On many walks last summer, I was doing an exploration of Hope Beck and the round of hills above centring around Hopegill Head. There was one completely awful route where I tried to follow a rake onto the ridge before Ladyside Pike which was visible from across the valley but, once underfoot, ended up disappearing into thick heather in which I had to flog my way steeply uphill. The routes I took up the gill, however, were good…
All photos:
my Zenith manual film SLR
Setting off up the Hope Beck valley on a good path…
On one visit, somewhere around here, I disturbed a heron which made the unwise decision to escape upstream… I saw an awful lot of the poor thing taking off again and again and going further upstream until he was more or less going up the hill with me!
Some old ruins (probably sheepfolds) – the bilberries get very good from here on if they’re in season!
Looking back out of the valley to Whiteside Dodd below…
Starting the gill proper… Various paths set off up scree on the left-hand bank to go straight up to the Ladyside Pike col without doing the gill – I personally find the gill better as I don’t like loose ground and the gill is very nice.
As always with a gill walk there is a lot of swapping from one side to the other…
All the waterfalls are easy except this second to last one which is a bit more challenging. The first time, as it was spring and quite dry, I used the ladder of fairly slippery stones up the left-hand side which were fun and fine. Another time I went up above the falls on the right-hand bank but this was steep and not as nice really…
All in all, a very easy gill! After the falls, you leave the gill left for the other path going up to the col between Ladyside Pike and Hopegill Head. This is quite a puff as it’s steep but you gain height quickly and it has nice steps forming in the earth. Nearing the col, I always take one of the paths to the left to join the ridge to Ladyside Pike as I think it’s a lovely peak and shouldn’t be missed out!
Ladyside Pike
Hopegill Head from Ladyside Pike
‘The Horn’ and Hopegill Head – the path goes below it – I go UP it!
Ladyside Pike and The Horn
After leaving the col via or under The Horn, you are then faced with this daunting view of Hopegill Head. However, it’s nothing like as bad as it looks, honest! Better in the dry though…
The normal route goes up the obvious groove – I go up the left – more fun!
On my first visit of my campaign, I’d just finished scrambling up the left-hand side of the slabs to the summit of Hopegill when I looked round to see how the following couple were doing as they had looked quite daunted! They were still stood at the bottom staring at the crag and wavering.
After I’d had a bit of a sit admiring the view, I set off down the back for Sand Hill – an easy add-on. On returning to the summit of Hopegill Head, I noticed the couple were still at the foot wavering. I set off along the ridge for Whiteside – this is definitely the best ridge walking in the Lakes – Wainwright thought so too. I kept looking and the couple were still stood looking at the crag – I wasn’t sure what they thought was going to change. They’d seen me go up it without any problems (and mostly without the use of hands) but didn’t seem willing to follow.
Now, the very first time I approached the slabs, years ago when I was very cowardly, as they loomed out of the mist I had a couple of minutes looking at them… and then announced we were going back down! So we did. To be honest, this couple needed to do two things – one was to put their poles away – you can’t scramble with poles as it’s too dangerous. The other was to just decide one way or the other and that doesn’t really take half an hour. You can either face it or you have to come back another day (no shame in that) when you have more experience or whatever! I’m fairly certain they eventually did turn back…
Above and below – the best ridge walk in The Lakes!
Looking across to the spectacular Dove Crags Arete which I did the other year and really enjoyed – another route which looks much worse than it is…
During my campaign last year I took various descent routes. The first route I ever ascended was the ridge from Whiteside Dodd and that is easy and pleasant (but getting a bit eroded and grooved by mountain bikes unfortunately). Another time I decided it was time I descended the Penn ridge (below). This was okay but is very steep to get off and there don’t seem to be any routes off it into the valley. I eventually found an intermittent sheep trod which got me down. The ridge is quite heathery and airy though and I don’t think I’ll bother with it again… It does have a lovely path across to Whiteside Dodd though which you can see in the photo below.
Approaching Whiteside Dodd – a lovely little add-on!
The continuation ridge from Dodd to Whiteside below – nice in ascent or descent…
There are paths all over the front of Dodd and I’ve used them all – but my favourite goes up the gully between the two crags in the photo below. I looked for a scramble up the crags but think they’re a bit too steep for comfort really…
Looking down the gully – but it’s not scary really… Just a couple of minutes to the summit from here via a path through the heather above the crags…
Superb natural sheep shelter! or a bivvy site…
After summitting Dodd, it’s probably best to return back down the front to the gulch between it and Whiteside for the descent to the valley via a lovely path…
Great gulch between Whiteside and Dodd
final look at Hope Beck and Hopegill Head in the failing light
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The Adventures of a Mountain Coward 
Nice report and glad to hear you are feeling better. Whiteside is one of the ones that is bothering me.
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If you end up doing it on its own the route up the back from Hope Beck Valley on the Dodd ridge is really, really easy. That’s why I used it the first time going up…
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Filling a hill is always a great way to gain height, sadly there isnt much in the way of running water in South Wales, at least not the steep sided valley sort, and they tend to be seriously overgrown. I haven’t walked over Whiteside for many a long year.
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I’m hoping to make the most of the weather on these hills again tomorrow – I think we’re only getting one good day by the look of it!
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Wonderful photos. Great views from the ridge. Bilberries and ruins, sounds like a good hike. I hope you are feeling better and ready to get back out. Take care.
