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Great Gable – Great Lake District Walks

BMC

Saved routes

Great Gable – Great Lake District Walks

BMC planned a hike

January 17, 2024

Great Gable – Great Lake District Walks

Hard

05:11

10.1km

2.0km/h

930m

Josefien Wilckens liked this tour.

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Overview

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Lake District National Park

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

2.35 km

Kirk Fell Summit

Highlight • Viewpoint

Kirk Fell is one of Alfred Wainwright's 214 fells of Lakeland. The summit offers brilliant views down Wasdale to Wast Water, but my favourite view from here has to be towards the unmistakable profile of Great Gable.

I've once hiked 'up the nose' of Kirk Fell, a relentless steep walk from the valley at Wasdale Head to the summit at 2,631 feet (802 m). Many people say you should try it just the once, but you'll probably never do it again. You'd probably need a knee replacement if you decided to descend that way!

Tip by

3.61 km

Beck Head Tarn

Highlight • Trail

This is the col between Kirk Fell and Great Gable and the view down to Wast Water from here is simply brilliant! A great place to stop and have lunch.

Tip by

4.29 km

Great Gable summit

Highlight • Natural Monument

A humongous, rugged mass of rock and crags and cliffs, Great Gable is captivating to look at: an unbroken, devilish pyramid from the south; the dome of a sleeping, curled-up giant from the north. It is a spiritual place too, its summit adorned with a poignant war memorial.

Tip by

5.67 km

Sty Head Stretcher Box

Highlight • Trail

Sty Head is the apex of an ancient and wild trade route between Borrowdale and Wasdale, the Styhead Pass. Right in the mountainous heart of the Lake District, it separates two giants, the charismatic Great Gable and Great End, the lofty north-western termination of the Scafell massif.

Its position makes it the meeting point of six distinct paths. As well as the two trails from Wasdale and the one from Borrowdale, another two seek out Great Gable, while the other ventures up into the Scafells. The top of the pass is also the location of a mountain rescue stretcher box, highlighting the seriousness of the mountain terrain that surrounds it.

Tip by

10.1 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

5.92 km

2.26 km

1.76 km

147 m

Surfaces

5.92 km

1.92 km

1.23 km

864 m

147 m

Route Details

Elevation

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Great Gable – Great Lake District Walks

Kirk Fell Summit

Beck Head Tarn

Great Gable summit

Sty Head Stretcher Box

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