A CIRCUIT OF SHEFFIELD PIKE

Monday 26/10/2009. Joy and I set off on a fine sunny morning driving to Ullswater we parked up on the access road to Seldom Seen. Our walk is to take us over Sheffield Pike by way of Glenridding Dodd, and Sheffield Pike's subsidiary top of Heron Pike then the primary top. The start of the walk took us along the banks of beautiful Ullswater and although this path runs alongside the road, it is still a treat and today the autumn colours are wonderful, this is turning out to be a very good year for tree leaf coulour in the Lakes there are stunning yellows russet reds and orange hues which make for good pictures. On reaching Glenridding we turned up the Greenside Road passing the Travellers Rest pub and on to the old miners cottages before heading steeply uphill to the coll known as Blaes Crag, from here we head up to the right and the excellent viewtop of Glenridding Dodd (1450'). Ullswater sparkles away to the north-east and on to the Eden plane. On the opposite side of the valley Birkhouse Moor towers over upper Glenridding and runs up to the Helvellyn fells. We retrace our steps back to the Blaes Crag col and then pick our way up the blunt nose of Heron Pike, on the summit we miss the summit being a bit distracted by a vain attempt to keep our feet dry as we cross the bogs to reach the primary summit top of Sheffield Pike, a second ascent for me and a first for Joy. Here we get our exact position conifrmed by some walkers (I thought it was Heron Pike)! and settle to have our sandwiches in the sunshine with views on every point of the compass. Sitting still it gets chilly so after our snack we set off just north of west to pick up the good path down the valley of Glencoyne to pass through the woods and the houses at the romantically named hamlet of Seldom Seen (what a pity the housed all front the steep northern face of the Brown Hills and not the glorious views of Ullswater to be had 90 degrees to the east). The path through the forest is running with water but soon we are back at the car and that is the end of our walk. About six miles with 2,000' of ascent. A very good days outing and a grand start to our week here.