As well as running our own outdoor activity sessions & skills training courses here at Kendal Mountaineering services, sometimes we also assist others with the delivery of their outdoor programmes and in turn they assist us with the delivery of ours. It is all part of a very healthy system of teamwork between individual outdoor activity providers here in The Lake District.
On this occasion, Iain was contracted in to provide ghyll scrambling sessions for another provider and spent the day in Stickle ghyll at Langdale in The Lake District National Park with some very pleasant international undergraduates from Cambridge University.
These young people were on a week long visit to the Lake District and as well as ghyll scrambling, they were also rock climbing, hill walking and kayaking as part of their week away.
The first photo shows Iain's morning group at the foot of the first climb in Stickle Ghyll - they really were a a fab bunch!
Photo two shows the group making their way up the ghyll. There was a fair amount of water on this day and it was quite chilly - just prior to that warm spell that returned at the end of September. Anyway, the group made up for the lack of warmth and sheer volume of water with loads of enthusiasm right throughout the session as we made our way upstream on our ghyll scrambling adventure.
Just in front of the nearest person in photo two, Iain had the experience of seeing a trout jump as it tried to make it's way upstream - presumably to eventually spawn somewhere upstream. So, we weren't the only ones ghyll scrambling on this day - but did the fish realise just what a journey it had ahead of itself? Obviously not! However, at some time in the past fish have made it up Stickle Ghyll as the tarn feeding the stream is full of Brown Trout and Minnows - how they got there remains a mystery.
Photo three is a fine view up Stickle Ghyll to the distant buttress of Tarn Crag. Tarn Crag is a place where Iain from Kendal Mountaineering Services frequently runs his popular scrambling skills training courses. Our last scrambling skills training course ran in August and you can read about it here.
So what is ghyll scrambling? Well - basically, the pastime of walking up a mountain stream - climbing up waterfalls, swimming through pools, getting thoroughly wet in the process, but having an exhilarating and refreshing experience. Ghyll scrambling is also known as gorge walking and there are a number of venues where we can provide this for you in the Lake District.
The sport of Canyoning is one where you actually descend a mountain stream - abseiling down waterfalls or jumping into pools from above and again, we have a number of places where we can do this for you - Church Beck being our most popular venue.
Ghyll scrambling is undoubtedly one of our best sellers here at Kendal Mountaineering Services as you'll see by reading our blog over the last few years. It may also be because of the kit we provide as part of your fee - wetsuits, walking boots, cagoules, bouyancy aids, helmets & harnesses are all included in our half day session fee of £45 per person. What this means for you is that you get the best possible equipment to protect you and keep you comfortable in this demanding environment - very much better than some of our competitors who are happy to let you undertake a ghyll scrambling session in shorts and training shoes!
Photo four shows Megan Sim, one of our group climbing the final waterfall on the Stickle Ghyll Ghyll Scrambling session - roped for safety. Her expression is typical of someone attending a ghyll scrambling session with us and as regular attendee on this week away from University, she frequently asks for; and recommends Iain to her colleagues attending these annual ghyll scrambling sessions for the first time.
If you would like to book your ghyll scrambling & canyoning session with us then contact us here. Further photos taken during this day can be viewed here.
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