Red Pike & High Stile from Ennerdale
A long summer walk above Ennerdale Water
Ennerdale was still fairly quiet when we set off, with the higher ground half-hidden by cloud and the lower slopes thick with bracken. It did not stay enclosed for long. Once the path began to climb, Ennerdale Water opened below and the ridges started stacking up beyond it.
The cloud never really made its mind up. One minute the fells were flat and grey; the next, a patch of light would pick out a path or a fold in the ridge and make the whole landscape look different.
This was the section where I kept stopping: long folds of grass giving way to darker rock, with Ennerdale Water appearing and disappearing below. There was always another ridge behind the one in front.
Later in the afternoon the cloud dropped closer to the summits and the route began to feel rougher. The light was still finding occasional gaps, but the open green slopes had become a much more broken landscape.
The descent went from rock to grass, then bracken and finally forest. After hours with the horizon stretched out in every direction, the trees felt almost too close.
The final view across the water was quieter than the high ridge: soft light, small ripples and the long line of the fell above. A good place to stop.
Walk notes: 23 July 2024 · 22.29 km · 1,101 m ascent · 8 hours 14 minutes elapsed
