Staying in Boot near Eskdale in a few weeks and quite fancy walking up Scafell as it’s so close.

Never been up it (x3 up Scafell Pike) and would like to tick it off. Worth extending walk to take in SP too?

Any obvious/must-do routes? Don’t really want to have to drive anywhere. TIA

Go along the road to Brotherlikeld (at the foot of Hardknott) then take the FP following the Esk to Great Moss then take the path leading up past Cam Spout towards Mickledore. Just before you get to Mickledore you’ll see the gully that’s the outflow of Foxes Tarn, go up this and then to the summit. Return via Slight Side.

If you want to include SP then from Great Moss go past Esk Buttress (marked as Dow Crag on the map) and head up Little Narrowcove to the col, turn left and up to SP. Head down to Mickledore then left under East Buttress to the afore mentioned gully.

If you want to avoid any road then a short drive to Wha House and there’s parking there (or used to be!).

 Worth extending walk to take in SP too?

Makes it a bit longer, view is similar 😉

We did Scafell from Boot last year, as part of a little back packing tour. There’s a BW which takes you pretty much there direct.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/TE8iF2]Eller How bridleway[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/TgxVUy]Eller How bridleway[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

Bit of a dull slog up the back of Scafell (from Wasdale side) but easy enough.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SBNrqv]Ascending Sca Fell from the West[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SBNnw8]Sca Fell summit[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

Unless you fancy trying Broad Stand, bit of a detour to get to SFP.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/TMYhTL]Descending the gulley from Foxes Tarn, Sca Fell[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

Get to Mickledore Coll.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/TMYfQh]Mickledore Coll[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

Short walk to SFP from here….

Up on the Eskdale side, down via the boring (Slight) side. Upper Eskdale is gorgeous and relatively quiet. If you’ve got a whole day, You might as well pop along to SP first via Esk Hause or Little Narrowcove. Leave early enough, you might even get to SP summit while it’s not too crowded.

Best advice i ever got on scafell which i did not think i would ever need, but actually did use.

The bearing to get off if the cloud descends, it did, we were enjoying our lunch.  There is never anyone around when you need them.  We had the bearing so got off safely.  Think it was 330 deg to get back to wasdale but please check.

Lesson learnt.

The bearing to get off if the cloud descends,

You did have a map right, you can just get the bearing off that and then use the compass to follow it…..

From either the back of the Woolpack Hotel or from Boot itself the are paths that take you all the way to Scafell. It’s quite a long slog. Sometimes boggy and frequently boring.

You can make it a bit more interesting by taking in Slight Side, but considering that this is the highest landmass in England the way up from Eskdale is pretty poor.

To get from Scafell to Scafell Pike you have three main choices. Down past Foxes Tarn, along Lord’s Rake or over Broad Stand. They all need the ability to read a map and Broad Stand is no place for trippers.  All three routes bring you to Mickledore from where the easy way is straight up SP and back, then down into Upper Eskdale and another long slog back to the village.

In this area the ability to use a map and compass is vital. Going up these hills is a serious undertaking and the potential for getting lost – or worse – is quite high.

If you are in Boot there are better ways to spend a day than going up Scafell…unless you are a glory hunter desperate to show off on Twitbook!

If you do it that way you aren’t seeing the best of the Scafells!

As per my first post: going via upper Eskdale to Great Moss then up by either Cam Spout for Scafell only or via Little Narrowcove for both Pike and Scafell is much better. The descent via Slight Side is just a nice end of day amble.

Yes safe descent from scafell.  The next week a couple were blown off their feet and got injured, the conditions up there are so changeable.  One minute we were in t shirts, the next the wind and cloud picked up and it got q scary.

As above, look at the mountain rescue log on fb, lots of people get caught out.