Wainwright Walks episode 5
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00:00Nestled in the far northwest of England, this is the Lake District, a land defined by its
00:12natural beauty. Unknown to millions who love the lakes was the late Alfred Wainwright, author,
00:27guide writer and talented artist. But above all, he was the greatest fell walker. Wainwright's guides have inspired generations of walkers to roam these glorious fells. And now, a century after his birth, it's my turn to go in search of the real Wainwright experience.
00:57Welcome to Oldswater, the second largest and one of the most popular stretches of water in the Lake District. Today, this is my start point for what is arguably one of the most famous mountain walks in England. But I'm also here because those fells over there were
01:26where it all began for Alfred Wainwright.
01:36Oldswater forms a great natural boundary to the area of Lakeland that Wainwright chose to call the Eastern Fells. This was where AW, as he was often known, started his 13 year mission to explore and chart the detail of every peak in the region.
01:55It was a unique task that would turn a reclusive accountant from Blackburn into a fell walking legend.
02:02Wainwright's beautiful pocket sized pictorial guides have been a part of Lakeland life for over 50 years.
02:10For me today, it's all about tackling two things. The mighty summit of Helvellyn and what Wainwright described as the finest ridge in Lakeland, Striding Edge.
02:25At 3,118 feet, Helvellyn is the third highest peak in England. It enjoys a central location, numerous possible ascents and the classic Striding Edge.
02:37There is no doubt that Helvellyn is climb more than any other mountain in Lakeland. And more than any other, it is the objective and ambition of the tourist who does not normally climb.
02:47Alfred Wainwright came here as a 23-year-old in 1930. A complete newcomer to the lakes, he arrived in Ullswater, determined to tackle Helvellyn the following morning.
03:02By all accounts, conditions for him were far less appealing than for me today.
03:21Ullswater really is a stunningly beautiful valley. The lake snakes southwards and ends here in this dense mass of fells.
03:31And you can just make out the flat summit of Helvellyn from here. And it looks a long, long way to the top.
03:40From the southern tip of Ullswater, Helvellyn is well protected, leaving me some fine, gentle rambling before the hard work begins.
03:48Conditions seem calm enough. The valley in front looks welcoming.
03:55But the Lakeland fells can still be a hazardous environment, nowhere more so than Helvellyn.
04:02So before I set foot on Striding Edge, I'm paying a visit to a man who knows plenty about local dangers.
04:09Dave Freeborn heads the Patterdale Mountain Rescue.
04:12One of 12 teams in the lakes, but the one with the dubious honour of serving the thousands who tackle Helvellyn each year.
04:22So Dave, obviously what we've just seen is a practice situation. How often does the chopper get called out in mountain rescue situations?
04:27In Patadale, about 15% of the times, and there were 17 rescues last year.
04:30So you're all busy men then? Yeah.
04:33What qualifications do you need to be part of the team?
04:36Mounting rescue, you have to live in the area so that you're able to respond fairly quickly.
04:41You need to have a basic first aid certificate, but most importantly you need to be able to work together as a team.
04:47Because it's the team that gets it sorted out.
04:49Are you on call 24 hours a day?
04:50Yeah, every team member's on 24-7, so we often get a call out on Christmas Day, or it's usually most inconvenient time, like when you just get in the bath, the bleeper goes.
05:01And I'm sure most people do know this, but just to reiterate, you're all volunteers.
05:05Absolutely. Every rescue team in the UK is made up of trained volunteers.
05:09You are a dedicated lot.
05:11I'd like to think if somebody was up there and I broke an ankle, somebody would come up for me.
05:15Let's concentrate on Helvellyn. What sort of specific problems have you dealt with?
05:18Okay, if you fall off of striding edge or spiral edge, there's a fair chance you're going to suffer serious trauma, if not death.
05:25And that does happen, you know, quite frequently.
05:28In wintertime, because it's north facing, you get a lot of snow build up and you get a cornice of snow which lips over the edge.
05:37And we've had a number of times when people have not realised how far back from the edge the cornice breaks.
05:41And they've stood on it and gone through the cornice and down, in one case, to the person's death.
05:48So it's a serious place, but it's only serious if you're not...
