An adventurous Keswick woman has celebrated bagging what she describes as the “hard-to-reach” Wainwright fells in the Lake District for the 10th time.
Seventy-one-year-old Anna Nolan, who is a member and walk leader with the Skiddaw u3a Roamers, celebrated the achievement on top of Lingmell en route to Scafell Pike.
Over the past 26 years, Anna has tackled some 5,000 climbs of the main Wainwright fells, of which there are 214, not counting the outlying ones.
“Because neither my husband nor I drive, to me the hard-to-reach Wainwrights are those which I cannot access by public transport, such as those around Wasdale, Eskdale, the eastern side of Ennerdale, Kentmere, Longsleddale, Mardale Head and even those around Mungrisdale, Mosedale and Caldbeck,” said Anna, who has recently published a book called Lakeland Larks, Laughter and Lunacies, a quirky memoir poking fun at the travails and tribulations of her car-less exploration of the Lake District.
“In total, there are about 90 of those, and I have just completed my 10th climb of them, with the rest having been climbed an average of 25 times.
“Counted separately are Walla Crag and Latrigg, which, between them, have been climbed by me more than 1,000 times. The total is thus circa 5,000 climbs of the main Wainwright fells.
“Because I have decided to stop at 10 climbs – I am 71 after all – the feeling is a mixture of elation and sadness: the possibility of never again scaling beauties such as Eskdale, Harter Fell or Wasdale Red Pike, for example, does fill me with mournfulness. Then again, I intend to continue climbing.”
After an early-morning drive, Anna and her fellow Roamers, Sara Thomas and Tricia Donson, set off from Wasdale Head to climb Lingmell and Scafell Pike.
Readying themselves for their adventure, the three hikers obviously looked the part because they were soon approached by a lightly-equipped young couple wanting to know where to look for Scafell Pike and how to get to the top. After furnishing the ill-prepared youngsters with the requested information they were then approached by another young couple reading from a virtually identical script.
Having got over their incredulity, the three ladies crossed the unexpectedly depleted Lingmell Beck, soon finding themselves at the foot of Lingmell’s long southern shoulder, which was to be their ascent route. Although its initial 2,000-foot section was unremittingly steep, the views were already stupendous, offering an excellent excuse for the occasional breather.
To the right, the dramatic crags and rocky buttresses soaring high into the sky on both sides of Mickledore, which separates Scafell Pike from its second-in-command, were awe-inspiring, with the lofty Mosedale Horseshoe to the left, formed from Yewbarrow, Red Pike, Scoat Fell, Pillar and Kirk Fell, looking equally imposing.
To get the most out of Lingmell, Anna says one should visit the northern terminus of its summit ridge, adorned with a magnificent stony spire and offering a breath-taking view of Great Gable right opposite – not to mention the sweeping panorama framed by a range of central, eastern and north-western fells.
And, on the summit proper, attained by a short walk along the rocky ridge, out came a small bottle of bubbly. Anna was celebrating having climbed her final Wainwright fell the 10th time. Trying not to give themselves vertigo while peering down Lingmell’s vertiginous north face and into the ferocious ravines of Piers Gill and Greta Gill, the three hikers then determinedly tackled the stony ascent of Scafell Pike.
