|
|
|
BONSCALE PIKE (3) - ARTHUR'S PIKE (4)
Scroll down to view the photographs after the report or click here For the start of this walk we parked at a little lay-by half way up the Howtown zigzags between Howtown and Martindale, close to Hallin Fell. It was about 10.30 a.m. and it was beginning to look like we weren’t going to find a parking place, but luckily managed to squeeze the car between another vehicle and a grass verge with a "No Parking" sign close by! From here it was a short walk towards the start of the climb from behind the Howtown Hotel. The weather looked promising. Sunny, warm and best of all dry. At the hotel we met our first problem, how to locate the start of the climb up Bonscale Pike. This seems to be a habit we have, being unable to find the starts of our walks! Footpath found we crossed over a stone bridge/path passing over a small stream and leading to the rear of the hotel. The path up Bonscale Pike wasn’t very clear in places and was quite steep from the very start; the recommended route by Wainwright was a diagonal one across the face of the fell in order to lessen the degree of climb. It was slow going and obviously we had plenty of stops including our lunch break about half way, close to a point marked on Wainwright’s map with a "cairn on a boulder". We met our first walker at this point, a lone female, coming down the fell. The plus side of such a steep ascent is the instant views of the surrounding fells and countryside. Already Ullswater looked superb. Once rested and our energy levels boosted by our packed lunch, we were off again. In places the path disappeared altogether, indeed, on Wainwright’s map its marked as an "intermittent footpath". Soon we could see a stone pillar above us against the skyline and what we thought to be the summit, with a few people standing close by. It later turned out to be one of three or four stone pillars on the summit, but not the highest point. This last section was again quite steep and rocky which made it a little more exciting to climb but we soon reached the first two major stone pillars close to the edge of the fell, one known as Bonscale Tower, a very well built cairn. This turned out to offer the best and more dramatic views over looking Ullswater and the near by Hallin Fell. It was quite a view. After the girls and I added a few little stones to the pillars we made for the small cairn on a grassy hummock behind us, which marked the highest point on Bonscale Pike at 1,718 feet (524 metres). Once on the summit it levels off and looks more like a moor land setting. Nearby is an area known as "Swarthbeck Gill" and which Wainwright warns of its, "dangers to clumsy pedestrians". From here there are a couple of ridge routes that can be followed, Loadpot Hill 1½ miles to the southeast, or Arthur’s Pike 1 mile to the northeast, which is the one we will be heading for. We had hoped to do both but time wasn’t on our side. From the summit we headed down a grassy slope making our way southeast towards the beck, crossing it at a sheepfold and then doubling back along the opposite slope. We could see a couple of walkers crossing the beck towards us but looked like they were following it along towards Swarthbeck Gill. Nearing the beck the ground became a bit marshy. After crossing the beck we headed off, following a prominent path, towards Arthur’s Pike along fairly level ground. There was a smaller cairn near to Arthur’s Pike, which we made for just in case we had got our bearings wrong! It was here that we caught sight of a herd of wild ponies. Great to see. Upon reaching the summit of Arthur's Pike, 1,747 feet (532 metres), we had another rest and a snack whilst taking in the beautiful views. We also got chatting to an older gentleman who I believe lived local. He recommended alternative routes to follow back to Howtown if we didn't want to retrace our steps back to Bonscale Pike. Again the surrounding area was more like a moor land setting, and at one point a large pack of hounds went running past, barking and howling as they went. There didn’t seem to be any one with them but, as I found out later, someone could have laid a scent for them earlier to follow, a form of training I suppose. I was a bit concerned at first and advised the girls to be quiet as the hounds passed. I didn’t want to give them any encouragement to head towards us! Again rested it was time to head back. We were in two minds as to follow the route that the local gent gave us, heading down to the lake and following the path back to Howtown, or to follow the route back along the ridge. We decided to follow the route along the ridge, being shorter, and also decided to head over to Swarthbeck Gill. It didn’t look as bad as Wainwright had described as we followed along the edge of the Gill with no problems other than a stop to remove something from Siobhan’s boot. We eventually reached the remains of what looked like some sort of building, situated along side the beck where we had earlier crossed. Here it was Vikki’s turn to remove something from her boot. From here it was just a case of retracing our route back across Bonscale Pike and back down towards the Howtown Hotel. It was just as hard going down as it was coming up, especially on our knees and toes! Vikki and Siobhan had their own way of getting down, crouched down and sliding! One thing that was easier on the return journey was being able to see the path more clearly and it wasn’t long before we were back at the hotel. We decided to call into the hotel for a bit of "light refreshment!" A glass of beer shandy for me, and a bottle of coke each for the girls, Annette not wanting anything, then a short walk back to the car and two Wainwright fells in the "bag".
|