05:52Not aware. Exactly, yeah.
05:53Do you get people who just become petrified, very frightened, and you're dealing with exposure and fear?
06:00Yeah, we do. We call that crag fast, where somebody doesn't want to go up or down.
06:03And that often means that you've got to rope up and climb in or abseil down to them.
06:08You need to chat them through and calm them down and get a harness on them damn quick.
06:12Sir Wainwright was absolutely right, particularly on Hell Valley, and watch where you're going.
06:17Absolutely. But it's good fun. It's a very popular, good mountaineering walk.
06:22It's not a scramble, it's a walk, a few rocky bits, but essentially it's something everybody wants to do. It's good.
06:28Before I leave the valley, let's take an aerial view of the route I'll be taking.
06:32My route starts from the church in Paterdale Village, adjacent to the Mountain Rescue Headquarters.
06:51From here I'll head away from Ullswater, taking a gentle walk along the floor of the Grizedale Valley.
06:57As the leafy trees run out, my walk enters more familiar Lakeland terrain.
07:06For a mile and a half, a long path takes me in a straight line to the well-known landmark known as the Hole in the Wall.
07:13This is where the drama begins.
07:16On the right up ahead is the vast comb of Helvellyn, filled with red tarn and encased by the mountain and its two ridges.
07:22The start of Striding Edge is clearly marked by the rock pinnacle of High Spy Howe.
07:31From here the famous edge rises and falls over numerous jagged peaks.
07:36As it meets the bulk of Helvellyn, I'll be left with one long, steep scramble to the fell-top plateau.
07:49The summit is then just a short walk away, and the drama of the climb turns into one of the flattest and most gentle of Lakeland viewpoints.
07:56St. Patrick's is the parish church of what used to be known as Patrick's Dale, my rather tranquil start point for one of the area's toughest climbs.
08:15As you look up the valley of Grisedale, the village of Patterdale feels really protected on either side by the fells.
08:25Sadly, those two peaks are not the summit, those are just the approach slopes to Helvellyn, which is always a bit disconcerting.
08:32This is going to be a biggie for me.
08:38Helvellyn is part of the most extensive range of high ground in England.
08:41For five miles, a great succession of peaks line up, from Dollywagon Pike in the south to Great Dodd in the north.
08:52The ridge rarely drops below 2,500 feet, with the summit of Helvellyn the grand pinnacle in the middle.
09:00Aha! Now that is the first glimpse of the footpath, which will take me all the way up to the hole in the wall.
09:11But before any serious climbing, there's a good mile of single track road to follow along the valley floor.
09:23This is Grisedale, and it's just classic Lakeland.
09:36Most of the land here has been part of a private estate for generations, which has preserved a fine valley view for walkers like me.
09:42The footpath soon becomes a straight diagonal plod up the side of the fell known as Birkhouse Moor.
09:55But as you climb, the views both in front and behind get better.
10:03Back over the top of Patterdale, you look towards the eastern-most summits in the lakes.
10:08The likes of High Rays and High Street fells that Wainwright would go on to study in his second victorial guide.
10:14Looking ahead, though, the fine weather of this morning seems to be disappearing.
10:21The clouds are moving in rather ominously, just where I'm heading to.
10:26Time to take a moment to double-check my route.
10:30When you study a Wainwright guide, there are certain things that you sort of come to expect.
10:35The comprehensive drawings, the very well-laid-out notes.
10:38But there are a couple of things I haven't seen before, like these bullet-point notes about the various approaches.
10:45Number one, via Grisdale Tarn, a long, easy walk on a good path.
10:50This one, via Nethermost Pike, not for novices.
10:55Via Striding Edge, my route, best way of all.
10:59There's something else that I haven't seen before as well.
11:02There are sort of graphs which plot the distance in relation to the altitude.
11:06So, offering you the steepness of the roots, if you like, a possessive detail.
11:12And I haven't seen these in anything else, so it's almost like this, book one, he was trying things out.
11:19Apart from an enduring love of the Lakeland fells, Wainwright's motivation for his guides was very simple.
11:26He thought he could do a better job than anyone else.
11:30He admired ordnance survey maps, but thought them inadequate for finding footpaths.