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I’ve been getting back in the hills – but my energy levels have been varying wildly – not sure if that’s the after-effects of Covid but I suppose it could be! I did 6 mountains before I went onto nightshift on Saturday (my new job) so I’m making progress!
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A great read, Carol, and it’s great to learn all about another of your intrepid adventures again. It does look scary in places, but the sheer beauty of the landscape more than compensates for the fear factor. I really love the shot looking back out of the valley to Whiteside Dodd, with that lovely tinge of purple. I hope the other couple sorted themselves out in the end. You’re absolutely right, of course, if in doubt come back another day armed with more experience. One other thing – did the heron get away ok in the end?
P.S. Apologies for the slight delay in getting to this. You can probably imagine the chaos going on here with the move, which is turning out to be very long, drawn-out and staggered, but it seems we have a short lull in proceedings now for me to catch up a bit on blogging. Great to see you posting your adventures again, and I hope you’re feeling much better now. 🙂
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Thanks Alli – I was feeling better last week – the fatigue/exhaustion had gone and I did 14 hills… but, this week, I’m exhausted again and having to take days to recover even from just standing in the shop! I changed jobs today to work at Booths Supermarket in Keswick on nightshifts (which generally suit me better and don’t have parking and traffic problems so less stress there).
I remember how bad moving house was – luckily I had over 18 months to move here and so I did a lot of it bit by bit so that really helped. I can’t imagine having to do it more quickly but no doubt next time I’ll have to!
I lost track of the heron eventually – I’m sure it must eventually have gone back down before the summit ridge as that’s around 2500 feet up! Not a usual height for herons!
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Glad to hear you’re feeling better, but do take it easy. Our bodies have a way of letting us know when it’s time to take a rest on the road to recovery. It’s good that your new job is less demanding on the traffic and parking front, and I’m sure it’ll be quieter too.
I wish we had that long to move, but our experience is all about shifting dates, waiting for solicitors and going into storage for a while. Can’t wait for it all to be over with!
Take care of yourself and don’t overdo things. And when you’re out and about again, if you ever see the heron around there again, give it a high five from me! 🙂
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I also know what you mean about all the juggling of people and waiting for solicitors etc during house moves – that was partly why I wanted to do it the way I did – buy one and sell the other later. Of course I had to borrow off family and Richard quite heavily as I couldn’t get a bridging loan – you can get one for a car but not for a house! I’ve paid them all back now though… But it’s a total nightmare if you have to join a ladder and buy and sell concurrently!
There’s actually a few herons in Keswick on the river where it runs through the park – very nice to see…
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For the size of the Lake District it probably contains as many great rock climbs, walkers paths, excellent mountains, and interesting villages/towns as most of Scotland north of the Central Belt contains. Having explored both areas that’s not an exaggeration. Decent chip shops or towns with any character/shops/entertainment/ nightlife in the Scottish Highlands for example can be counted on one hand and are spaced far apart. Long live the Lakes and varied towns 20 mins away in a car from each other.
We spent 40 years trying to find a decent chippie in Fort William or Portree on Skye and failed, except for a sit down meal in Nevisport in F. W. which was usually shut by the time we arrived. Not had a bad chippie yet in the Lakes.
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We like the chippie/cafe/cake shop in Broadford by the Elgol junction – not as good as a Northern England one, e.g. Yorks/Cumbria but good. I agree the ones in Fort William aren’t brilliant but they’re run by foreigners I think who don’t really know how to do British fish and chips.
You’re right about the Lake District being compact and packed with goodies – I think it’s the compactness which makes it over-popular.
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Thinking about it probably because there’s a lot more year round competition in the Lake District so bad chip shops/ other stores don’t survive whereas in the Scottish Highlands even peak trade season is often sparse, shorter time period to make money, and sometimes just one chippie per town or village. I’ve answered my own question as to why some are so poor in quality :o)
Went to one in the Highlands a few years ago and had a pie supper which was so bad I only managed a few chips and one bite of the mince pie then remembered having the same bad experience 15 years earlier… which had slipped my mind until that moment of tossing it in a nearby bin filled with dozens of other half eaten suppers. Same thing occurred last time as well. Same price for chips as the Lakes though.
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Such very grand pictures/
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Thanks John – some of them are quite old from the days when film was better quality and processing chemicals were in a better state!
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Nice exploration. Do you know if it is easier to do Hopegill Head to Ladyside Pike than Ladyside to Hopegill? Last time we did Whiteside pike, hopegill head and I wanted to go down by Ladyside but someone at the top of Hopegill recommended us to instead go down following Liza Beck.
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It’s always easier to ascend slabs etc. than descend them so Ladyside Pike to Hopegill Head is easiest – the route can look pretty daunting as you set off down from Hopegill Head although it’s easy enough and, in the dry, perfectly safe. It’s okay in the wet too if you stay in the obvious groove.
Liza Beck in Gasgale Gill is a lovely route though. Descending off the end of Whiteside (you may well have gone up that way) is okay but very steep and rocky at the top – again safe enough though…
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Quite the hike. Hopefully you’re feeling better and will be back at it soon.
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I was on that walk on a lovely clear and sunny day just a couple of days before I got Covid and was thinking what a lovely alpine-style feel it had. I hope to get back to it soon…
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