Peak to Pub Day 3: Wasdale to Eskdale

If Day 1 is the gentle one, this is the big one. On paper it’s the shortest day of the week — about 15km — but it takes in Scafell Pike and Sca Fell, the two highest mountains in England, back to back, and it has a sting in the tail that caught us out properly. This was the day we got lost.

We were based just over the fells at the Lion and the Lamb in Gosforth for these western days, so Wasdale was a short drive away. We started from Wasdale Head, which is about as grand a place to begin a hill day as the Lakes offers. The crags of the Scafell massif sit right at the head of the valley, and there’s nothing gradual about it — you’re climbing almost from the car park.

Scafell Pike

The pull up to Scafell Pike from Wasdale is the standard “highest peak in England” route, and on a busy day you’ll share it with everyone doing the Three Peaks. It’s relentless rather than technical: a long, rocky, knee-and-lung climb. The summit itself is a great heap of boulders with a trig and a war-memorial cairn, and if the cloud’s off it, the view is the lot — Gable, the Scafell crags, the sea out west.

The bit between the two

Here’s the catch nobody tells you about. Getting from Scafell Pike to Sca Fell looks like nothing on the map — they’re barely a kilometre apart — but the direct line drops you onto Mickledore and straight into Broad Stand, which is a rock climb, not a walk, and has hurt a lot of people who’ve tried to wing it. You don’t go that way. You drop off and round, either by Foxes Tarn or by Lord’s Rake, both of which are steeper and looser and slower than you’d expect. It’s the slowest kilometre of the day. Take your time over it and don’t be tempted by the shortcut.

Once you’re up, Sca Fell (the one without the “Pike”) is a quieter summit than its famous neighbour and, to my mind, the better one for it.

Slight Side — and then the wheels came off

From Sca Fell the route heads south, the crowds vanish completely, and you pick your way over Slight Side, the last top of the day. After that it’s “just” the descent to Eskdale. Which is where we came unstuck.

The ground below Slight Side is open, rolling, pathless fell — the kind of terrain that all looks the same in every direction, especially when you’re tired and the light’s flattening out. We came off the top, lost the thread of the line we wanted, and within twenty minutes genuinely didn’t know which valley we were dropping into. This is the most geographically challenged we’ve ever been on a walk. We stopped, got the OS map out properly, picked out what we could actually identify in the scenery around us, and worked out our bearings from there before we committed to going any further down. No drama in the end, but a good reminder: a phone is not a substitute for knowing where you are, and open fellside in poor light is exactly where it bites.

The Woolpack

We got it sorted and came down into Eskdale, and the Woolpack Inn appeared like the promised land. We weren’t staying — we never did, all week — but we had our lemonade and sat for a long time. After Scafell, Sca Fell, Slight Side and a navigational wobble, it was very well earned.

Practical notes

Parking at Wasdale, and the Woolpack and Eskdale at the other end, are in the Before you go box above. Wasdale is car-only and fills early; Eskdale has the narrow-gauge railway if you want a car-free way out.

This is a serious mountain day. Two of England’s highest peaks, a genuinely hazardous direct line between them that you must avoid (Broad Stand), and a descent where the navigation matters. Map (OS Explorer OL6), compass, and the skill to use them — not optional. We needed ours.

The GPX above is our actual track, navigational wobble and all. Trail’s figure is 14km and 1,387m; ours read a little over, partly thanks to the unplanned detour.

---

Part of the Lake District Peak to Pub. Previous: Day 2, Buttermere to Wasdale. Next: Day 4, Eskdale to Langdale.