11:34And then there was Baddeley, who'd already published a Lake District guide covering 20 of the greatest fells.
11:42AW, though, presented 14 possible routes up Helvellyn alone, and went on to provide similar coverage of 213 other peaks.
11:53You see, that's the thing about the Lake District. One minute, glorious sunshine. The next thing, pouring rain. Always pat your waterproof.
12:12Well, if you can see me, I think you'll realise, as do I, that this bank of cloud has set in.
12:34Now, there's a slight break in the cloud over there, and I can just make out the wall.
12:49The majority of walkers who attack Helvellyn's eastern side cannot fail to pass the giant wall that stretches from the valley floor in Grysdale up and along the entire ridge of Burkehouse Moor.
13:02And just like me, Wainwright and his cousin encountered it for the first time in less than perfect circumstances.
13:12We followed a pony route, rising along the flanks of Burkehouse Moor, above the lovely valley of Grysdale.
13:22The weather was less promising, and before reaching the gap in the wall, we were enveloped in a clammy mist, and the rain started.
13:31No wonder the hole in the wall is such a landmark. It really is the cut-off point. It's almost as if one walk's ended and then another begins.
13:46The terrain changes completely. And there would be my first view of the summit.
13:53Except it's hidden under a nice layer of cloud. I wonder if that'll still be there when I get there.
14:00I'm looking right into the mouth of the Great Bowl here.
14:06Now, I know that Red Tarn is at the bottom, but it's hidden from view right now.
14:10And on the left, beneath that creeping cloud, is Triading Edge.
14:14But from here, I've really got no idea of what to expect.
14:18So I can't work out whether I'm intimidated, frightened by it. This weather really doesn't help.
14:25Neither of us had waterproofs, nor a change of clothing.
14:31Perhaps it were clear later, we thought.
14:34We were already under the optimistic delusion that afflicts most fellwalkers.
14:41Somebody once said, take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints when you're on a mountain.
15:03I'm going to add to that, get nothing but wet. Soaking wet.
15:13Wind, cloud and rain are something all proper fellwalkers should experience.
15:19And today certainly is that, an experience.
15:25Fortunately though, the Wainwright Walks helicopter crew have been able to get out above Ullswater and Helvellyn on a different day.
15:32So with a touch of television magic, here's what I could be looking at.
15:38If conditions were any better for me, I'd be soaking up the very best Helvellyn has to offer.
15:44Wainwright thought it a pity that the majority of walkers attack the mountain from the opposite side.
15:50The smooth grassy slopes that rise out of Thirlmere are, he said, unattractive and lacking in interest.
15:58My side is geologically far more interesting.
16:03A more difficult ascent, but as AW noted, this is the price you pay if you're to discover Helvellyn's true character.
16:28Now, for those of you who've watched before, you'll know that I'm not completely alone.
16:32And it's not just Wainwright that I have for company. I have a crew.
16:35In fact, I'm just going to clean Ian my cameraman's lens.
16:38And I also have a David.
16:41Now, everybody who works in these here parts should have a David because he knows the Lake District, I'd say, almost as well as Wainwright.
16:50Isn't that right, David?
16:52Well, I'm not quite so sure about that, really, but I do know it well.
16:55Well, you're definitely the right man to take striding edge with.
16:57Yes, I think so.
16:58Now, I know from reading all of Wainwright's books, when he first came to Helvellyn, conditions were quite similar, so we're not complete fools, are we?
17:05Certainly not.
17:06And we're going to do this safely?
17:07Absolutely.
17:08And we can get over it, no problem?
17:10Yeah.
17:11Be careful.
17:12Be careful.
17:13Take it easy.
17:14Normally on a walk like this, I would take time and I would go down to visit the Tarn, but I think today we should just press on.
17:18What say you?
17:19Yeah, it's clear at present, so we'll go for it, shall we?
17:22OK, let's make a move.
17:24As an experienced climber, fell runner and all-round lover of the lakes, David is the ideal man to check that we don't become another statistic for the mountain rescue team.
17:35Now, this, in terms of geography, is an example of glacial excellence, isn't it?
