Meet Report 19-21^st June 2026 at Low Gillerthwaite Field Centre, Ennerdale. A splendid weekend was enjoyed by all.

Attendance list: Katie Aiello (G),  Mick Borroff,  Ged Campion,  Imogen Campion,   Nick Crapnell,  Tim Crapnell (G),  Stuart Dix,  Anne Marie Flynn (PM),   James Greaves, Christine Harrison,  Jim Harrison,  Steve Richards,  Wendy Richards,  Michael Smith,  John Sutcliffe.

Friday

A wet day. Michael Smith had planned to do most of the Southern part of the walk but abandoned the idea on Steeple after a thorough soaking.

Christine and Jim Harrison walked a fairly unprepossessing and wet loop around Lingmell Plantation.

Saturday

Having done both the classic round of Ennerdale and the ‘full monty’ circuit before, Mick Borroff set off from the hostel with Anne Marie and walked a planned circuit anti-clockwise. They ascended Haycock, fortunately, at the same rate as the cloud was lifting, to reach the summit in sunshine, then along the ridge to Scoat Fell stopping for lunch on Steeple whilst admiring the panoramic views. Then they went out and back to Red Pike (the Wasdale one!) and finished on Pillar as their last summit. They took a steep line of descent via some boulder-hopping on White Pike, then crossed over High Beck to join the path into the Ennerdale forest and back, a most enjoyable day.

After a 5am breakfast, Steve, Wendy, Imogen, Nick and James left just after 6am for the Ennerdale Round. After parking a car near the main Ennerdale car park, they were quickly ascending Great Borne via Rake Beck, in damp, humid and cloudy conditions. Checking the compass occasionally they made good progress through the low cloud with intermittent glimpses down into the Buttermere valley. It was not until the delightful ridge between High Stile and Hay Stacks that the cloud finally cleared after a dramatic display across into Ennerdale. After an early lunch (dubbed ‘lunch No 1’) the team pressed on to the often bypassed summit of Brandreth, quickly followed by Green and Great Gable. Now at 2pm, ‘lunch No 2’ was quickly consumed and James, who had been ill for a couple of weeks preceding the meet, decided that he would return to Ennerdale via Black Sail and a reviving shandy. He still managed 30km and 1900m of ascent so was overall pretty pleased. The rest pressed on in wonderful conditions with clear vistas in all directions, reaching Pillar just after 5pm. Then followed the traverse of Scoat Fell, after which Imogen and Nick headed down by Tewit How to the bunkhouse. Steve & Wendy pressed on over Haycock and Caw Fell in pleasant evening sunshine. On reaching the summit of Ennerdale Fell, they opted to take a direct descent towards the eastern end of Ennerdale Water – a shortcut that proved time consuming, messy and midge-infested, leaving the pair to make their return to the bunkhouse after 9pm. It was a great day on the mountains for all five members.

Stuart Dix and Mike Smith did the classic Ennerdale skyline starting early in the morning up Red Pike.  Cloud on the tops had disappeared by the time they reached Haystacks and they were blessed with superb views all around Lakeland by the time they summited Brandreth.  On reflection Great Gable is a much nicer hill to look at than it is to clamber up and down. The rest of the day was a pleasure other than that the last of their water was drunk on Pillar. The last three hours over Scoat Fell and Haycock were spent dreaming of a cup of tea on return to the hostel.

Christine and Jim walked in beautiful weather  on the never ending forest track to refreshment at the Black Sail Youth Hostel. Before returning to base they took a detour up to Scarth Gap with its wonderful views of Buttermere and surrounding peaks such as Haystacks,Brandreth and Fleetwith Pike. The return to Gillerthwaite was partially via Dub’s Quarry, the river and the never ending track.

Sunday

Mick decided to add another Wainright to his collection and did a quiet 18 km solo round of Kinnisdale Common to summit Lank Rigg starting from near the stone circle on Scarny Brow, and descended via the upper reaches of Worm Gill. Great views from the top over to Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and across the Solway Firth to the Galloway hills.

After coffee and lunch in Ennerdale Bridge, Steve & Wendy returned to walk around Ennerdale Water and enjoy an evening picnic in the sunshine on the lakeshore before returning home to Yorkshire

James, Christine and Jim, with Michael had a leisurely walk near Braithwaite followed by a pub lunch in the Royal Oak. A welcome rest for tired legs.