KYQ4: Kentmere Wainwrights

Ascent of Shipman Knotts

The first outing in the Lake District hills for 2 years was a welcome treat. On the drive down from Keswick, the hills were obviously fizzing with visitors with cars parked along the roadside for all the popular routes to the hills. Gregor and I decided on an early start to secure a parking place at the head of Kentmere. Gregor would run the seven Wainwright hills that provide the skyline to Longsleddale but start from Kentmere, which involves a lot shorter drive than to Longsleddale. I had decided to climb the three Kentmere Wainwrights and to return via the Nan Bield Pass and the Kentmere Valley, a place that I had never visited before.

Sunday 27 July 2021

Ascent: 672 metres
Distance: 14 kilometres
Time: 2 hours 52 minutes

Shipman Knotts 600m 45mins
Kentmere Pike 707m 1hr 10mins
Harter Fell 775m 1hr 31mins

We left Langdale at 8am, the journey was on quiet roads but the single track road from Stavely was slow going. We found a parking place just before Hallow Bank where the track to Longsleddale begins and the route up Shipman Knotts starts at the high point of this track. We agreed that we would aim to be back by noon. Gregor galloped off, glad to be back in the land of Herdwick sheep.

It was a steep pull up to Shipman Knotts and although still cloudy it was a still and warm day. The fells were alive with walkers and runners and by the time I had arrived at Kentmere Pike and stopped for some fuel, I had passed 6 people on their descents and then a runner arrived and continued towards Harter Fell. I began to follow him on the downhill section, I was catching him and in the past, it would have prompted my race genes but as the uphill section began my walking gene kicked in as I watched him climb steadily to the untidy cairn.

On the summit of Harter Fell, I briefly thought of heading east towards Branstree and Selside Pike but doubted that I could climb these two hills and still make it back in three hours. I would still have to return to climb Tarn Crag and the bog encircled Gray Crag and I thought they might be better climbed from Hawes Water at some future date. So with a noisy party approaching the summit and their dog chasing sheep on the fine grazings of Harter, I began the descent to Nan Bield on a steep path through the crags. There were good views to Small Water and Kidsty Pike so I stopped for some photos and a drink once clear of the madding crowd. At the shelter stone, there were three or four groups of walkers, I was tempted to head across to High Street but time would not allow this so I began the descent to Kentmere.

The path was too stony for easy running so I enjoyed the walk and the solitude of the valley. I met an elderly but fit lady who had an easy cadence and was walking from Kentmere to Patterdale. We chatted for a while about the joys of returning to the fells after the last year of lockdowns. The restrictions on exercise and access to the hills was one of the least sensible measures introduced by government and she echoed these sentiments, she regarded the hills as her gymnasium and source of well being.

I passed Kentmere reservoir and negotiated the lower paths and tracks to arrive back shortly after Gregor. He was doing an extra mile or so to achieve his weekly running target having already collected a couple of Strava crowns on his 24 kilometre round of 7 Wainrights in 2hrs 23 minutes. Happy days are here again.