Scafell Pike best walk, via the Corridor Route, from Seathwaite, to summit England's highest mountain
Near the summit of Scafell Pike - what views on a clear day! There are quite a few walking routes up to Scafell Pike - but the route from Seathwaite via the Corridor Route is the best in my humble opinion and is often refereed to as the Connoisseurs route, as those familiar with the various Scafell Pike routes will recommend this particular walk. You may well only ever climb Scafell Pike once in your life, so make sure you choose this best walk & this way up, and not the more popular & shorter route (but a bit of a slog) from Wasdale :)
Scafell Pike Walk Map, via the Corridor Route from Seathwaite in the Lake District:
[Click to Enlarge] This is my preferred route up Scafell Pike from Seathwaite via the Corridor Route, which I think has tehe best and most varied views. This walk is 8 miles and around 6 hours with various stops (3 hours up, and 3 hours down). It's besttackled anti-clockwise - taking in Styhead Tarn, the Scafell Pike Corridor Route en-route to the summit and back down via Broad Crag, Esk House & Grains Gill.
Scafell Pike Walk Summary:
Distance: 8.4 miles (13.6ksm)
Time: 6 hours
Difficulty: Hard
(It's a long, steep hike and shouldn't be underestimated. In saying that there is nothing too technical required, ie. scrambling (using your hands) or climbing (using ropes etc) So if you have good fitness & mobility - then I would thorougly recommend it!
Here you can see the total elevation and distance of this walk - with a gentler return from the summit which is why I recommend tackling it in an anti-clockwise direction - taking in Styhead Tarn and the Corridor route first. I also think the variety of views are best enjoyed in this direction.
How high is Scafell Pike?
At 968m (3,209ft) above sea-level, Scafell Pike is England's highest Mountain and is located in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria. Every hiker in the UK will want to summit the UK's 3 tallest mountains; Ben Nevis (in Scotland), Mount Snowdon (in Wales) & Scafell Pike (in England). Some will try and do them all in 24 hours in the 3 Peaks challenge (crackers ha) - but I'm someone who likes to enjoy his walks and the scenery they have to offer and take a few photos along the way - so I'll choose the best, most scenic & interesting routes, rather than the quickest. This route to Scafell Pike featured on this blog post is just that - the best route to hike to the summit of Scafell Pike.
Photos of what to expect on this superb Scafell Pike walk, via the Corridor Route:
This walk starts from the farm near Seathwaite, where there is ample, free parking on the roadside (but it does get quite busy on weekends and in the warmer months - so try and get their early). On this occasion it was a cold & fresh autumnal morning, with clear skies to start with and a dusting of frost on the ground and a 9am start.
We got lucky with the weather on this day, and myself and 5 mates set off along the short road to Seathwaite Farm.
The walk starts off gradual, always a plus point to get you warmed up!
You can tell autumn is setting in
About to cross Stockley Bridge with Seathwaite fell in the background
Looking back over the route we've just walked and we start to gain height quite quickly now.
Our first glimpse of Scafell Pike to the left of centre
Styhead Tarn looking serene
Hopefully won't be needing this today! Behind the Stretcher Box and straight above it you can see the summit of Scafell Pike in the centre, which actually doesn't look the tallest in the range from this angle. This stretcher box marks the point where we take a left turn to the Corridor Route.
Good views of Styhead Tarn from up here
Scaffel Pike in the distance and reflected in this pond
Just about to tackle Corridor Route to Scafell Pike here
Onwards and upwards on this walk - teh ravine of Piers Gill straight ahead but we'll be avoiding that one today!
You can just about make out the Corridor Route path going diagonal from left to right on this photo
Piers Gill looks quite foreboding here - with the right gear you can actually scramble/climb up to Scafell in it - or walk just near the edge. Beware though - that's where most accidents happen up this way.
Looking back to Styhead Tarn via the Corridor Route we have just walked.
This is probably the trickiest section of the path on the walking route
Looking back again - with Derwent Water just coming into view in the distance
You get excellent views of Great gable up here
Th views keep on coming! This is where we join the more popular path from Wasdale to walk to the top of Scafell Pike
We are joined by lots more walkers from Wasdale now
A few people are trying to make the most of the views today
Great views of Wastwater and in the far distance we could actually see the Isle of Man
We are nearly at the summit now and the views are incredible
Not far now!
This is what is at the top of Scafell Pike
The summit of Scafell Pike at 978m. Momentarily I'm the highest man standing in England :-)
From up here looking north-east you can make out Skiddaw and Helvellyn
After a good 20 minutes eating some food and enjoying a flask of coffee it's time to head back a different way towards Broad Crag, which entails going down a little bit and then back up!
The elderly veteran in the group using his sticks :-)
You can just about see Windermere from this viewpoint
Its a bit steep this way but worth it
The final bit of uphil on this walk
Looking back towards the summit of Scafell Pike and the path we have just scrambled down
Russ entertaining himself while we all catch up
A little glimpse of Styhead Tarn again but that's the last we will see of it on this walk
Looking back towards Scafell Pike summit again. We passed quite a few walkers going the opposite way to us - but I really recommend going the direction we have today.
A glimpse of the Langdale Pikes to the right
It's all downhill now on this walk - thankfully! Derwent Water and Skiddaw in the distance is in sight!
We now follow Grains Gill all the way down
Nearly done - and we can see the car from here! Unfortunately we cant see a pub from here ;-)
We cross over Grains Gill for the 2nd last time
And here we are again at Stockley Bridge and we rejoin the path we started on for the last bit of this superb Scafell Pike walk
And that is that! I hope this write up has given you a good introduction to what is the best Scafell Pike walking route in my humble opinion and it inspires you to want to give the route a go!
Video introduction to this Scafell Pike Walk:
Have a watch of this short video below to give you another little taster on what to expect on my recommended Scafell Pike walk via the Corridor Route:
Other Scafell Pike Walking routes:
If you are interested in other walking routes to Scafell Pike, such as those from Wasdale, and useful bits of information, then check out my other blog post on Scafell Pike - Best Walking Routes
Post by Stuart Hodgson
'The Hiking Photographer'
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Thanks for taking an interest in my blog, all comments and questions are welcome! Best, Stuart