Visiting the northern Lake District without scaling either of the two biggest mountains of Skiddaw or Blencathra is a bit like driving through Glencoe for the first time without stopping to admire the view. They kind of have to be done, especially if it’s your first time to the area as it was for me. On this occasion I’d be completing a Blencathra circular walk. It was an incredible route, which saw me admire the mountain’s hulking mass from three sides before finally climbing all the way to its rocky summit. What a day out!
The Route
I started this amazing walk from Lingy Hut bothy after staying there the previous evening. Click here to read more about what you can expect when visiting. As basic as the shelter is, it is comfortable and provides a truly wild setting to spend the night.
If you’d rather just do the entire walk in one hit, then it is possible to park for free near the small village of Mosedale. Which ever option you choose, one thing you’ll notice from the route statistics below the maps is that the journey is long. You can expect this one to last an entire day and you’ll likely sleep and eat well at the end of it.
There are certainly shorter routes you can take if you only wish to climb Blencathra, but I recommend this one as it offers so much variety plus a couple of real treats along the way such as Skiddaw House. More about this remote building a little later though.
Either way, you’ll require a good level of fitness to complete the walk plus an early start if you want to take your time and be back before darkness falls.
Route Statistics
Total distance from Mosedale ( including a trip to Lingy Hut ): 32 km
Distance from Lingy Hut: 25.3 km
Total Distance from Mosedale excluding Lingy Hut- 28.5km
Elevation gain from Mosedale: 1493 metres
Elevation gain from Lingy Hut: 1101 metres
Estimated time from Mosedale: 10 hours
Estimated time from Lingy Hut: 8 hours
The Blencathra Circular Walk- Lingy Hut to Skiddaw House
The terrain you cover on this leg of the walk is likely to be as wild as anywhere else you’ve visited in the more remote parts of England. Indeed I passed only three people over the space of around two and a half hours.
GPS is certainly required in this remote part of the park, as I suspect the elevated moors spend a fair bit of the year sat in the clouds. This was the case for me and it was hard at times to know the difference between north and south. Occasionally paths will appear to fork off in several different directions too when only one on the map is shown. Just be aware of this, so that you don’t end up in a location you had no intention of visiting. The route is already long enough I’m sure you’ll agree!
You stick above the 600 metre contour line until you reach the rather unremarkable summit of Coomb Height. A pile of stones rather than a proper trig point marks the highest point. There is likely to be nobody else around, as you stand and enjoy the brilliant views into a deep valley, which separates you from the northwestern slopes of Blencathra.
Into The Valley
There is a fairly easy path to follow all the way down into the valley. By this stage you are likely to be out of the clouds and the wind should have eased too if it was blowy up on the moors. Finally some protection from the elements is provided. If you are cursed with a block head wind though, then ignore my previous promise of improved conditions!
Other than the shelter you may receive, the other bonus of this part of the Blencathra circular walk is that The Cumbria Way is used. You’ll only be following it for around 5 of its 112km length, however it is still great walking a well-known track, which offers fuss-free hiking. It is also fairly flat for this section and so ground is covered fairly quickly. Navigation is incredible easy too. Skiddaw House can be spotted off in the distance and you just need to keep heading west towards it. Click here to find out more about the entire Cumbria Way route.
Reaching Skiddaw House
What a place this is to enjoy and take refuge in along the way! Until fairly recently the building was up for sale, but is now used as a youth hostel. After visiting, I can certainly say it is a place I hope to return to for at least a night. There is nothing better than getting away from it all and there are few spots more remote than Skiddaw House.
You will need to make an advanced booking if you wish to stay overnight at the hostel, but the toilets and dining area are open for passing walkers and cyclists. The weather wasn’t particularly bad on the day I completed this walk, but I can imagine that calling in here after being battered by the elements would be a real treat. Leaving the building’s comfort and heading out again would be a different matter though!
During my brief stop I chatted to a couple from Carlisle and a group of older gentlemen who were preparing themselves for an ascent of Skiddaw. A chap also joined us, who was staying at the hostel for three nights. No wonder he seemed so relaxed!
It was wonderful to swap stories over a cup of tea and eventually we all seemed to head off at the same time, all heading in different directions of course.
Click here to find out more about the hostel and possibly plan a visit yourself.
The Calm Before The Climb
After your stop at Skiddaw House, you are eased back into the walk for the next three miles or so. The Cumbria Way continues south and amazing valley views are offered once again along the way. Around a mile along the track, you bear left and cross a bridge to continue the journey around the bottom of Blencathra. It is hard not to gaze up towards the upper reaches of the mountain you know you’re about to scale.
Several small burns cross this path and these make a great place to fill your water bottles ready for the ascent. I carried a two litre bottle, which proved more than sufficient for the rest of the journey. It is worth noting that much of the remaining route is high and doesn’t offer many other places to collect water.
