Wainwright Walks episode 2
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TravelTranscript
00:00Nestled in the far northwest of England, this is the Lake District, a land defined by its
00:11natural 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
00:36guides have inspired generations of walkers to roam these glorious fells. And now, a century
00:42after his birth, it's my turn to go in search of the real Wainwright experience.
00:57Today, I'm at the northernmost tip of the Lake District, and I'm ready to tackle my first
01:17true mountain. At 2,847 feet, this is firmly in the big league of English fells. And there
01:25she is, Blencathra.
01:32I've read that Wainwright truly loved this fell. Today, I want to find out why. Out of all
01:38214 fells, what made him devote more pages to Blencathra than any other?
01:48Now, I haven't climbed anything like this for years, so I'm going to need all the help that
01:59I can get off Wainwright and his guide to the northern fells.
02:02First published over 50 years ago, Wainwright's handwritten and illustrated guides to the lakes
02:11have sold over a million copies. They've become the absolute bible for those who want to get
02:17the best out of England's largest national park. And as a novice climber, they're pretty
02:23much all I've got to go on.
02:25The first thing you notice about Blencathra is what a great big hulk of mountain it actually
02:33is. I mean, look at it. All the different slopes, the ridges, the colours that you can
02:38see from here, dark crevices that you want to get into. It's definitely intimidating.
02:51The next thing you notice is this, a big fat A road right at the foot of the mountain,
02:57the A66, which is nice.
03:06Wainwright must have hated this.
03:11When he published his Blencathra guide in 1962, this road was nothing but a plan in the minds
03:16of local authorities. But Wainwright made his opposition perfectly clear.
03:22The present road policy in the Lake District of generally turning highways into racetracks
03:27is surely wrong. It is an offence against good taste to sacrifice their character to satisfy
03:34speeding motorists and roadside picnickers.
03:38But Blencathra remained a very important fell for Wainwright. And to explain its significance,
03:44I'm meeting someone who knows his work intimately. Chris Jestie is halfway through a complete revision
03:50of Wainwright's original guides. Every path, scree and cairn is being checked and updated.
03:56Some might say that it's a bit of a poison chalice to take on updating a Wainwright book.
04:02Well, I must say, when I first thought that I was going to do it three years ago, it hung
04:08above me like a black cloud. I didn't want to do it. Because I knew, nobody else knew how
04:13much work was involved. I would have liked to have done it in his lifetime. I would like
04:16to have a look and be able to comment. But unfortunately, he can't now.
04:20Why you? What was your relationship with Wainwright?
04:24Ah, well, in 1972, I published a guide to the view from the summit of Snowdon. And this
04:32is rather like the panoramas in his books. I sent him a copy of this, and I got back a
04:37very pleasant letter saying how much he liked the panorama. And I got back...
04:40So he was your critic?
04:41Yes, yes. And if I'd had any letter from Wainwright, or if anybody had written saying
04:46they liked the panoramas, I'd have been delighted. But to have Wainwright saying that he liked the
04:49panoramas, this was just too much.
04:51What's the highlight for me up there on Blencathra?
04:54Well, the Sharp Edge route would be recommended, I think, by Wainwright. Because in the final
05:02pages of the final volume, he gives his six favourite mountains, and that includes Blencathra,
05:08and also six favourite places to be, apart from summits. And he mentions Sharp Edge in that.
05:14But Sharp Edge, I think, is really the most difficult of all the ascents, of any of the
05:19mountains, because it's just rock climbing, really.
05:22Have you done it?
05:23I attempted it. This was 1993, and I couldn't get up it, so I wouldn't attempt it now.
05:31I just had looked at it from the bottom, and then I went up and had looked at it from the
05:33top, and that's enough for me.
05:35So the man that's updating Wainwright's walks hasn't tackled Sharp Edge?
05:40Well, if it was me doing it, I would go a different way up.
05:46I can't deny I'm slightly concerned that a man like Chris Jesty chooses to look at rather
05:51than climb Sharp Edge. I'm hoping it will be the climax of my walk today.
05:56But before I start, let's take a look at the route I'll be taking.
06:14Starting from the inn at Scales Village, I'll be leaving the main road behind.
06:25From the inn, there's a steady ascent through the dense bracken of the lower fell.
06:30Things should get steeper as I reach the side of the great hollow known as Mouthswaite Coombe.
