135 Wainwrights in, you’d think I’d know better than to make assumptions about any of the fells. And yet, there I was at the top of Wainwright 136, with my expectations thoroughly exceeded. With the weather forecasting showers in Keswick but sunshine in Grasmere (I still don’t understand how the weather can be so different in places so close to each other), we hopped in the car to bag Seat Sandal. The aim was to play it safe with just one Wainwright incase the Keswick forecast happened to stretch out after all…
We picked a 4.5 mile circular route to tackle this fell, using the trusty WalkLakes site as our guide this time. Their routes seem to be more about enjoying the fells on pleasant routes rather than trying to squeeze in as many peaks as possible in a single walk: which, after much trial and error, I think is my preferred approach too. Unless there’s another one too temptingly close to miss…
I felt rather miffed when Sam woke me at ten past six on a Sunday to “get there before the hordes” — I thought surely Seat Sandal is obscure enough that only fellow Wainwright baggers would bother with it. But I ended up eating my words when we pulled in at eight o’clock to find the lay‑by already more than half full — proof that early starts are, in fact, the safer bet.
The ascent is actually pretty gradual as far as Wainwrights go, and on a good clear path 99% of the time. There were just one or two steeper sections (which I’d probably have found easier if I could stop for a break, alas, Merry sees breaks as the perfect opportunity to hunt for rocks to try and eat, so I press on). The worst section is a short stretch of path (pictured above) that pitches steeply and with loose scree underfoot. Happily, this is over pretty quickly, and then it’s a short final push to the summit.
They say ‘never judge a book by its cover’ – but maybe that should be ‘never judge a Wainwright by its next door neighbour’. Seat Sandal is pretty much directly opposite Steel Fell, which we’d climbed on our trip last year as part of the Greenburn Round, with the two fells sitting in parallel on opposite sides of the A591. Steel Fell is a rather unexciting affair, and I’ll admit I expected Seat Sandal to be just as dull in terms of views — but it proved me wrong.
The truly good views kick in before you even hit the summit, with the final steeper climb rewarding you with a marvellous view toward Fairfield and St Sunday Crag. And at the top, we couldn’t believe how many of the fells we’d previously climbed that we could pick out: as well as the near neighbours you’d expect like Helvellyn and Helm Crag, we could just see the tops of Scafell Pike, Great Gable and Pillar in the distance, plus others including Skiddaw and Bleaberry Fell. I was more thrilled that I could recognise them than anything else! You have to love a clear day for this reason if nothing else.
Perhaps the excitement was more to do with fell spotting than actual ‘views’, but the extra few hundred metres Seat Sandal has on Steel Fell certainly make a huge difference. Making our way steadily back down the other side, we were both shedding layers as the wind dropped and the temperature warmed. This must be the first time I’ve walked without a coat on for more than 10 minutes since September! I must say I’m glad we started with this one to gauge our fitness before launching into a longer route, because my legs started shaking almost as soon as we began the descent. I don’t suppose having a Chinese takeaway for tea will have helped, but we’d earned it…
Dog friendly rating: 3/5. This is a Wainwright which should be manageable for most dogs, with no stiles or difficult obstacles (scree is much easier on four legs than two), and a few streams on the way up for dogs to have a drink. There are sheep for the entirety of the walk with the possibility of cattle – we didn’t see any, but WalkLakes reports their occasional presence. WalkLakes also recommends a potential detour should you not want to walk through their fields, just in case!
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