Patterdale Skyline Challenge

We begin our ascent from the village of Glen ridding on the picturesque shores of Ullswater. From here we make our ascent up the Greenside valley traversing through the old mining landscape of Greenside mines before weaving through to the mountain pass of Sticks Pass, now at 750m above sea level. From here we turn left and the real ridge walking begins on our gradual ascent towards Helvellyn. We tick off our summits in quick succession, starting with the summit tower of Raise at 883m, then on to Whiteside (863m) and then wind up the narrower ridge of Lower Man (925m) with commanding views on a clear day across to the shapely pyramid summit of Catstye Cam (890m), a feast of rock and steep slopes surrounding you on all sides to satisfy the senses.
As we rise over the crest of Lower Man onto the Helvellyn plateau, the ground opens out and we are often met by a good gust of wind to welcome us to this wider mountain scape. You definitely begin to feel the sense of scale of this mountain range as you reach the trig point of Helvellyn (950m) and peer down the towering North and East faces with views to Striding and Swirral Edges and a glimpse of Ullswater down below in the distance. On a clear day, you can now expect to enjoy panoramic views of the Lakes as you continue your traverse, and in difficult conditions a real challenge to remember! We continue high but flatter now across to Nethermost Pike (891m) and Dollywagon Pike (858m) before making our descent in zig zags to Grisedale Tarn, a wild and windswept mountain lake, some 550m above sea level. From here the tone of the walk changes a little, as we make a more technical and rocky ascent of Fairfield (873m) via Cofa Pike. This will give us the chance to do a short ‘out and back’ route to gain the summit where we can use our hands and feet to make progress with some enjoyable and airy scrambling, weaving up through the boulders, scree and rock towers to the top. After reversing our route from Fairfield, we’re on the homeward stretch across the narrow saddle of Deepdale Hause and up to the final summit, St Sunday Crag at 841m to complete our 8 peaks route. From here we’ll enjoy the long but gradual descent back to valley floor for a well-earned rest and bite to eat and drink in the village at the base of our circuit.
Distance 21.2km, Ascent 1620m, Descent 1620m, Target time 8 hours. Terrain – rough mountain paths and undulating ridges.