06:38The path here zigzags up the side of the coombe before edging its way around the top of the rim.
06:47At the top of the coombe, I'll head north at the crossroads, following the valley of the Glendamorakan River.
06:54From here, I should be able to get a clear view of the mountain's summit and the distinctive plateau top
07:01that lends the mountain its alternative name, Saddleback.
07:07Leaving the river, there's a short ascent to the secluded Scales Tarn.
07:12The Tarn is a perfect rest spot and also the access point for sharp edge.
07:19And this is what I'll be facing, Blencathra's jagged ridge of rock.
07:24The edge is the shortest, most direct and easily the most treacherous approach to any peak in the lakes.
07:31But my reward for this route should be a gentle and very satisfying stroll across the saddle to the peak.
07:38But back at the A66, that reward is a long way away.
07:442,847 feet. That's a pretty decent climb.
07:51Be nice to get away from the road as well.
07:55People who knew him claim that this was the only fell Wainwright truly completed.
08:04In the winter of 1960, he devoted himself to climbing and mapping this, the south side of the mountain.
08:11Everywhere else, there's probably some small stream or scree slope that he never got round to recording.
08:18But not Blencathra.
08:24The old A66, you can still hear it nice and loud.
08:32With so many people speeding past its base, Blencathra is one of the most familiar landmarks in Laetland.
08:38It stands alone, the last great outpost in the region, giving climbers a view right across to the Pennines.
08:49And to begin with, at least, it really is a gentle climb.
08:53The path meanders round the edge of Mouthswaite Coombe.
08:57Although I know that at some point, I'm going to be reminded of what's coming up ahead.
09:08It's the way you are.
09:12Now, there's a sort of mini crossroads here.
09:17A faint path coming up the hill that way.
09:20A strong one across the mountain.
09:23But I know I've got to follow the river, the river Glen de Moracken.
09:27And there are two valleys, but this just looks like the more obvious path.
09:31So, this must be the way.
09:42Aha, there is a sliver of silver, which is the river,
09:45so this is the right way.
09:47There's a real cloud hanging over Blencathra today.
09:49In fact, I walked through a bit of it back there,
09:51which is why my hair's gone all curly.
09:52I just hope that it lifts off Sharp Edge,
09:55because you don't want to tackle Sharp Edge in pea soup,
09:57which is what that is.
10:01The weather is one of the enduring characteristics
10:11of the Lake District.
10:15No number of weather forecasts will ever enable the walker
10:18to venture forth with total confidence.
10:22This is a world of microclimates,
10:24where one valley basks in sun,
10:26whilst the next runs for cover.
10:31But today it seems I might just be very lucky.
10:40The whole atmosphere of the walk changes round about here.
10:43You tip over that edge into the bosom of the valley,
10:46and suddenly the road noise has gone.
10:49And all you can hear is the river
10:51gushing through the valley down below,
10:53and the odd sheep.
10:53It's lovely.
11:01Wainwright would have loved this.
11:03A beautiful valley,
11:05blue skies,
11:06and not a soul in sight.
11:09I've got the place to myself.
11:10Let's move.
11:32Music
11:59Despite 19 million visitors a year,
12:02the lakes still offer one of England's best opportunities for escapism.
12:06And that was half the appeal for Wainwright.
12:10I do prefer my own company to that of other people.
12:15The tinkling of a mountain stream,
12:17the twittering of birds,
12:19the sound of wind sighing across the mountain tops.
12:23That's music to me.
12:32Wow.
12:35Unless I'm very much mistaken, that is sharp edge.
12:38In fact, I know I'm not mistaken because it looks exactly like that
12:41in Wainwright's book.
12:43That jagged silhouette is unmistakable.
12:47It looks impossible to climb, but there are little ants on the top.
12:51And that's what I'm meant to be doing.
12:54From here on, Blencathra begins to feel like a genuine mountain.
13:11It's a steep incline.
13:23For the walker in search of a raw fell climbing experience,
13:30Blencathra scores highly.
13:33The lakes these days are littered with specially constructed footpaths,
13:36a necessary step to protect the fells from tens of thousands of visitors every year.
13:41Blencathra, for now at least, remains amazingly free from man-made paths,
13:48leaving me to enjoy the mountain just as Wainwright first found it.
14:03Oh, this is just a classic Lake District scene.
14:06And it's beautiful.
14:08This is Scales Tarn, just at the base of Sharp Edge.
