Walk Information:
- Distance: 11 km
- Duration: Around 5h with lunch break, photo breaks and a short nap in the sun
- Ascent: 732m
- Level: Medium to Hard
- Car Park: before (only space for 2 cars) or after (bigger car park) Roan Wood Cottage, Seascale CA20 1EU
- Outdooractive map: here
- Dog Friendly: Yes- no stile, some scrambling and some sheeps in the fields.
Veuillez faire défiler vers le bas pour la version française.
Last Saturday (beginning of March), we had a beautiful weather, cold and a bit windy (especially at the top of the summits) but sunny and we had decided to go with some friends tackle some Wainwright summits as my friends would like to do them all.
This circular walk allowed us to do three Wainwright summits: Buckbarrow (423m), Seatallan (692m) and Middle Fell (582m) that most of us had not done previously. We had decided to start with Buckbarrow then go to Seatallan and finish by Middle Fell as I prefer to go up on steep path than go down. One of my friend had done that walk in reverse way and was thinking that the path going down Buckbarrow was maybe steeper than the one going down from Middle Fell.
To be honest I think they are very similar, the path going down Middle Fell was definitely not too hard but the section down from Seatallan to Middle Fell was very steep. Fortunately there were some kind of stairs to help.
The path is large, well visible and most of the time it is grass. It is a pleasant path not too rough. But for sure the highlight of the day are the views over the Isle of Man, South of Scotland and of course wastewater and all the big summits around that area. Definitely worth a visit if you have not done these three summits yet.
Samedi dernier (début Mars), nous avons eu un magnifique temps, froid et un peu venteux (particulièrement en haut des sommets) mais ensoleillé et nous avions décidé d’aller avec des amis faire quelque uns des sommets classés dans les livres d’Alfred Wainwright.
Cette randonnée circulaire nous a permis de faire trois sommets: Buckbarrow (423m), Seatallan (692m) et Middle Fell (582m) dont la plupart d’entre nous n’avions jamais fait. Nous avons décidé de commencer par Buckbarrow puis d’aller en direction de Seatallan avant de redescendre par Middle Fell car je préfère toujours passer par les sentiers pentues en montant qu’en descendant. Un de mes amis qui avait déjà la randonnée en sens inverse pensait que le sentier qui descend depuis Buckbarrow était peut être un peu plus pentue que celui qui descend depuis Middle Fell.
Pour être honnête, je pense qu’il sont assez similaire mais celui qui descend depuis Middle Fell est définitivement pas très dur. Par contre la partie entre Seatallan et Middle Fell était assez dure. Heureusement il y a des genres d’escaliers dans l’herbe qui aide à descendre.
Le sentier est assez large, visible et la plupart du temps en herbe. Il est assez plaisant et pas trop accidenté. Mais vraiment le top de la journée ce sont les vues sur l’île de Man, le sud de l’Ecosse et bien évidemment le lac de Wastwater et les plus hauts pics du Lake District qui se trouvent dans la secteur. C’est définitivement une randonnée à faire si vous ne l’avez pas encore faite.
Our Lake District Escapades 
Looks like a great walk, but I certainly don’t remember so much sunshine on my visits to that area!
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We do sometimes have beautiful day like that 😁
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I’ve been up buckbarrow but not the other two. So far I’ve only done 8 Wainwright’s, I have a book though to tick them off in. X
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You had done the hardest part by going to Buckbarrow. It is not too steep after to go to Seatallan and Middle Fell.
We have done around 50 so far but are not really trying to do them. We just pick nice walks that we want to do and if there are any Wainwright in great otherwise we are not really bothered.
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Impressed with your photos from that outing. Especially the one of Scafells at the head of Wastewater.
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Thank you. The weather was beautiful so that helped to take nice photos ☺️.
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Fab weather and pictures
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Thank you
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Did this walk a few years ago now in reverse like your friend. Have to say I was glad I went up the Seatallan climb rather than down, plus I got the views in front of me down to Buckbarrow. Plus one of my favourite views ever at the top of Middle Fell looking to the Scafells. Looks like you went to Joss Naylors Cairn as well, which is a must for any Wainwright climber
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I might do it again the other way around to see which way I like. I agree the view from Middle Fell is incredible.
Yes we did go to Joss Naylors Cairn. I didn’t know who he is so my friend told me.
The cairn is massive I didn’t really expect that to be honest I thought it will be a small one.
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You had a good day for a grand walk and managed to avoid being blown away ! I agree with your comment about the steep hills. It’s definitely easier going up rather than down – as I’ve got older going down steep slopes has become rather hard (and sometimes painful) on the knees.
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It was a bit windy but not too bad.
I am happy that I am not the only one prefering to go steep hills on the way up rather than on the way down 😁.
I like when you reach a summit and can stay a long distance walking from one summit to the next without having too much ascent/descent to do.
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Yes, ridge walking – a lot of gain for a little pain 😉
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A beautiful walk, the landscape is so different to what I am used to here in Wiltshire! I love hat you factor in time for a little snooze in the sun in the timings. That’s my kind of thing!
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Thank you for your comments. I do like stopping for a nap when the weather is that great.
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Twenty seven years ago, at that time of year, I did this walk by the same route you followed. It was a day of great significance for me, as Seatallan was my last Wainwright, and Middle Fell was my first, twenty six years previously, and this my first and only return. The first time was with my family. The second time, only my sister and I were left, and she would never go there again. I had the summit to myself for half an hour, of talking to ghosts. I’m glad you enjoyed the walk.
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