17:40Oh, it is. It is. You've got the two ridges, one on either side, you know, sharper rhes, both sides. This great coom, great mass of ice would have formed here and just gouged all this lot out.
17:50Such a good example.
17:51Yeah, it's a geography teacher's case, but this is going to be fun today.
17:56Yeah. It looks quite moody, actually, in the cloud cupboard, doesn't it?
18:00Oh, it does. It adds something to it, a lot of atmosphere. But we need to, er, we could cut off up here, up to the ridge.
18:08Right, so that we get right on the very top.
18:10Get on to it early, you know.
18:12Having walked with David before, it's no surprise that he's dragging me off the path to eke out every last bit of drama from the climb.
18:24We're now heading to High Spying Howe, the tower of rock that marks the high point at the start of Striding Edge.
18:33How many times do you think you've crossed the ridge, David?
18:36Oh, I can't imagine any number. Many, many times.
18:41No matter how many times you've come to these places, it's never the same twice.
18:45Yeah.
18:46And you hear people saying that over and over again. It can't be true, but it is.
18:52I must say, I'm happy to be doing this part of the walk with a partner.
18:57Yeah, it's nice to have company occasionally, isn't it?
18:59Yeah.
19:01We went on, heads down against the driving rain, until, quite suddenly, a window opened in the midst ahead,
19:09disclosing a black tower of rocks streaming with water, an evil and threatening monster that stopped us in our tracks.
19:17Then the mists closed in again, and the apparition vanished.
19:21We were scared. There were unseen terrors ahead.
19:29And just like Wainwright's visit, as David and I reach High Spying Howe, we step into an unavoidable blanket of cloud.
19:39Well, normally this would be where we could see the whole of the edge just stretching out in front of us.
19:43We could just about see our feet.
19:45Yeah.
19:46There was no doubt about it. We were on striding edge. A platform of naked rock that vanished into the mist as a narrow ridge,
19:56with appalling precipices on both sides. In agonies of apprehension, we edged our way along the spine of the ridge.
20:05Well, the one good thing about the rain and the cloud cover today is we haven't seen very many people, have we?
20:22No, that's good, because it can be a bit like the checkout at Sainsbury's at times, with queues of people.
20:28There's a memorial somewhere about here, to a huntsman.
20:37Ah, there it is.
20:39Do you fancy a step across?
20:41No, I think I'll go round.
20:43Thanks, thanks all the same.
20:45What was he doing hunting up here?
20:47Well, all the Lakeland packs hunted on foot. They don't go on horses or anything.
20:52Well, no, obviously. That would have been quite tricky a lot.
20:55If the pack would work in these areas, the huntsman would get up high and be able to watch what was going on.
21:00And obviously, the people who followed the hunt would also get to high places.
21:04And it went wrong for Robert Dixon.
21:06It certainly did.
21:07Anyway, his friends thought highly enough of him to cart that great lump of cast iron up here, to mark the point.
21:14Most unfortunate.
21:16Yeah.
21:25Striding Edge fully deserves its place as the most famous spot on any mountain in Lakeland.
21:32On a clear day, you can appreciate 300 yards of exposed, narrow ridge.
21:37Once on, there's no escape, save for going forwards or backwards.
21:42And yet, for walkers with a reasonable head for heights, and for those not preoccupied with fox hunting,
21:48it is a very attainable and satisfying mountaineering achievement.
21:53I mean, the good thing about this pea soup is if you did suffer from vertigo, you wouldn't be able to...
22:05No, you could see nothing.
22:06...feet it, because you can't see anything down either side.
22:09Now, of course, because you've done this many times before, David, you'll know when this is ending.
22:18But I've got no idea, because there's no vision.
22:21It's quite soon, actually.
22:23But there is a little sting in the tail.
22:28There's something... just something just to round it off nicely.
22:32And, er, it's not very far away.
22:35Okay.
22:37Ah.
22:38We have to get down there.
22:39Oh, I see.
22:40That is a little sting, isn't it?
22:42It is.
22:43So we're going to go down...
22:45Backwards.
22:46Backwards, yeah.
22:47Yeah.
22:48Okay.
22:49Keep your body away from the rock.
22:51Just like coming backwards down a ladder.