14:12And there's something so magical about these pools of water.
14:18Perfect spot for lunch.
14:27Scales Tarn is one of hundreds of tarns in this area.
14:30They're a real feature of the Lake District
14:33and mark the spot where huge basins of snow and ice once gathered.
14:37Many of these became so massive that they spilled over to form glaciers
14:41that carved out so much of Lakeland.
14:46Ten thousand years later, the ice is long gone,
14:49and all that remains are these great natural bowls,
14:52where water gathers, forming a tarn.
14:55I feel like a speck of dirt by a plug hole in an enormous basin.
15:07An enormous basin.
15:08It's really imposing.
15:10It's like a giant amphitheatre.
15:12It's like a giant amphitheatre.
15:13It's like a giant amphitheatre.
15:17it's like a giant amphitheatre.
15:18It's like the sea master,
15:20like a sea oben,
15:22and always moved.
15:23We know how much Wainwright enjoyed being on his own in the lakes.
15:43That's almost impossible these days.
15:45You have moments of solitude, moments of peace and quiet.
15:48But this is clearly a mecca for lunches.
15:53Wainwright's particular pet hate was school parties, long caterpillars of 40 kids that
15:59he insisted would have to share just one cheery hello from him.
16:09One thing you do notice from down here is this craggy a sharp edge looks.
16:13Once you make it, it's completely flat along the top, all the way around.
16:23But reading my Wainwright leaves me in no doubt about the challenge I've got first though.
16:29Sharp edge is a rising crest of naked rock, a breaking wave carved in stone.
16:37The sight of it at close quarters is sufficient to make a beholder about to tackle it, forget all other worries, even a raging toothache.
16:47The crest itself is sharp enough for shaving.
16:50The former name was razor edge and could be traversed only at some risk of damage to tender parts.
16:56There is one awkward place calling for a shuffle of a sloping slab onto a knife edge.
17:01Countless posteriors have imparted a high polish to this spot.
17:05I think my posterior might be polishing it as well.
17:15Right, it's time to tackle the sharp edge.
17:17And it's time to let you into a little secret as well.
17:20No big surprise, I'm not actually completely on my own.
17:24There is a camera crew with me.
17:27And amongst the crew is the lovely David.
17:30Come here David.
17:31Who just checks that we don't do anything horribly wrong.
17:34It's a health and safety thing because David is our mountain goat.
17:37You don't mind me calling you that, do you?
17:38No.
17:39You've been walking these hills for how long?
17:41A long time.
17:42A long time.
17:43Are we going into decades?
17:44Yes, many decades.
17:45Many decades.
17:46So there's nothing that you don't know about probably every square inch of this place.
17:50I know a fair bit of the lake district.
17:51First question, I am going to make it, aren't I?
17:53Oh, absolutely.
17:54No problem.
17:55No.
17:56Absolutely not.
17:57My reputation depends on it.
17:59Today everything visibility is good, it's not wet.
18:02No, dry rock would be good.
18:03Cloud has gone.
18:04Okay.
18:05Well, I think we should just go for it.
18:06Absolutely.
18:07Come on then.
18:08I've got to be back.
18:09Just mind this crew.
18:15Not only is David a mountain guide with a vast local knowledge, he's also a fanatical fell runner.
18:21He celebrated his last birthday by running 48 miles across 30 peaks.
18:26A ridiculous feat.
18:28Made even more surprising because it was his 60th birthday.
18:34It's a glorious day.
18:38You notice that everybody speaks to everybody.
18:40Which I like.
18:41Yeah.
18:42It's not like that in London, you know.
18:45Have I ever been to London three times?
18:47Have you?
18:52Do you think you know the fells as well as Wainwright did?
18:54No, absolutely not.
18:55He spent months on one single mountain, finding every single way to the top, every root ridge.
19:02He knew everything about them.
19:04And his guide books are definitive.
19:06The way he does the perspective drawings of the path going up the fells.
19:09Nobody before or since has written books that have come anywhere near him.
19:14He used to sleep out on the fells rather than go home.
19:23And the books he wrote, or he started writing, purely as an aide memoir for when he couldn't go up the mountains himself in his later years.
19:30Yeah.
19:31Thirty-six pages he wrote on this mountain.
19:34Just a bit.
19:35Anyway, we're getting to the serious bit now.
19:37This has all been not too bad so far.
19:40No, but we'll just take our time and not do anything silly.
