Lake District - 15 Wainwrights 17/07/2012

Distance - 21miles

Ascent – 7937feet

Time – 10hrs 5min

Route – Glenridding – Glenridding Dodd – Sheffield Pike – Hart Side – Stybarrow Dodd – Watson Dodd – Great Dodd – Clough Head – Retrace steps to Sticks Pass – Raise – Helvellyn – Nethemost Pike – Dollwagon – Seat Sandal – Deepdale Hause – Birks – Glenridding

Map of the route

I managed to get a couple of days booked off from work and decided I need to get up to the Lake District to tick some more Wainwrights of my list. I came up with a route starting in Glenridding that would tick 15 Wainwrights off. The weather wasn’t looking promising but that wasn’t going to put me off I would just change the route as and if need be. On the drive up the weather was looking really good may be I was going to be lucky.

As I arrived in Glenridding I was greeted with clear blue skies may be I was going to luckily enough to have a full day’s walking in the sun, this would be welcomed change with all the bad weather we have been having. On leaving the car I quickly starting my ascent of the 1^st Wainwright Glenridding Dodd which is a tough little climb in the baking sun. From the summit the climbing didn’t stop as Sheffield Pike is higher so this was turning into a very hard start to the walk but the cracking views of the Lakeland Fells were helping.

From the summit of Sheffield Pike I had a little decent down to Nick head which was a welcomed brake from all the climbing a gentle path lead me to Hart Side. Next on the list was the Dodd’s they were only little ascents but were starting to take it out of me so I decided to stop for dinner on Great Dodd in the big shelter where a very brave lamb came to say hello to the dogs. As I was packing my stuff away the cloud was rolling in bringing the rain with it.

I left in thick fog to bag the furthest Wainwright of Clough Head before starting to retrace my steps back to Sticks Pass luckily I didn’t have to summit all the Dodd’s again I could skirt around the sides. The fog and rain was really bad now and navigation was starting to be really difficult so I decided to use the sat nav.        

The climb up to Raise was tough being the 8^th Wainwright of the day my legs were starting to tire and the climbing wasn’t going to end any time soon as I was on the way to the highest summit of the day Helvellyn from Raise to Whiteside was really tough on my legs and I really was starting to think I had taken on too much and being in the thick fog for the most of the day wasn’t helping. Eventually I reached Helvellyn where I stopped in the shelter and made my SIS Fuel drink and had some food.

The food and drink really seemed to have helped as I quickly bagged the next two Wainwrights then I had to descend to Grisedale Tarn where my next summit stood out and I would have to walk all the way to the summit just to walk back down the other side which would bring me back to where I started this took a lot of mental strength as I was still in thick fog and rain.

I had a gentle climb up to Deepdale Hause but even that was tough going but this was my last climb of the day which speared me on to bag my final two Wainwrights of the day. I Descended from Birks down to the Beck following the path past Lanty’s Tarn arriving back to the car really tired.

I think this must have been the hardest walk I have done for some time but really happy to have bagged 15 more Wainwrights in one walk.

Click here to see all the pics from the walk