22:58After an age of anxiety, we reached the abrupt end of the edge
23:04and descended an awkward crack in the rocks to firm a ground below and beyond.
23:11Feeling and looking like old men.
23:16My cousin, looking like something fish from the sea, kept looking at me and saying nothing,
23:23but was obviously inwardly blaming me as author of the day's programme for his present misery.
23:32What's next?
23:33The summit.
23:34So this is going to be a little climb up, isn't it?
23:36A little climb up, yes.
23:37Always little treats in store.
23:39On a better day, David's little climb would be revealed for all to see.
23:47The final approach to Helvellyn's summit is a 300-foot face of steep rock and loose scree,
23:54and his inappropriate choice of words would be clearly obvious.
23:57If Striding Edge tested your nerves, this will test your fitness and stamina.
24:02Not bad for a little climb.
24:04It's quite interesting doing a climb in these conditions, because it's just completely different.
24:10It's just completely different.
24:11It is.
24:12It really is what you see inch by inch.
24:27I don't really know what to feel at this moment, being so close to the summit, because it's all just so murky.
24:40Oh, finally!
24:45A bit of a plateau.
24:48Yeah.
24:49It's fairly steep, that last little bit.
24:51Yeah.
24:52They make you work for your money up here on Helvellyn.
24:55They do on this side of it, they certainly do.
25:02Somewhere up here, just where the climb meets a plateau, there's a monument you might see looming out of the mist.
25:09Another one?
25:10Yeah.
25:14One of the best known stories in the lakes concerns a young man who climbed my route 200 years ago.
25:20Charles Gough had set off from Patterdale with his faithful Irish Terrier.
25:25But three months later, his shattered remains were found by a local shepherd.
25:29Gough had perished on the cliffs beneath this monument.
25:34But there, standing guard over his master's body, was Gough's dog.
25:38An event Wordsworth later chose to immortalise, creating a favourite Lakeland tale of love and undying fidelity.
25:45From the memorial, there's just a simple walk across the plateau to the summit.
25:55If I could see more than 30 feet today, I'd be able to appreciate the largest, flattest peak of any of the Lake District giants.
26:02There's so much room that two daredevils even managed to land a plane here in 1926.
26:09This is where the hordes convert from all directions on a good day, quickening their pace as they spot the summit's shelter.
26:22Now that's a good shelter.
26:28It is. It's a cracking shelter.
26:30Because you get protected from every side.
26:33That's right. It doesn't matter which way, the wind's blowing, you'll find shelter there.
26:42Is that the summit cairn?
26:44That is the top.
26:46It's not a particularly impressive cairn on the summit of such a mountain though, is it?
26:50No, but I guess on any other day, the views would more than make up for it.
26:54Absolutely spectacular and extensive in every direction.
26:58For instance, over here, you would have, you'd have Blencathra and that range there.
27:02Yeah.
27:03And then Skiddall would be there.
27:04And the northwestern fells, Grisdale Pipe would stand out over that direction.
27:09And you'd have been able to see as far as Morecambe Bay easily from here.
27:15But there's one nice thing. I've never been here before by myself.
27:18Well, I'm with you, of course.
27:20But without any other person on the phone top.
27:23And that's all because of the cloud cover.
27:25It is.
27:26You see, David, every cloud has a silver light.
27:28Great.
27:29Well, shall we go to the shelter and get out of this wind for a moment?
27:31Yeah, let's use it for what it's there for.
27:33Legend and poetry.
27:34A lovely name and a lofty altitude combined to encompass Elvellyn in an aura of romance.
27:44It is, as a rule, a very friendly giant.
27:48If it did not inspire affection, would its devotees return to it so often?
27:53Well, I feel like I've ticked off one of the great achievements in Fellwalking.
28:00If you stay in any B&B around here, somebody someday will ask you,
28:06have you done Elvellyn and Striding Edge?
28:08And of course, now I can say yes.
28:12But one day, I'm going to have to come back so I can see the magnificent views from this summit.
28:19Shall we go back down?
28:20Sure, come on.
28:22This looks like a rehearsal.
28:24Well, next time it'll be much, much better.
28:26I don't know, I've enjoyed this in its own unique way.