19:43Anyway, you should go first.
19:45Okay.
19:46Wainwright always like to send people first so that they saw things for the first time.
19:50Oh.
19:54The wind's picking up now.
19:55It is.
19:56Up here.
19:57It'll just add a little frisson to our little expedition.
20:00As if we didn't need anything else.
20:05You see, that looks nice and not so hard up that way, David.
20:10Yes, but that's not where you're going.
20:12Up the gully.
20:13Come on.
20:14Okay.
20:15Just, er, you have to think three points of contact.
20:23Three points of contact.
20:25Yes.
20:26So, obviously both feet.
20:27One hand.
20:28I'm not going to do the one-legged.
20:30Yeah.
20:31But, come on.
20:33Is this particular bit called anything else?
20:38I don't think so.
20:39It's still part of just sharp edge until we get to the steep bit there which is called foul
20:46crag.
20:48It's totally different.
20:49There, you know, you can't just balance across.
20:51You have to use hands and feet.
20:53Even you?
20:54Even, even I will use my hands on that bit.
20:57Okay.
20:58Good.
20:59Sorry, I've let you go.
21:00I should wait for you.
21:01No.
21:02Yeah.
21:03Sorry.
21:04That's fine.
21:05Don't worry about me.
21:06I'll just keep on using, I'll just keep on using my hands.
21:09I should worry about you really.
21:11Okay.
21:12Okay.
21:13Let's go.
21:14Let's go.
21:15Let's go.
21:16Aha.
21:17Right, well this is the exposed bit.
21:18So, the thing to do is just to go across it.
21:20Right, okay.
21:21Shall I go first?
21:22Yeah, please do go first.
21:23Yeah.
21:24And all you need is to balance and watch where you put your feet, use your hands.
21:27What if I told you I didn't have great balance, David?
21:28Well, now's the time to discover that you do have good balance.
21:29Okay.
21:30I'm going to do my three-point thing if that's all right.
21:31That's okay.
21:32Look at you just walking across it.
21:33Yeah, well...
21:34Ah, well...
21:35Ah.
21:36Yeah, well, this is the exposed bit.
21:37So, the thing to do is just to go across it.
21:38Right.
21:39Okay.
21:40Shall I go first?
21:41Yeah, please do go first.
21:42Yeah.
21:43And all you need is balance and watch where you put your feet, use your hands.
21:44What if I told you I didn't have great balance, David?
21:45Well, now, now's the time to discover that you do have good balance.
21:48Okay.
21:49Good balance.
21:50And I'll do my two-point thing if that's all right.
21:51That's okay.
21:52Look at you just walking across it.
21:53Yeah, well...
21:54Oh.
21:55This is what we need to be careful of those tender parts.
21:57Wait, right, oh hello.
21:58Then we get to the big slabs and you can just, like, you know, it's a room for a picnic
22:16up here.
22:17Okay.
22:18Am I being a bit too cautious?
22:24No, no, no, no.
22:26Shall we try full height?
22:28Ooh.
22:29There we are.
22:30Okay.
22:30Okay.
22:33Yeah?
22:34Yeah.
22:35Good.
22:36Just not looking.
22:38That's all right.
22:40Oh, a bit windy.
22:42I probably look quite pathetic, but I don't care.
22:47Yeah. It looks quite high from up here.
22:49My heart's going, ooh, ooh, ooh.
22:54Is that the hard bit done?
22:56Yeah.
22:56Good.
22:57Woo-hoo!
23:02For me, there's a real buzz about completing something that genuinely makes you nervous.
23:06And heights are definitely not my thing.
23:09But the reward for getting across the edge is foul crag, the final steep climb to the summit plateau.
23:15Right.
23:18Okay.
23:18Remember, three points of contact.
23:20Yeah.
23:20And right behind you.
23:21Yeah.
23:21Yeah.
23:21Right behind you.
23:21Try and keep your body away from the rock so you can see exactly what you're doing with your feet.
23:39That's it.
23:40You've got the bit between your teeth now, haven't you?
23:46Yeah.
23:47Flying along.
23:49I can smell the summit now.
23:50Success.
23:51Yes.
23:52Unlike David, I'm no rock climber, so there's a real sense of achievement in completing something that felt truly adventurous.
24:03Having got over Sharp Edge, I really feel I know what Wainwright meant when he called Blencathra a mountaineer's mountain.
