Stag Activity sessions in The Lake District. Stoneycoft Gill. Saturday 16th August 2014.

Lee Bollom contacted us some time ago to arrange Ghyll Scrambling as part of a weekend Stag do in The Lake District for a bunch of mates.

The Stag party were staying up near Keswick so we arranged to travel up there to run their Ghyll Scrambling session at nearby Stoneycroft Gill.

Photo one shows the group as we prepared to enter the ghyll at the upstream get in. Each person is kitted out with wetsuit, cagoule, buoyancy aid, walking boots and a helmet - all provided by us as part of your fee per person. We consider it our responsibility to provide you this comprehensive package of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as part of our mission to keep you as comfortable & as safe as possible during any of our Outdoor activity Sessions.

Stoneycroft Gill is unusal as a Ghyll Scrambling Session (also known as Gorge Walking) as one starts upstream and descends the stream bed. Ghyll Scrambling/Gorge Walking usually refers to clambering up a stream bed wading & swimming through pools and climbing up waterfalls - but not here.

The descent of Stoneycroft Ghyll is along a narrow & fast flowing channel which is well vegetated along the banks. Just below the get in there are a couple of waterslides down some steep smooth chutes in the rock and today, there was quite a bit of water making for a fast & exhilarating descent of these - in fact Iain had to stand at the bottom to stop party members from shooting out of the lower chute too fast!

We then made ourway downstream one behind the other (photo two) with Iain leading the way throughout.

The descent route in Stoneycroft starts off relatively gently - after the initial waterslide. Further on there is another double slide down more chutes into a deepish pool and then further on on gets to the top of a ten foot high waterfall which drops into another deep pool and the slide down over this is quite exciting - certainly this group loved it.

Further on there is a climb down (using recently fixed chains) by the side of another waterfall which has a large boulder in the pool at it's base. It is possible to dive down & squeeze through a gap between the boulder  and the side of the pool (a bit like cave diving) but today, the weather had turned windy & wet and it was quite chilly. Also the water in the ghyll was turbid, so it would have been a real challenge to ask any of the group to attempt to dive underwater and swim through a narrow gap today.

The final photo was taken as the group pass through a mini gorge and a very deep pool that necessitates swimming.

As you can see from the camera lens (a GOPRO Hero 3) even despite constantly wiping the lens with a dishcloth it was constantly getting covered with raindrops - hence the blurred spots.

We continued down the ghyll passing through another deep pool and getting out above the Canyoning section in the lower part of the ghyll. All of the Stag Part had been soaked throughout this Lake District Ghyll Scrambling Session and the weather had been cold & wet for the most part. Time to pack up and get warm & dry!

Each member of Lee Bollom's Stag Party paid just £40 for this half day Ghyll Scrambling Session and despite the unseasonably cool temperatures, they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They have the photos and videos taken with our GOPRO Camera to remind them of the experience - something else which we include in your fee per person.

We offer Stag Groups and Hen Parties a comprehensive package of activities where you can choose anything from the website including Raft Building. Ghyll Scrambling & Canyoning are definitely our most popular activities with these types of group through. Book your activity sessions with us and we will help you arrange you accommodation and advise you on the best places for you night out too.

If you would like us to help you to arrange a Stag or Hen Event in The Lake District you'll never forget for all the right reasons - then contact us here. We look forward to working with you.