Walk c141 Great Gable and Pillar from Wasdale Head, Wast Water
This 11¼ mile, Grade 9 (Very Hard), easy-to-follow, hand-crafted walk, complete with GPS Waypoints, starts at Wasdale Head & will take about 10 hrs to complete.
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 11¼mls (18km) |
| Ascent: | 5,819ft (1,773m) |
| Time: | 10hrs |
| Grade: |  |
Route outline for walk c141:
Wasdale Head - Moses' Trod - Lingmell Beck - Gable Beck Bridge - Sty Head - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Beck Head - Beckhead Tarn - Kirk Fell (East Top) - Kirk Fell - Black Sail Pass - Looking Stead (Pillar) - High Level Route - Robinson's Cairn - Pillar - Wind Gap - Black Crag (Pillar) - Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) - Steeple - Red Pike (Wasdale) - Dore Head - Mosedale Beck - Wasdale Head - Wast Water.
Points of Interest/Notes on this walk:
Wasdale Head is a tiny hamlet of agricultural fields and dwellings that claims to be home of the highest mountain in England (Scafell Pike), the deepest lake (Wast Water), the smallest church (Church of St Olaf) and the biggest liar (Will Ritson). There is an excellent National Trust Campsite and a fine pub - the Wasdale Inn - which claims to be the birthplace of British rock climbing. There is also a large free parking area for visitors.
Peaks, Summits and Tops reached on this walk:
 7 English Mountains |
 6 Wainwrights |
 9 English Nuttalls |
 0 English Deweys |
 0 Wainwright Outlying Fells |
 3 Marilyns |
 0 Bridgets |
Peak Bagging Statistics for this walk:
The highest point of this walk is Great Gable at 899m (2951ft). Great Gable is classified as an English Mountain (Hewitt) (9th highest in England, 25th highest in England & Wales) and a Wainwright (No. 7).
Great Gable is also known as an English Nuttall (11th highest in England, 28th highest in England & Wales) and an English Marilyn (4th highest in England, 238th highest in the UK).
Completing this walk will also take you to the top of Pillar at 892m (2928ft). Pillar is classified as an English Mountain (Hewitt) (11th highest in England, 29th highest in England & Wales) and a Wainwright (No. 8).
Pillar is also known as an English Nuttall (13th highest in England, 33rd highest in England & Wales) and an English Marilyn (6th highest in England, 249th highest in the UK).
The summit of Pillar is marked by an Ordnance Survey Trig Point.
You will also reach the summit of Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) at 841m (2759ft). Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) is classified as an English Mountain (Hewitt) (28th highest in England, 54th highest in England & Wales) and a Wainwright (No. 23).
Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) is also known as an English Nuttall (34th highest in England, 62nd highest in England & Wales).
Along the way you will also bag and tick-off:
- Black Crag (Pillar) at 828m (2717ft). Black Crag (Pillar) is classified as an English Mountain (Hewitt) (31st England, 60th Eng & Wal) and an English Nuttall (37th highest in England, 69th highest in England & Wales).
- Red Pike (Wasdale) at 826m (2711ft). Red Pike (Wasdale) is classified as an English Mountain (Hewitt) (33rd highest in England, 63rd highest in England & Wales), a Wainwright (No. 26) and an English Nuttall (39th highest in England, 73rd highest in England & Wales).
- Steeple at 819m (2688ft). Steeple is classified as a Wainwright (No. 28) and an English Nuttall (41st highest in England, 77th highest in England & Wales)
- Kirk Fell at 802m (2631ft). Kirk Fell is classified as an English Mountain (Hewitt) (42nd England, 77th highest in England & Wales), a Wainwright (No. 33), an English Nuttall (49th highest in England, 92nd highest in England & Wales) and an English Marilyn (15th England, 391st highest in the UK).
- Kirk Fell (East Top) at 787m (2583ft). Kirk Fell (East Top) is classified as an English Mountain (Hewitt) (50th England, 89th Eng & Wal) and an English Nuttall (59th highest in England, 108th highest in England & Wales).
- Looking Stead (Pillar) at 627m (2058ft). Looking Stead (Pillar) is known as an English Nuttall (220th highest in England, 383rd highest in England & Wales).
You can find this walk and other nearby walks on these unique Interactive Walk Planning Maps:
(worth a look if you're new to go4awalk.com & have never seen one of these before.)
1:25,000 scale OS Explorer Maps (orange/yellow covers):
1:50,000 scale OS Landranger Map (pink/magenta covers):
Some Photos and Pictures from Walk c141 Great Gable and Pillar from Wasdale Head, Wast Water
In no particular order . . .
Kirk Fell and the shoulder of Great Gable (right) with the lower slopes of Great End (left) and Red Pike (Wasdale) in the distance from Sty Head
Kirk Fell with Pillar and Little Scoat Fell beyond from Great Gable summit
Hay Stacks (Haystacks) above Ennerdale (featuring Black Sail Hut Youth Hostel) from Black Sail Pass
Kirk Fell (foreground), Pillar, Ennerdale, Red Pike (Buttermere), High Stile, High Crag and Crummock Water (far right) from Westmorland Cairn, Great Gable
. . . load all 172 walk photos from Walk c141 Great Gable and Pillar from Wasdale Head, Wast Water
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