Park and Stride

Great Gable from Honister Pass

Including Green Gable with optional return via Brandreth and Grey Knotts

Let's get cracking ...

The actual first priority is getting to the top of the Drum House incline. Known as the Lancaster Aerial it was a poor piece of equipment, the slate coming down painfully slow, the black jack oil spilling onto the clog gearing making it quite inefficient, inevitably it has all been cleared away. Nowadays the stone is carried down in half-an-hour quite elegantly.

Inviting steps guide you up from the western end of the car park off the quarry track. The pitching is excellent so a steady comfortable pace should be achieved, starting steep the gradient soon eases.  Drawing near to the brow, a cairn invites you to branch left. The regular path now makes a far steadier ascent across the western slopes of Grey Knotts. As a fence hoves into view one may continue on the traversing line or better bear up left to cross a light stile in a fence.

The preferred route crosses the fence and slants south-westwards across a somewhat stony pasture to Gillercomb Head, a broad hollow containing three irregular tarns, a joy to behold when laced with ice. The ridge south onto the summit of Green Gable is quite without incident. The summit cairn at 2,628’/801m a place to pause and consider the shadowed precipice of Gable Crag. Pillar, Ennerdale and the rear of the High Stile ridge command attention westwards, as too Glaramara and Great End to the east, with the Langdale Pikes peeping over the shoulder of Allen Crags.

An elevated giant ...

The ridge path plummeting hastily down to Windy Gap some 168 feet has become unsightly, so take your time and minimise stone disturbance.  A large cairn rests in the dip from where paths break west into Stone Cove to link with Moses Trod and east down the Aaron Slack to Styhead Tarn. Ready yourself for the big push of 490 feet/150m. For at last you are upon Great Gable, an elevated giant resting on the shoulders of its fellows! The path winds up the steepening rock slope, with a choice of several mild scrambly lines. An intermediate ridge gives scope to glance right at Gable Crag and back to Green Gable before tackling the final rocky section. Being a domed plateau the climb duly eases, making the final strides to the summit outcrop all the more confident and exhilarating.

Pay your own respects at the Fell & Rock Climbing Club Memorial and resting in the lee of the icy draught revel in the all round view from 2.950ft/899m, ok, it’s as like as not beset with cloud! The most stunning viewpoint however is defined by the Westmorland Cairn, which is located due south-west a matter of 150 yards distant. The cairn stands precariously on the very brink overlooking the huge downfall of Westmorland Crags peering into Great Hell Gate and the jagged combed crest of Great Napes. Lingmell and the Scafells are superbly seen as too Wasdale and Wastwater, while back to the west the Mosedale horseshoe beyond Kirk Fell, focused upon the striking outline of Pillar. Obviously good visibility is needed to see it all at its best and if you can see the Isle of Man then you know you’ve hit it right.

Watch your step!

Turning back north-eastwards you’ve no choice but to backtrack, preferably as far as Gillercomb Head. The worst going obviously the path off the summit, most walkers find descent more uncomfortable than ascent, when wet, icy and /or windy things get tense, so do take your time and watch your step.

From Gillercomb Head the choice is simple enough either, with light a concern, retrace the cairned path trending north-west across the flank of Brandreth and on down Moses Trod to the Drum House incline. Known ground is always to be preferred when visibility is in question or time at a premium.

Though I have to say the ridge route holds no ghosts. Brandreth summit at 2,346ft/715m is the first of the three apparent tops on a wide undulating rocky plateau en-countered due north from Gillercomb Head. It is a fine viewpoint, Great Gable seen as a domed mass in stark shadowed outline, the setting sun glaring in your eyes from over Black Sail Pass. A new fence intervenes along the ridge and you will need to cross the stile to keep to the west side, passing pools en route to the west summit of Grey Knotts at 2,287ft/697m. For all bar the most particular summiteers this will suffice. That the east top, beyond the fence may be higher by the merest tad, is of little or no consequence. Anyway the view down into the Buttermere valley is so good all your attention will be cast that way, whether floodlit by late afternoon light, or if your luck is out, flooded with drizzly cloud.

Great Napes to Wasdale

Almost done ...

The best of Grey Knotts should be reserved for a summer expedition, with all the scenic action down its eastern flanks, Gillercomb Buttress, the Plumbago Mines and Sour Milk Gill blue chip attractions.

 Follow the fence right, then coming by a stile dip off half-left, a path is discernible, in snow this may not be the case, but steep ground  is unavoidable, rocks are. The going has no pitfalls over mossy turf. Latterly the path descends by a gill traversing right to regain the track leading to the Slate Mine sheds and shop.

After walk refreshment

While the quarry site is open walkers can obtain a free cup of tea or coffee at the shop. Its a do-it-yourself service and a perfect end to the day. Otherwise you’ll have to drive down to find pubs in Seatoller, Stonethwaite, Rosthwaite, Buttermere and Keswick. Note the Yewtree in Seatoller will be open from Boxing Day till the 5th January, closing for the remainder of January, opening for the season at half-term weekend in February. This is the nearest option for a good winter brew and fayre, so make a point of calling in if you can.

Mark's picture gallery and guides

There are twenty colour images from this walk posted on the Radio Cumbria website that may just set the pulse racing enough to clinch your decision to head of the hills. Well we hope so - check out the link at the top RHS of this page.

Incidentally, Mark is the author of the Collins guidebook series Lakeland Fellranger with four titles currently available: Central Fells, Mid-Western Fells, Near Eastern Fells and Southern Fells. Great Gable has yet to figure in the series. Regrettably aficionados have a couple of years to wait on that score! A signed copy of the Southern Fells will be sent to the first listener to send a .jpg photo of Westmorland Cairn to markrichards.walkfree@virgin.net

Listen in for news of the January Park and Stride feature walk, when the lucky recipient of the guide will be revealed ... they'll be walking on air!

Copyright: Mark Richards Dec 2005