Fairfield Horseshoe 2^nd February 2008

It was just damp when I left home but the forecast for the Cumbrian Fells was snow showers and gales, it could be an interesting day. As I drove north on the motorway there were a couple of sections where there was snow in the outside lane as I drove though showers; there was snow on the pavements in Ambleside so I decided not to try getting to Borrowdale, I would rather be walking than stuck on the road. I parked at Rydal Mount, just across the road from the gates to Rydal Hall, and set off along the track through the grounds; the scenery was delightful with the big, old, dark trees silhouetted against the snow, even though it barely covered the ground.

I was walking in the direction of Ambleside, but I didn't want to have to walk all the way there before I started climbing; after about half a mile walking past the hall I came to the double gate in the fence on the left that I was looking for. A wooden gate gives access to field, the metal one gets you on to a small path beside stream, and after walking through woods you reach a new gate; these days the gate will open, I used to have to climb over the old one. The faint path bears right on its way to Low Sweden Bridge, but you don't have to go all that way round; can go straight ahead and walk up the grassy shoulder, as the gradient eases it's a short walk to join the path coming up from the bridge.

You go through a gap in the wall and the path starts to follow the ridge wall that will take you all the way to Dove Crag and beyond. As you pass through the wall you will see one of the most distinctive and probably one of the oldest trees in the Lake District; a huge girth of a trunk and dark spindly branches silhouetted against the white sky. The ground had become properly covered by recent snow that still provided a good walking surface, the only disturbance being the footsteps of the two walkers a short distance ahead of me.

This early part of the ascent of Low Pike is at an easy enough gradient but following the path by the side of the wall brings you to a twenty feet high rock outcrop. This is the obstacle that you reach if you miss the path around the side of it, as the other walkers had done, or if you like a bit of a scramble and deliberately make your way over to it. The other walkers took the obvious-looking route over rocks by the side of the wall; they obviously didn't know that it is a dead-end that requires an awkward traverse across smooth rock. The rock step route is good in dry weather but with the rocks being covered in snow I decided to take the route by the side of the tree, a small rock chimney that proved to be an awkward clamber over snow-covered boulders to the top of the outcrop. I can't say that the tree route is any easier than the rock steps, but it is more direct and less exposed; I got to the top first and was able to photograph the struggle of one of my co-walkers.

I continued to follow the wall; the sky was full of clouds, and the views back to Windermere were dramatic and I later discovered that the photos look black and white. The sheep were well camouflaged in snow, and they knew it; instead of running away they stood their ground hoping that we wouldn't see them. In order to stay close to the wall I had a steeper climb than the other walkers who kept to the path; clambering up the steep, snow-covered grass was a struggle at times but I made it safely, I had the more interesting route but the walkers were quicker to reach the summit of Low Pike.

I was suddenly at the summit, it was almost invisible against the sky and took me quite by surprise; I scrambled down the snow covered rocks rather than slide over the wall for an easier descent. The wind started to get stronger and it was blowing the fresh snow around, it wasn't snowing but there was a lot of wet snow in the air. I stopped to re-adjust my clothing after the earlier scrambles and realised that I was standing just six feet away from another camouflaged sheep; I hadn't seen it until I looked back just as I was about to start walking again.

The interesting winter conditions made it an enjoyable ascent to High Pike; I had to scramble up snow-covered rocks beside the ruined wall, pausing during the more severe blasts of spindrift, and on level ground I was walking through excellent snow that was more than ankle deep. I had deliberately walked off the path to keep close to the wall and with the path being covered by snow there were several other walkers following in my footsteps; they would probably have stayed on the path if they could have seen it. The others passed me while I was stopped but none of their footsteps got to the cairn at the summit of High Pike, they had continued by the side of the wall, probably without realising that they had passed the summit.

The walk to Dove Crag is usually quite straightforward depending on how wide a diversion you have to make to bypass the bogs, although many people these days walk on the other side of the wall where it the ground seems to be better. On this occasion it was more strenuous, stepping every step through the soft snow, and at times the strong wind drove the spindrift almost into a white-out; only the uncovered rocks prevented the complete disorientation of not being able to distinguish the ground from the sky. It was bleak at the summit of Dove Crag, the wind having scoured the snow from the hard ground and driving more snow across it too quickly for it to settle.

My hands were getting cold at this stage, I had had to remove most of my gloves in order to change the batteries in my camera; by the time I was ready to make a movie of the blizzard-like conditions the wind had dropped and spoiled the making of another classic. I set off towards Hart Crag, still following the wall; there was decent snow to walk through, although the wind had created drifts that were knee deep. As I started to make the rugged climb to Hart Crag there were difficult gusts of wind that made it awkward to make progress up the bouldery ground; the spindrift was in my face making it difficult to see where I was going.

As I approached the summit plateau of Hart Crag, I made a beeline for the summit, stepping through deep snow that filled the gaps between boulders; there were no other footprints at the cairn although I had seen several other walkers. I made my way back over to the path, which was difficult to make out; Hart Crag can be a confusing place if you can't see the path or the cairns. I started the descent and even I had trouble finding the path; what is very obvious normally can be worryingly difficult to find in the snow, although personally I had no doubts about where I was going. As I reached the col, I met a party of walkers who had come off Fairfield in the wrong direction and had descended the same way that they had climbed; I don't think they had any intention of retracing their steps again.

There are more rocks, more snow and more boulders to clamber over on the climb to Fairfield, the wind eased off while I was climbing up to the the edge of the summit plateau. There is a rugged section to walk across on relatively level ground before you reach the true summit plateau. It became windy again, bleak and windswept, the visibility was poor but there were plenty of people walking around but not many hanging around at the summit of Fairfield. I didn't hang around either, it is important to make sure you find right path off the summit; there are too many cairns if you are looking for clues, I know the place well enough not to have to rely on them. My hands were still cold and not warming up in the strong, cold wind; I was hoping that losing some height might bring them back to life.

It's a relatively easy ridge to descend, and the wind eased off a bit giving my hands some relief from the cold. After a straightforward descent and easy climb I reached the summit of Great Rigg, the last of the obvious summits on the ridge descending from Fairfield. There is more easy, undulating ridge but it's further than you think to the unlikely summit of Heron Crag; I can never really make up my mind exactly where it is. The descent to Nab Scar is also further than you think, the undulations are steeper and shorter and eventually you start to walk by the side of a ruined wall. The summit is marked by one of the cairns on one of the small knolls near the wall, the dappled effect of snow on the rocks doesn't help in trying to decide which one it is.

I do know that after you pass the summit there is a steep descent with a couple of awkward steps, although the final steep descent has been repaired in recent years and thankfully was relatively clear of snow. The descent ends at Rydal Mount, just where I left the car; it had indeed been an interesting day as forecast

Andy Wallace 2^nd February 2008

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