24:11Nearly there.
24:14Yeah, not very far.
24:15Just before you go, just look back and see where you've come from.
24:19Isn't that just superb?
24:20You see, that's quite impressive.
24:22Yeah.
24:23Yeah.
24:23It looks like a Sharp Edge from here, doesn't it?
24:26It certainly does.
24:27You can really see the bowl in which the tarn is set.
24:31Without you, I wouldn't have done it at all, I've got to say, David.
24:35That's all right.
24:35But this is the best bit of the walk, isn't it, to be able to look back and take in the views from up here.
24:41And we haven't seen the best bit yet, anyway.
24:43No.
24:43We haven't seen the top.
24:46David, where do you stand at this name game, Saddleback versus Blencathra?
24:51Well, Blencathra has to be for me.
24:53It has to be.
24:54Because?
24:55Well, it just rolls off the tongue so nicely, doesn't it?
24:57It's more romantic, isn't it?
24:59And it's the ancient name.
25:00Saddleback is the Victorian name.
25:02We're just walking through what the Victorians call the saddle of Saddleback.
25:07But it just doesn't sound the same to say, oh, I've tackled Saddleback.
25:11Isn't it as impressive as I've tackled Blencathra?
25:13Absolutely.
25:13I got to the summit.
25:15And yet the Ornans survey still can't make their minds up.
25:18One or the other.
25:19They probably listed as both.
25:22Wainwright would only have Blencathra.
25:24We'll stick with that.
25:24I like Blencathra too.
25:25Okay.
25:26We'll go for that.
25:31Made it!
25:32Yep, well done.
25:33And what magnificent views, but all around you.
25:36I mean, there isn't a bad looking view in any direction.
25:40Nope.
25:40Not at all.
25:41We've got Criffle in Scotland over there for a start.
25:43Yeah.
25:45Which water is that, Wood?
25:47Dermot Water.
25:48Dermot Water.
25:48Just below Keswick.
25:51Thirlmere over here.
25:52Yep.
25:53And this mountain range straight ahead of us?
25:55This starts Cloughhead and onto the Dodds and way up onto Helvellum.
25:59And over here is Skidder and Skidder Little Man, which overlook Keswick, dominate Keswick.
26:06And then further left, you come onto, down below, just above Dermot Water, Catbells, great favourite with lots and lots of people who go to Keswick.
26:17And that runs up onto Dale Head, Hindscarf and Robinson.
26:23We come further left.
26:23There's not a fell you don't know, man.
26:25It's ridiculous.
26:26You come...
26:27Whether you know the peaks or not, the view from nearly 3,000 feet up is undeniably spectacular, and you feel utterly detached from the world below.
26:39This may not be the highest spot in the lakes, but it's one of the best known, and as I've just discovered, it's one of the toughest climbs around.
26:48There we go.
26:49Our spot is marked atop the cairn.
26:52Well, that's good.
26:53Excellent.
26:54Well done.
26:54Now, Wainwright wasn't very impressed with this cairn, was he?
26:57He loved the summit, but overall, if you read the book here...
27:02And nothing marks the highest point but a poor untidy heap of rubble.
27:06On occasion, attempts are made to give the thing some shape and dignity, but until somebody carries up a few decent-sized blocks, the cairn will continue to disappoint by its insignificance.
27:16Oh, there's a big one there. Shall I go and get it?
27:18Go on, then.
27:19Rather him than me.
27:20I think he meant something even bigger, but nevertheless...
27:27All right, well, we'll do something anyway.
27:30OK.
27:32Hey!
27:33We could have started the change of the cairn atop of Blencathra.
27:37It could have become something significant.
27:39David, congratulations. Thank you very much.
27:42Thank you very much.
27:44We know that Wainwright thought this fell worthy of more pages than any other, but we'll never truly know whether Blencathra might just have been his all-time favourite.
27:53The great fell walker was canny enough to keep this sort of information a close secret.
27:59But he did leave behind a comprehensive guide to one of the lake's most dramatic climbs, and left us in no doubt that whilst there are many saddlebacks, there is only one Blencathra.
28:12That's the Burredale Valley in the heart of the lakes, and that's where I'm heading next time.
28:22Now, it's 2,000 feet lower than here and much flatter, but it's also the wettest point in England.
28:29So, fingers crossed.
28:30Enjoy more Wainwright walks tomorrow at 7.30 here on BBC4.