Despite a 14-metre shortfall relative to its better-known neighbour, Lakeland's second summit is arguably Top Dog, presenting stupendous rock faces, especially towards Hollowstones and Mickledore. The West Wall Traverse is fascinatingly adventurous but nowhere difficult, offering a good compromise between the neckiness of Broad Stand and the soul-crushing height-loss of Foxes Tarn.
Fetching Map
Height Profile
metres / Distance
miles
Detailed description
1
NY2001500917 There's a handy car park on the north side of the Eskdale road, just up from Wha House farm. A track leads onto the fell but ignore this for now: you'll be coming down that way in a few hours. Instead, head west on the road for 200 metres and turn left on the track to Taw House farm. Go through the farmyard and continue for another kilometre, to the bridge over the enchanting ravine of Scale Force.
2
NY2152502529 150 metres after the waterfall, turn left and head up some broad, swooping zigzags to gain a shelf over Eskdale. Head north. The route eventually rejoins the Esk around the colossal boulders at Sampson's Stones. There are many howffs (howves?) hereabouts.
3
NY2189705764 300 metres after Sampson's Stones, turn left on a thin trod heading steeply up past an impressive waterfall and up the side of How Beck. Keep going up the increasingly impressive corrie.
4
NY2103006903 After gaining the crest of Mickledore, pause a while to admire the prospect of Scafell.After that taste of the Sublime, it's time to debase yourself with the ungainly slither down loose ground, following the base of the crags on the Wasdale side. Start up the stony couloir of Lord's Rake, but look out for the critical left turn just before the first "col".
5
NY2069306843 Leaving the Rake might seem a dodgy thing to do, but keep the faith: clamber a couple of metres up on your left and you'll gain a miraculously easy grass rake slanting up to the left. This is the Traverse, and there are few places that afford such an intimate appraisal of stunning rock scenery yet such easy movement.
6
NY2082406737 At the junction with Deep Ghyll, turn right. (Make a good mental note of this spot:if you ever find yourself descending this way, you must make this turn or Bad Things will happen further down Deep Ghyll). © Norman Hadley
7
NY2102205035 Drop on steep, stony ground to reach a huge moor draining into Eskdale. The name "Quagrigg Moss" should calibrate expectations of returning dryshod.
8
NY2084704007 Watch out for a faint bifurcation. Both routes ultimately reconverge but it's probably easier sloping down to the left and skirting the damp hollow of Cat Cove before joining the slanting line, mentioned at step (1), back down to the start.
This has been viewed 1,129 times
Download
OS maps and some other mapping apps don't allow waypointsStatistics
Difficulty: DifficultDistance: 9.60 miles (15.45 km)
Total ascent: 0m
Time: 3 hours (Trail running);
5 hours (Walking)
Voting:
from 1 votes
Login as Existing User
to rate this walk.
to rate this walk.
Additional Information
Start/Finish:Car park near Wha House Farm, NY199009
Nearest town:
Gosforth
Terrain:
The traverse itself is a delight, but the ground immediately before and after is slithery, as is the initial descent from Slight Side. Expect dampness underfoot in upper Eskdale and in the environs of Cat Cove.
Seasonal variations:
Expect a full tool-wielding tussle in winter conditions.
Weather and Hill Conditions: mwis: Lake District – Met Office: Lake District
Public transport:
Guidebooks:
Wainwright's Southern Fells
Maps:
OS Explorer OL6 (1:25,000), Harvey/BMC Lake District (1:40,000), OS Landranger 89 (1:50,000) Directory Listings:
Find more Listings near this route Tourist info:
Coniston (015394 41533); Broughton-in-Furness (01229 716 115); Seatoller (017687 77294)
Further Routes
by Norman Hadley
- Bannisdale Horseshoe 6 Apr
- Sallows and Sour Howes 20 Mar
- Kinder Downfall and the Reservoir Round 14 Feb
- Buttermere Horseshoe 3 Jan
- Brock Crags and Angletarn Pikes 12 Dec, 2023
Some very strange artifacts on the map when scaled to 200m/500ft - straight road segments with English and Cyrillic (Russian) names suddenly appear...
That sounds pretty bizarre, Pete. Can you post (or send to me) a screen shot of what you're getting?
Kerrazy stuff - does it show up on the OS style when you toggle layers, too?
And what about other route cards? Is it just this one?
I'm getting that as well, Russki this, Rossiya that, and some offensive language too (top right).
I've checked your previous three route cards and they seem OK. I'd delete this thread, re-source the map and repost, as it seems a shame it's been derailed...