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Where: Scafell Pike Hike from Borrowdale 9
miles south of Keswick of the Lake District
of England
When: June 2014
Weather: Sunny
Height: 3,209ft / 978m
There are two main routes for hikes to
Scafell Pike, one from Seathwaite Farm by
Borrowdale in the north, and the other from
Wasdale Head in the west. The Wasdale route
to the mountain is slightly shorter, but
mainly steeper.
The B5289 road from Keswick centre to
Borrowdale is quite good, but has a few
narrow spots so has to be driven carefully,
should you meet any trucks or buses traveling
the other way. The road starts from Keswick
centre from Main Street, then Heads Road, and
there are a number of good looking Inns and
Hotels on the roadside on the way down. At
Borrowdale, look for the farm road leading
off to the south with a sign stating
Seathwaite 1, leading over a really small
bridge.
The image below is of the farm road
leading from Borrowdale to Seathwaite Farm,
about 1 mile. That is the 2,985ft Great End
that you see in the distance in cloud,
Scafell Pike is just beyond that
mountain.
Keswick to
Borrowdale Road Map
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The image below is of the hiking car park
for Scafell Pike at Seathwaite Farm. The camp
site is on the right here. There is room for
about 100 cars, early hikers get closest to
the farm, later hikers can be a few hundred
yards down the road, as this hike is really
popular.
The trail out to Scafell Pike leaves the
car park and goes straight through the farm,
out towards the 2,073ft Seathwaite Fell, as
can be seen below.
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The image below is from just past the
farm, showing the two trails out to Scafell
Pike. At the bridge just over the little
hill, one route goes round to the left of
Seathwaite Fell, and the other goes up past
the trees and waterfalls. The one up past the
waterfalls is the most popular, both trails
merge further up.
Seathwaite Farm is about 400 feet above
sea level, and the top of the steep section,
up above the waterfalls, is about 1,300ft, so
about 900ft of really steep hiking to start
off with.
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The image below is from the trail as it
goes up the scenic valley. This is a great
section after the really tough hike up past
the waterfalls.
That is Scafell Pike straight out, but the
main trail turns left after Styhead Tarn, and
runs up behind the 2,985ft Great End, and
3,064ft Broad Crag, then onto the east side
of Scafell Pike.
The mountain to the right here that the
trail is running along is the popular 2,949ft
Great Gable.
Large Image
with Mountain Heights
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The image below is from the trail as it
sweeps round to left towards Great End. In a
clear day, you can see the main trail up from
Wasdale Head winding its way up the west side
of Scafell Pike.
There is a faint trail over the west side
of Great End that leads up to the Wasdale
Head trail, probably the fastest way to the
top, but only a few hikers take on that
route, probably for a good reason. The large
image gives a good view of the route.
Large
Image
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The image below is of the main trail as it
goes up the east side of Great End, taken
from where the two trails out from Seathwaite
merge. This section climbs steadily up to
about 2,500ft.
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The image below is from where the main
trail winds up behind Great End.
Just over the dip there is a really steep
little section, then just above that, the
first of two boulder fields, so much for the
anticipated steady hike to the top. Suppose
it is good that the highest mountain in
England is not just a steady stroll to the
top. That is not Scafell Pike up there, that
is III Crag at 3,067ft, Scafell Pike is
straight over the boulder field.
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The image below is from the top of the
little steep section, looking at the boulder
field. There is no way round, so straight
over the top it had to be, and this is
classed as the tourist route.
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The image below is from just after the
first boulder field, showing a second boulder
field on the 3,064ft Broad Crag, and the
summit of Scafell Pike behind. At about
2,800ft here, I got my first clear view of
Scafell Pike summit.
Just a dip to go down, up through the
boulder field on Broad Crag, then down into a
dip, then a couple of hundred feet steep
section to the top.
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The image below is from the last boulder
field on Broad Crag, just before the final
section up to Scafell Pike summit. By this
time I was out of steam. Had only meant to
take a few photos of the car park, and some
up towards the mountain.
I grabbed the hiking bag from the boot and
set off up the trail a bit to get some better
photos. The mid section of the trail was so
steady and scenic, I ended up here for this
photo.
After a snack, I still felt dehydrated,
after hauling all my winter gear up here in
one of the warmest days of the year, and
visiting an other mountain on the way up by
mistake, so I decide to head back down. I had
the photos I came for, and more, so was
happy.
The next day, I drove round to Wasdale
Head to get photos from that side, had lunch
in the Wasdale Head Hotel, then ended up on
the top of Scafell Pike from that side just
over two and a half hours later.
Large
Image
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The image below is from hiking back down
behind Great End and looking across to the
2,949ft Great Gable, and Styhead Tarn down
below. Great Gable looked a real popular
mountain with many people on top, and hiking
over to the next mountain.
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The image below is from just above the
trees and waterfalls on the final steep
section back down. That is Seathwaite Farm
down at the fields, and Keswick up through
the valley.
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The Scafell Pike Map below shows many of
the routes onto the mountains. There are a
number of mountains in the area for hiking,
and trails going in every direction. Best
take a good detailed map with you, and a
compass, as in low cloud, it would be really
easy to get lost. I even managed to get lost
in the sun.
The blue and white dots are the main
trails, green and brown tougher trails, and
green and yellow easy routes. Green and red
are scrambling sections.
Crossing from Scafell Pike to the second
highest mountain in England, the 3,162ft
Scafell, requires a hike down into the valley
and up round the cliffs. The direct route
across requires a fair amount of dangerous
rock climbing.
Large Detailed
Map
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This was a scenic hike with great views of
many mountains all around. The bottom section
was tough hiking, second section a great
scenic walk, third section a fairly steady
hike, and final section a good test of
boulder hopping.
What is the toughest way up, it is hard to
say, as the Wasdale Head route from the west
is shorter, but steadily steep almost all the
way. This Borrowdale side has a couple of
easy sections in the middle, but a tough
first sections and top section.
Make sure and take an Ordnance Survey Map
and Compass on these hikes, and know how to
use them, as in cloud, these mountains can be
deadly. In Winter, make sure you have
Crampons and an Ice Axe, and know how to use
them.
Photo Tour of the Wasdale
Head route .
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