Those Equinoctal Gales!

Day 11 – Monday 23 March. Sure enough, the weather didn’t last. As I set off for Glenridding for a solo day, it was cold, wet and windy, and there was no improvement by the time I got there. The intention was to start with Glenridding Dodd (1425') and then do a circuit over Swirral Edge and Catsty Cam.

Leaving Glenridding along the Greenside Road I passed a group of youngsters emerging from a minibus from Essex Boys’ Club. They intended to go up to Red Tarn, but I noticed most of them were girls. Presumably the boys were all back in Essex doing ballet or embroidery. (Oops – not very PC! Any objections can be sent with a donation please).

It’s a short steep climb to Glenridding Dodd, then a return to the col and a further trek up to Sheffield Pike (2232'), stung by a heavy hail shower. I’d been in the lee of the wind most of the time, but at the top I could hardly stand up (I hadn’t been drinking, it was the high wind). I nearly called it a day there and then, but thought “I’ll just try one more” and set off for Hart Side (2481') via Nick Head. Once on the exposed fell top, above around 2400’, the wind was so fierce I could hardly stand, and it was made worse by gusting, so that just as I got myself stabilised an even bigger gust would come along and blow me backwards six or ten feet before I could get a grip again.

In between all this, I did notice a good view to the North (it was now very clear) of our first two fells, Great Mell and Little Mell. But now it was decision time. To do the intended route meant coming down Swirral Edge to Catsty Cam. Admittedly not as dangerous as Striding Edge but even so, by the time I got there the wind would have made me a lot more tired, and being blown off Swirral Edge would have probably terminated the project by terminating me. So I decided to call it a day and retraced my steps back to Nick Head and from there to Glenridding. I later found out that there was still enough lying snow left on Swirral Edge to be a danger in itself, so in hindsight this was a good decision.

Back at the car I looked at the map, saw that Arnison Crag (1424'), above Patterdale, was pretty accessible and might be the annoying last straw on the Helvellyn/ St Sunday Crag walk later on, so decided to walk up behind the Patterdale Hotel and ‘knock it off’. It’s quite a steep climb but took just an hour. From the summit, the views of Ullswater and Place Fell are superb, but if anything the wind was even stronger.

Disappointing, but at least I got something out of the day, and the return to Catsty Cam should be made easier by a simple walk up to Sticks Pass to pick up the remainder of the walk.