancient packhorse
routes from all the major valleys converge at
its exposed col the top of the pass is marked
by a mountain rescue stretcher box. The start
of the Corridor Route lays 300m to the east
from the stretcher box along the Esk Hause
bridleway. It is a very narrow path that
descends off to the right and is easily missed.
It first crosses below the steep dark crags of
Spout Head and then encounters the bottom
of Skew Gill. Cross Skew Gill and make the
easy scramble up the short sidewall opposite.
After Skew Gill the Corridor Route makes a
slowly rising traverse across the northwestern
flanks of Great End and Broad Crag to reach
the broad saddle of Lingmell Col. Most of the
way the path is easy to follow but in recent
years, around the head of Greta Gill and Piers
Gill, there have been a number of wash-outs
that have exposed bare rock and made the
path less obvious. Avoid at all costs heading
down into the gills either in the bed of the gills
or the side paths.
3. NY211077 At its high point the Corridor
Route reaches southern side of Lingmell Col,
from here you turn left and head south then
southeast towards Scafell Pike’s summit.
Although the path between the col and the
summit sees lots of traffic the rocky nature of
the ground means it can be easily lost so its
worth paying attention particularly in the mist
or snow.
4. NY215072 Scafell Pike’s summit is worth
exploring to get the best of the views,
particularly impressive if you like big drops are
those views down into Eskdale. Being mostly
stones and bare rock, paths are not that
obvious from the summit of Scafell Pike so it is
worth taking a bearing to make sure you
pickup the right route from the top. Re-trace
your steps back down to Lingmell Col.
5. NY211076 From Lingmell Col ignore the
Corridor Route instead take the path that forks
left and descends southwest to Hollow Stones.
Continue along the path as it swings west and
descends down the moraine of Brown
Tongue. At the bottom of Brown Tongue cross
Lingmell Gill for 300m until a path breaks off
left follow this steeply down as it traverses the
fellside to eventully arrive at a footbridge over
Lingmell Beck.
6. NY189081 Cross the bridge and then follow
the path across the valley bottom to join the
road. Turn right and return to the car park at
Wasdale Head Green.
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after this unique corner of England, encouraging
people to enjoy and understand its beauty and
helping those who live and work here. Our staff
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