Dale Head - Hindscarth - Robinson October 7th 2011

Long awaited trip to the Lakes. Anne has kindly given me a weekend pass for this.

I got up at stupid O clock and was in the Keswick area just after 8 AM. By 8.30 I was parked up at the Slate mines car park on Honnister pass.

I was the only person there at that time and it was cold and misty. I have to say driving back to Keswick for a coffee and booking a lake cruise did cross my mind.

However, I set forth up the path over the road up to Dale Head summit. The path follows a fence for a lot of the climb. At the point the fence ended I marked a waypoint on my GPS….just in case.  Soon I was at the top…a great feeling – my first solo Lake District Mountain. However, Alfred Wainwright wasn’t impressed with me

 “Indeed if a car be used to the top of that pass, a man of conscience must feel he is cheating the mountain”

Hmmm – my legs certainly felt they had been engaged in some vigorous exercise by the time I got to the summit… 1300 feet in 1.25 miles is a fair old rate.

On the walk along Hindscarth edge I was treated to some great views in the gaps in the mist. The walk to Hindscarth was quite easy as there wasn’t much elevation involved from Dale Head. The view down the Newlands Valley was spectacular – we did that walk a few years ago – Little Town – Maiden Moor  - High Spy – Dale Head tarn and then back down the valley.

Hindscarth to Robinson was a different proposition. The joining path between the two mountains – Littledale edge dips down and up quite a bit. Once I got to the bottom of the dip I found the walk up to Robinson quite strenuous – about a 200 foot climb.

I sat at the top of Robinson for a while and enjoyed the views down to Buttermere, and South to glimpses through the clouds  of some of the big peaks.

There wasn’t an obvious round walk back to the Slate mines , so I retraced my outward journey – missing out Hindscarth. Although it was the same route it felt different as all the ups and downs were reversed.

Looking back at the Slate Mine on the ascent to Dale Head

Newlands Valley from the top of Dale Head

Dale Head Summit

Newlands Valley

View of Buttermere with Crummock Water in the distance from Robinson

Hindscarth

Littledale Edge between Hindscarth and Robinson

Top of Robinson

Predictably on the descent from Dale Head I lost the path and my GPS came into its own navigating me back to the top of the fence to rejoin the path.

Not an epic , but I was well pleased with my first solo Lakes  effort

Around 11 miles OS OL4 North Western Area