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6

Dollywaggon Pike 858m/2815ft

Start
Climb it from	Dunmail Raise 8 or Patterdale 24
Character	Craggy head and supreme focal point of Grisedale
Fell-friendly route	2
Summit grid ref	NY 346 131
Link it with	Nethermost Pike
Part of	Helvellyn Skyline

Barren western slopes are sustained throughout this range of fells but Dollywaggon’s eastern facade has a ferocity that confirms its status as a fully-fledged mountain. Overlooking the upper section of the great U-shaped glacial valley of Grisedale are two mighty cliffs, Falcon and Tarn Crags, split by near vertical gullies. Tucked high under the south ridge, the hanging valley of Cock Cove is a truly wild sanctuary, unmarked by paths.

The fell has suffered in recent years from the sheer number of pounding feet, especially those haring off the massif, and such shortcuts have grossly eroded the path down to Grisedale Tarn. Relays of rock have been hauled up and set in the higher scarred sections by Fix the Fells to give a measure of stability and hope of recovery, coaxing walkers back onto much-improved footing on the old zig-zag pony path.

The east ridge is a walker’s delight and climbs to the surest of mountain summits but various constrasting ascents begin from Dunmail Raise to the west (1 and 4–6) and Grisedale to the northeast (7–9), with pitched (2) and pathless (3) routes to choose from leading up from Grisedale Tarn.

Dollywaggon Pike from Hard Edge

Ascent from Dunmail Raise 8

Western approaches may be deficient in eye-catching detail, but they give quick access to the main ridge. The most popular route keeps close company with Raise Beck.

Via Raise Beck →3km/1¾ miles ↑625m/2050ft 2hr

Once over the pass choose between a well-pitched path (Route 2) or a pathless ridge-edge adventure (Route 3).

1 Walk north from the lay-by and bear right on one of the paths to meet the main path leading up from a ladder-stile on the dual-carriageway section of the A591. This climbs beside the old bed of Raise Beck. Brushing through the early bracken, the worn path enters the narrow valley as a sure staircase, with views of several fine cascades en route to the valley head. The valley withers to a nondescript pass, with the sombre bowl of Grisedale Tarn suddenly spread below. A couple of roughly parallel paths trend downhill left, well above the tarn, across intermittently boggy ground. Now you have a choice.

2 Link up with the popular path out of Grisedale, switching left before the outflow of the tarn to follow the pony path up. As you reach the edge of the escarpment, leave the prime thoroughfare to track the edge (right) direct to the summit. 3 Alternatively, a little past the turn up the switchbacked path, bear left on a rougher pathless route following the edge of a rib that rises above Tarn Crag to revel in sensational downward views into the wilds of upper Grisedale. Rejoin Route 1 briefly at the top just before it branches right to the summit.

Tarn Crag and Falcon Crag from Cofa Pike

Via Willie Wife Moor →2.5km/1½ miles ↑610m/2000ft 2hr 10min

A pleasingly pathless way to plot your course to the summit.

4 Walk north from the lay-by to the Dunmail Raise cairn and a kissing-gate in the wall beside the dual carriageway. Angle part-right to a broad footbridge over Raise Beck, and as the wall bends left by a footpath sign go right, with little better than a sheep path through the bracken above the beck. Watch for a path switching up left – this makes short shrift of the bracken as it climbs above Reggle Knott for a pleasing view down to Helm Crag and the Grasmere Vale. There are two old shepherds’ paths up to this edge of Willie Wife Moor. As they become faint, keep a contouring line with the merest hint of a path. This is lost at the deep tributary. Here, either cross and branch right to the head of Raise Beck to join Route 1 or 5 follow the gill uneventfully due northeast, crossing the main ridge path to make a beeline for the true summit.

Via Birkside Gill →3.2km/2 miles ↑610m/2100ft 2hr 30min

Birkside Gill offers a more intriguing and solitary line of ascent.

6 Walk north from the lay-by to the Dunmail Raise cairn and a kissing-gate in the wall beside the dual carriageway and carry on north along the permissive path beside the wall down towards forestry. Your way passes close under a small larch spinney to reach a footbridge spanning Birkside Gill. Turn sharply right up the steep south bank, admiring the succession of waterfalls. As the valley constricts, you can see an old fern-draped copper mine entrance on the far bank beside the wall corner and also pass a net-protected shaft on the near bank. The gill kinks left by an old cairn. Keep beside the beck to its spring, then follow the remains of a small bield to the col. Cross over the main path to the rough intermediary top on the way to the summit.

Ascent from Patterdale 24

Approaches begin from the village of Patterdale, with good tracks running on either side of this handsome valley, converging short of Ruthwaite Lodge (climbers’ hut). The upper part of the journey is littered with large erratic boulders and it leads to a choice of three pathless, rocky scrambles.

Via the Tongue →6.7km/4¼ miles ↑710m/2325ft 3hr 30min

7 Pass behind the hut and find an old path slanting up beside Spout Crag to accompany the cascades of Ruthwaite Beck. Find a comparatively early grassy weakness onto the ridge left. Do not delay this move hoping for better ground higher up Ruthwaite Cove – it will not materialise. The Tongue ridge is a series of rocky steps, with the hint of a path for reassurance.

Via Cock Cove →7.2km/4½ miles ↑710m/2325ft 3hr 45min

8 Continue on the popular path beyond Ruthwaite Lodge, passing under Spout Crag to find the tumbling Cockcove Gill. This is no ordinary gill climb – the watercourse, having spilt over an awesome crag, makes its way down a boulder slope to the path. Therefore, take a leftward slant to overcome what must be the actual ‘spout crag’. Grassy ground can be found leading above the crag and into the narrow defile of the gill (no path). Where the gill seeps out of a peaty hollow (vestige of a tarn), trend right, over the peat hags, to gain The Tongue ridge. 9 The popular and most secure ascent continues above and beyond the Brothers’ Parting Stone and Grisedale Tarn outflow to embark on a steady zig-zag climb with Route 2 (but you could opt to turn right earlier for a rockier scramble with Route 3).

The summit

A small cairn marks the summit, and a larger pile lies some 10 metres to the west on a broadening of the ridge. The view, particularly across Ruthwaite Cove, is the stuff of magic mountain dreams.

Safe descents

There is security in sticking to the main zig-zagging path down to Grisedale Tarn SE (2) for either Patterdale or Dunmail Raise. A pathless SW line (5) encounters the Raise Beck path. But on no account consider trekking E down the Tongue.

The summit rising above Eagle Crag from upper Grisedale

Ridge route

Nethermost Pike →1.6km/1 mile ↓20m/70ft ↑50m/170ft 25min

In fair weather follow the edge N over High Crags. In blustery or dismal conditions bear NW to join the broad path ultimately destined for Helvellyn, taking a NE turn after 750m and passing a windbreak cairn to the summit.