‘THE GRANDEST OBJECT’

Tucked away behind Skiddaw in this view is Blencathra, the other behemoth of the northern Lake District, and the fell to which Wainwright devoted the most pages – 36! – in his Pictorial Guides. ‘This is a mountain that compels attention,’ he wrote, ‘even from those dull people whose eyes are not habitually lifted to the hills’. Part of the pull is the series of ridges that rake up its slopes, including the infamous Sharp Edge, which ‘can be traversed only à cheval at some risk of damage to tender parts’ and is best avoided altogether in winter. Find simpler going on Doddick Fell – ‘a grand climb, quite easy… a splendid way to the top’ – with a descent down the broad flank of Blease Fell. Of course, even the easiest routes with that terrain and altitude (the highest point is 2848 feet) need careful consideration in winter. If snow has turned all routes to crampon-needy quests then the nearby Castlerigg stone circle is a fascinating low-level objective, its prehistorically-arranged boulders backed by mighty Blencathra, ‘one of the grandest objects in Lakeland’.

WALK HERE: Turn to Walk 27 in this issue for a Blencathra route.