Walk to Barrow, Sail to Causey Pike

Barrow-Outerside-Sail-Scar Crags-Causey Pike

6.6 miles

This post has a PG parental guidance rating, as in sorry parents.

After my morning walk it was now very hot and sunny, the weather forecast said it was going to be a perfect afternoon and it didn’t disappoint, maybe too hot dare I say. As I drove through Buttermere and down the pass, passing full lay-bys I really hoped there would be space at my ideal spot located between Causey Pike and Barrow, phew there was.

 I took a moment for refreshments and to re-arrange the rucksack. Some cyclists went passed and one said “Are you heavier if you have an ...”. Erm how do I say it, if your gentleman’s Cumberland sausage is well you know... pointing north. Very random.

 It reminded me of a trip to Knightshayes kitchen walled garden when a lady went passed saying  “I didn’t need to be naked to have a good time”.  It did get raised eyebrows from a few of us in the tour curious on the rest of that conversation.

I started my walk up the steady grassy slope of Barrow. Half way up there was a memorial plaque on a rocky outcrop dedicated to P.R.Ansell. Couldn’t find much info as to who he was and why there was a memorial for him apart from going to Solihull school and it has a magazine, “The Silhillian” Scholarship for Mathematics and Science.

Braithwaite village

From here I could see my whole route round so could estimate how long it would take and how much light I would have left. It looked like still quite a hike especially in the heat and I was down to my last water bottle. I decided to get all the little lumps in too so detoured to Stile End then along a small path through the heath on to Outerside. Here you feel surrounded with views of the bigger Grisedale Pike, Crag Hill and Causey Pike.

Barrow

my route to outerside(right) to Causey Pike(left)

Looking back to Skiddaw

Barrow

I dropped down to meet the main path up to Sail. The map shows a path leading up the north crags of Sail but I couldn’t see it and as it was in a boggy area decided against searching for it. Staying on the main path I begin my meander up the zig-zag path to the Sail summit, it looked like someone had tried to scribble out the straight line. Though the times I’ve been up it most people prefer to erode a new straight line down parallel to it through the heath.

As you make your way up and look back you can see Outerside looking like an interesting lump all on its own. Which is why it’s probably a Wainwright, “That’s an interesting lump all on its own” I bet he said.

Sail Zig Zag

Solway and Scotland

From the top looking north you can see across the Solway Firth to Dumfries & Galloway. For 7pm it was still a glorious warm still blue day and as the sun began to set I made my way down and up over Scar Crags to Causey Pike.  The main path leads down just past the summit but for completion I decided carried on to Rowling End.

Or as I call it “One tree hill”. No nothing to do with angsty American college basketball kids but simply because there is only one tree on it.

It looks like a Rowan that has always been this shape, tightly grown but I’ve never seen whether it has red berries to be sure. The steep narrow heath covered path dropped sharply down through some crags and after a while small loose and smooth sheets of rock really begin to hurt my feet, not a way I’ll go up or down again in a hurry.

As I got near the bottom there are in fact a number of small trees and bushes, it’s just that I’ve never noticed them driving past before. So the name doesn’t really fit, ignore everything I’ve just said...

you can see why I call it one tree hill