A proper Lakeland mountain that looks harder from a distance than it turns out to be on the day
Open accesson open access land, where the right to roam applies
Seen from Wasdale, Great Gable has a real presence: a broad, dark pyramid closing off the head of the valley, with scree running down its flanks in long grey streaks. It’s 899 metres at the top, one of the western fells that surround Wasdale and Borrowdale, and it has that effect on people where the shape alone is enough to make them assume it needs mountaineering experience. It doesn’t; it needs decent legs, sensible planning, and a fine day to make the most of the view.
Wasdale Head is the classic start, up past Sty Head and onto the summit ridge, with Kirk Fell and Green Gable both close enough to add on if the day’s going well and everyone’s still keen. Ambitious groups sometimes fold Great Gable into a bigger round with the nearby fells, but there’s no shame at all in treating it as a day in its own right. The summit view over Borrowdale and out to the high ground around Scafell Pikes more than earns the effort on its own.
There’s a bronze memorial plaque set into the summit rocks, placed by the Fell and Rock Climbing Club after the First World War, and a Remembrance Sunday gathering still happens up there most years, a quiet reminder of how long people have been finding their way up this fell.
Paths are rough underfoot and the scree slopes are genuinely loose, so proper boots make a real difference here, and poles help plenty of people on the descent. As with anywhere in this range, cloud can drop in fast, so a map and compass — or a charged phone with the route saved offline — are worth having even on a day that starts clear.
More at hill-bagging.co.uk
