Eagle & Sergeants Crags, Borrowdale

Richard and I had a trip back to one of our favourite hotels for a short break when the lockdown ended.  The weather was mostly dire and Richard’s legs were very unfit so we stuck to short walks between the showers where possible.  This was one of the shortest mountain walks I could think of in the area and, as I hadn’t done Eagle Crag for years but had been looking at it each time I was down Borrowdale, I thought it would make an excellent choice for our second day!

All photos:
Richard’s digi point and shoot as I didn’t bother to take my camera – I did direct the shots though!

I decided not to take my camera on the hill as, when it comes to the Lakes nowadays, I think I’ve pretty much photographed every rock.  I knew Richard would take his digi-camera and it takes reasonable photos so I decided to just rely on that.  Pretty much all the photos are directed by me though – you know ‘line it up on that’, ‘I want the photo to focus on that’ etc.  Richard was happy to oblige…

The first day, just to break Richard’s legs – sorry, to break Richard’s legs IN, we just did Dock Tarn via the wonderfully named Willygrass Gill, continued on to Watendlath and then walked back over the standard route to Rosthwaite and our hotel. I’ll put a couple of photos from that day here first…

Willygrass Gill

Eagle & Sergeants Crag from top of Willygrass Gill

Dock Tarn

On the second day, we’d walked to the foot of Greenup Gill, crossed the bridge to the bottom of Eagle Crag, passed through three fields and then set off up the steep climb by the wall which led to the foot of the crags.  Around a third of the way up here, Richard declared there was no way he was going to be able to get up the hill!

So, I had to switch to my usual mode – persuasion mode!  I convinced him that we’d go slower and take little rests and then he’d have no problem.  He looked doubtful but continued up.  I zig-zagged as much as I could to ease the angle of the slope and eventually we made it up to the little col under the crags.

There is an awkward leaning stile here over the fence.  I’ve no idea what you’d do if you were on your own (as I normally would be) as it was necessary for someone to hold the hand post in the fence up against the pressure of the person trying to surmount the high step to cross the stile.  Basically, without pulling on the hand post, you wouldn’t be able to get onto the step as it’s so high.  So, luckily there were two of us and the people behind us were also in a two otherwise we’d have had to wait for them and hold the post for them too.

The path then ascends steeply up a grassy rake onto a shoulder at the foot of a gully – the gully is key to the ascent but you can’t really miss it as you can’t continue along the rake after it.  From here it’s a stupendous drop down to the valley so I got Richard to take a photo of it.

 

The end of the rake (above) the shoulder (below)

 

We then headed up to the foot of the gully.  I’ve only done Eagle Crag once before from this side and that’s when I was still very green and cowardly and ‘doing my Wainwrights’.  All I can remember from the whole climb is THE GULLY!  I hated it back then.  I can’t remember any other excitements to the fell at all from all those years ago which is what makes me think the route has now changed…

 

Approaching THE GULLY – which is steeper and rockier than it looks!

Now Richard had with him a walking pole which, for scrambling, is a bloody nuisance!  So, for most of the way up the gully, I had to scramble one-handed (despite it being slippery and very wet) and take his pole up with me.  There were a few places where I had to pass it back to him and then have it passed back up and some where I just threw it up ahead but, thoughout, it was a bloody nuisance!  Luckily, I’m much more confident nowadays and so was perfectly happy.

At the top of the gully, I got a surprise!  The rest of the route was nothing like I remembered and there’s no way I’d have been happy on it all those years ago.  I believe last time, we went slightly left and then just clambered up various small rocky steps to the summit.  This time, we set off along a ledge – there was a bit of heathery ground before the humungous drop to the valley and I was perfectly happy.  Richard took photos…

 

Looking back to the tree at the top of the gully

There isn’t a handrail on the ledge – it’s actually a vein of rock!

You can see on the first of the photos of the ledge that it then continues round the corner gleaming wetly… Around the corner, the heather edging disappeared until you were pretty much at the very edge of the big drop.  I wasn’t really worried but hoped it wouldn’t collapse and that neither of us would slip on the wet, smooth rock.  I continued on confidently but wondered about the less confident-looking couple behind…

I looked behind periodically to make sure they were still following okay – they were but didn’t look totally happy.  I kept a bit of an eye on them and, eventually, after a long traverse, the path decided to hop up to a higher ledge away from the drop and go back the other way.

There was then another ledge running back the other way again and I started to look for easy ways up the crag band – at this stage around 15 feet tall.  I soon found a very nice looking gully and we hopped up that.  We were still in sight of the other couple so I assumed they’d follow which I think they did.

There was then another ledge right and, as it petered out, there were at least two easy ways up to the summit.  Richard went the grassy way and I romped up some slabs to the summit.

 

Presently the other couple caught up.  Richard asked them if they’d found it fun?  They didn’t really agree but they looked glad to have finally reached the summit.  We left them to it and headed off towards Sergeants Crag – a very easy stroll across a col.

 

Sergeants Crag from Eagle

Leaving Eagle Crag, you descend to a wall where there is a small and fun rock step – you pretty much have to sit down for this one… We then continued wetly along the ridge for a short distance to the start of the ascent of Sergeants.  This is a very easy ascent and you’re soon at the summit…

 

Looking back to Eagle Crag – the ledges work their way up the left-hand side from the obvious shelf above the more vertical stuff

 

Sergeants Crag Summit

After a short sit we set off down the grassy back into the coombe behind (having to climb over an awkward fenced wall en route) to rejoin the Greenup Beck route for our return.  There was a nice tarn down the back…

 

I’m always fascinated by Lining Crag as it’s a huge excrescence on an otherwise grassy hillside so I got Richard to take lots of photos of it…

 

We then crossed the valley to join the route down beside Greenup Gill – a very pretty and pleasant route it is too!

 

Final look back up Greenup Beck to Lining Crag

 

And a final look back to our route up Eagle Crag

Despite Richard’s protestations at the start of the day, on quizzing him when we got back, it turned out that he’d found it a very entertaining and exciting day and absolutely loved Eagle Crag!  Just shows you should never give up but press on instead!

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