As you near the path which will take you to Blencathra’s summit, you are offered tremendous views across The Lake District. In many ways it is different to what you’ve sampled so far on the walk. It is far more typical of the scenery you’re perhaps familiar with when thinking about the area. Forest-filled valleys, rolling hills giving way to more dramatic mountains and of course lakes are all present in this view. I was certainly more than happy to sit for a minute or two just to enjoy the scenery around me. It was stunning and reminded me again why The Lakes are so well loved by many.
The Climb Of Blencathra
It is here that the hard work begins. Much of the walk up to this point has been gently undulating at most ( unless you visited Lingy Hut ) and you’re about to engage muscles that haven’t been used very much so far.
The steepest part of the climb is near the start, which I think makes it easier to navigate. As a keen cyclist I can certainly claim that the toughest climbs are those that pitch up at the end when you’re already tired.
After around a kilometre or so, the gradient eases and it is a manageable ascent to the summit. The path is also easy to follow, although it is exposed and no shelter can be found along the way. I found the climb a difficult one to dress for. I soon warmed up and had sweat dripping off my forehead on the climb. As soon as I stopped though, my body temperature dropped quickly and the many layers I was carrying had to be put on. The windchill at around seven hundred metres was worse than I was expecting.
It is easy to forget how the temperature drops by 1 degree celsius for every hundred metres of elevation gain. Conditions on the summit can be very different to those at the base of the mountain. A waterproof and several warm layers must be carried. My easily packable down jacket from Decathlon proved to be an excellent piece of kit once again.
Reaching The Summit
I’m sure the summit of Blencathra is a remarkable place to stand on a clear day. With it’s northerly position in the national park, views out over the rest of the mountains can be great as the photo below shows.
Typically, I was gifted with no such views. Visibility was down to around a hundred metres a good way before the summit, so it just appeared that I was standing above a foggy chasm.
The video clip below shows a brief view on the climb before I reached the summit at 868 metres.
The Trickiest Part Of The Walk
That subheading above applies to ease of navigation as you make your way off of the summit. The total lack of visibility made things even trickier for me, however it is still challenging due to the number of paths you could take, which take you off course.
On this leg of the Blencathra circular walk, my OS Map App really came into its own once more. Being able to see all available paths and also where I was stood at all times certainly helped. It is certainly an App I would highly recommend and I’ve met many who agree. For a full review of it, please click here.
The maps below will hopefully guide you through how to navigate this pat of the walk.
Alternative Options
Such is the size and majesty of Blencathra, there are several other options you could take off of the summit. These can also all deliver you easily back to your car at Mosedale.
One of the most tempting options is to descend via Sharp Edge. If you aren’t familiar with this section of the mountain, it lives very much up to its name. I haven’t completed it yet, but have read and watched videos of people who have. It is narrow and technical in places, especially when weather conditions aren’t favorable. Click here to watch an ascent of the ridge. Heading down would be even more challenging I suspect.
From here a path can be taken along the valley all the way back to the road where your car is parked.
My Route On The Blencathra Circular Walk
Sharp Edge would have been very dangerous on the day I completed the walk, so I remained on the high ground and made my way towards Mungrisdale Common. This is much less visited and indeed I saw nobody for the rest of the route. If you are craving solitude and haven’t already received enough on this walk, then you’ll certainly have your fill up here.
Annoyingly, the clouds appeared to lift from Blencathra only around twenty minutes after I’d left the summit behind. Typical!
As you can see in the photos above, the views in all directions were stunning and it was wonderful watching clouds form over Bannerdale Crags. The site was remarkable. It is clear outside of the mountains, but I could see the clouds being born as the air was forced up and over the 600 metre contour line. A geographer’s dream!
One Final Climb And A Mountain Tarn
After admiring the view along the edge of Bannerdale Crags, there is one more ascent to make to the summit of Bowscale Fell. It has an altitude of 702 metres, but there isn’t much climbing to do and it is more a slog than an out and out climb. Your legs may be telling you otherwise by this point.
Soon after starting the descent, you catch your first glimpse of Bowscale Tarn. This is a beautiful mountain lake, which offers an excellent place to end the walk. It may only be a couple of kilometres from the road, but it feels a million miles from it, as you eventually make your way down to its shore.
It might also be worth carrying a swimming outfit and a towel if taking the walk on a warmer day. I would imagine taking a dip in the cooling waters would make for a fitting end to a challenging walk.
Once you finally leave the tarn behind, it is all downhill to the car. The track is easy to follow and there are great views towards the flatter Eden Valley to the east.
To Wrap Things Up….
I hope that I’ve shown what a brilliant route this Blencathra circular walk is. The variety it offers is just wonderful and it is certain to provide views and experiences that will live long in the memory bank. It might be worth enjoying a three course pub meal afterwards too. You will have earned it!