At 978m, Scafell Pike is the highest peak in England, but the lowest of the three peaks. It's not only England’s highest mountain but also the highest war memorial, given to the National Trust in memory of those who died in WW1 so that people would have the freedom to enjoy the mountains
Scafell Pike is made of igneous rock and the summit is a giant boulder field of shattered rocks of the Borrowdale Volcanics, which vary in size from small stones to large boulders. The rocks are most likely shattered due to a combination of weathering and frost action. Various cairns mark a number of paths in different directions, which makes the summit area a confusing place – and especially so in poor conditions.
The summit of Scafell Pike is often wreathed in cloud and it is typically wet. The nearby village of Seathwaite is consistently the wettest inhabited place in England. Unsurprisingly, Scafell Pike is home to the highest standing water in England, known as Broad Crag Tarn, which lies at an altitude of 820m, a quarter of a mile south of the summit. In addition, Wastwater, which is the deepest lake in England, lies at the foot of Scafell Pike.
We begin our ascent around 70m above sea level from Wasdale Head and follow the Brown Tongue/ Hollowstones route via Lingmell Col. This route up Scafell Pike is far harder to follow than the paths described up Snowdon and Ben Nevis as the area is criss-crossed with indistinguishable paths going in different directions.
A torch is vital, and spare warm clothes and full waterproofs should be carried, along with warm gloves and hat.
Psychologically, most participants find Scafell Pike the most difficult of the three peaks as it’s usually climbed at least partly at night when people are feeling tired and sleep deprived, and yet they know that Snowdon still lies ahead of them. Our planned ascent and descent time for Scafell Pike is 4 hours.
In terms of terrain, the path is mostly rocky with larger stones making up the path lower down and smaller looser stones forming the paths higher up. However, there are sections where the path disappears altogether, and these sections can be a muddy and wet underfoot and very difficult to navigate in the dark.
We always insist that everyone stays as a group with the mountain leader on Scafell Pike. If you separate from the group and you lose your bearings around the summit area you could end up walking into any one of three different valleys, all of which have no mobile signal. If you end up walking into Eskdale, it’s a very long walk out even if you do know where you’re going.