Harrison Stickle – Hiking the Langdales-part 2
October 11, 2023
We’ve been absent from mountains for a while so Harrison Stickle is our way to find out if muscle memory is a thing. Do we still have those mountain hiking legs? (the photo of us at the top might suggest otherwise).
Standing at 2403 feet (732 meters), Harrison Stickle is the highest of The Langdale Pikes. This is our second excursion into The Langdales after taking a hike to Pike of Stickle via Loft and Thorn Crags previously. With only 2 of The Langdales left to explore, we thought we would tackle Harrison Stickle and Pavey Ark together (or as we like to call them Harrison Ford and Raiders of the lost Ark). However, on reading our faithful Wainwright’s, I discovered an ascending route for each that I really wanted to do. So, we’re doing two separate walks. One more Langdale to do after Harrison Stickle.
Onto the hike of the day, Harrison Stickle. Although such an icon and the highest in The Langdales, it is actually only number 71 in height out of the 214 Wainwright’s.
Our chosen route - The Ravines of Dungeon Ghyll
The best place to start a hike to Harrison Stickle is from Dungeon Ghyll, but from one starting point Wainwright suggests 4 different routes of ascent. Our choice as it goes was actually quite simple. Having previously tackled the majority of his route 1 (via Thorn Crag), on our way to Pike of Stickle, we didn’t feel the need to take “the usual path”. Also, having walked route 4 to Stickle Tarn many a time (and down the laborious steps on various hikes), we also ruled this one out. C’mon, we need something new and exciting…what’ve you got Alfred? Routes 2 and 3 remaining, it seemed obvious to ascend via the Dungeon Ghyll Ravines. We’ve been on one of Mr Wainwright’s “not marked on the map” routes before, when we ventured up White Gill Ravine to Blea Rigg. Very enjoyable and totally achievable. This gave us the confidence that Dungeon Ghyll ravine would also be a very achievable scramble. “This is an adventurous route” says Mr Wainwright, “unfrequented and pathless…involving some easy but steep scrambling in impressive surroundings”. I mean, how could we resist a description like that? The fact that the route is described as having 4 obstacles didn’t deter us at all.
OK, so no path on the map, how do we find the route? It’s a little bit trial and error and although we love a Wainwright drawing, they are not always clear-cut. All I can say for this route is….aim for the top of Dungeon Ghyll Force.
A force. The usual meaning of the word had me picturing huge amounts of water gushing down the ravine. It turns out ithe word force comes from the old norse word for waterfall…foss. Those Norse words do pop up rather a lot around here.
Not a huge gushing amount of water, but a 40 foot high waterfall. Still, quite impressive. To get to the ravine for the walk, join Dungeon Ghyll just upstream from the force. We found a small track off the main path which led us to the ghyll and after that, just follow the ghyll and look out for the obstacles:
First obstacle:
A 40-foot cascade. The recommended route past is a steep slope and rocks on the left. I would call this a scramble with a few long reaches, nothing too complex.
Second obstacle:
A “choke” of big boulders. More minor scrambling over a section of boulders. There isn’t a specific route, rather a “pick it and see” direction. Or in our case, follow the sheep, they know where they’re going.
Third obstacle:
A 50-foot waterfall which ends the ravine. Described by Wainwright as “almost unknown, rarely seen and one of the most attractive in Lakeland”. We may have taken advantage of the total lack of fellow hikers and had a dip under said waterfall….or we may not. Recommended exit is via a steep “crease” on the left. More scrambling up grass and wet rocks. Again, nothing impossible, just a few long reaches.
Having managed to skirt all said obstacles, we crossed the ravine and headed to the grassy and stepped path of route 3, taking in Harrison Stickle from its western flank.
Join us up Dungeon Ghyll Ravines
The views from Harrison Stickle
A quick descent of Harrison Stickle
As Wainwright says “with such a variety of attractive routes available, it would be a pity not to use an alternative to the one adopted for ascent”, and with that in mind we decided on a descent via Pike How. Described as “the easiest and much the quickest”. It also has amazing views of Pike How and back up to Harrison Stickle.
