Doing it in Style.....High Stile
High Stile is the middle of three fells which makes up one of the Lake District's finest, in my opinion, ridge walks. The ridge towers and stretches high above the beautiful Buttermere and dominates the entire area. The crowning glory of this majestic fell for me is the jaw dropping view out over Crummock Water...its simply stunning. My first and only other visit to High Stile was back in 2021. It was one of those trips where everything fell beautifully into place and I came away with one of my favourite images I've taken and an experience I'll never forget. As a result a return to this location wasn't top of my priority list, along with the fact its probably one of the furthest places for me to visit in the Lakes. However, recently I'd been thinking about making a return. The pull of that view was calling me once more. The intrigue of can I improve on my image from last time or is that going to be hard to beat? Had I found perfection on the first and only visit? Well I really wanted to discover if this was the case.
One to Return to - A bit of a tester shot for a return visit when there is more water in the beck.
The weather was looking pretty good, sun in the morning, clouding over in the afternoon and hopefully clearing out for sunset. So the plan was to finish work on Friday and head straight up to Buttermere. Its a 1 hour 30 minute drive on a good run and with some road works going on around Bowness way it was, potentially, going to be a long drive. I planned to park at Gatesgarth and take the route up via Burtness combe and the North Eastern Ridge, a more direct route up to High Stile and missing out the entire ridge...which I've done before and didn't fancy on this occasion. I arrived to a busy Buttermere (its always busy) and had to park out on Honister Pass and walk in....at least it was free. I made my way through Gatesgarth Farm along the shoreline path to Combe Beck, where I would start the climb up. There are also some delightful water falls on the way up, however, with little water meant that photographically it was a no go. After a couple of hours playing around with compositions and little luck, I decided to start the hike.
The Clearing - The Sun starts to gently break through the cloud and pass rain.
Mind Blowing - Sensational conditions looking out West to Crummock Water.
My word, it was a right pull from the off. The section up to Burtness Combe is a steep grassy slog up to a wall with possibly the biggest stile I've every had to climb over, high stile indeed..very fitting. The going got no easier when starting out on the climbers track, a steep loose rock/scree path which leads up to the Combe. After 200m the track veered off to the right and I zig zagged my way along a heather flanked path to the base of the ridge. Stopping here to take in the glorious views and a swig of water and then it was up again. The terrain becomes rockier at this point as we pick our way up the ridge to the summit. It was an enjoyable scramble up through rocky out crops and gullies, stopping from time to time for a breather and to admire the view. If your not a scrambler, then this probably isn't the route for you, you definitely need to use your hands and pull yourself up in some sections. I arrived on the summit a little out of puff but having really enjoyed the route up.....and didn't see a soul.
Dying Embers - The final light over this simply stunning view point.
I was on the summit a good 4 hours before sunset, usually not a problem, however the wind from the North West had some strength behind it and was biting. This was potentially going to be a long uncomfortable wait. Luckily the South Eastern side of the fell was sheltered from the wind and I took regular respite from the brutal conditions. I had plenty of time to look at compositions and while I already had one in the bank from last time, I also wanted to explore to see if there were any alternatives. After finding my composition I hunkered down on the other side of the fell to keep warm, occasionally popping back over to check the weather....which was looking decidedly bleak...apart from the small gap on the horizon. I also decided to scan the weather apps and they painted an even bleaker picture....I'm not sure this is going to happen. At around 7.45pm there seemed to be a change to the lighting around, nothing direct but a general brightening. I decided it was time, so I put on my sixth layer of clothing on, pulled my Buff over my face and and went forth into the gale.
The Gift that just keeps giving - A beautiful Rainbow over Gatesgarth and Fleetwith Pike.
As I set up, facing into the wind, I notice light starting to break a little over towards the Isle of Man. The gap on the horizon to the west seemed to be widening and this encouraged me. What I didn't like the look of was the dark squall of weather heading in my general direction. Well, before I knew it, all hell broke lose, wind, rain, hail and unbelievable light. It was beyond epic, but so challenging with the wind blowing the rain straight on to my lens. I had to keep my cloth over the lens, remove it, take the shot, wipe the lens and repeat, while trying to shield my camera and tripod from the wind. It was an adrenaline fuelled 40 minutes, my legs shook with the cold, my hands had gone numb, I felt like I'd been sand blasted...this was no relaxing shoot...I was spinning all the plates. After, hopefully, getting my shot, I moved to the other side of the fell, took a quick shot of a gorgeous rainbow over Fleetwith Pike and had a chat to some wild campers (brave souls). The light was dropping now but produced a glorious spectrum of colour in the sky. So I nipped back to the old faithful composition to catch the final light. After this, exhausted and emotionally drained, I decided my time of the fell was over and I made the long trek back to the car.
Pretty In Pink - Gorgeous light over Great Gable and the Scafell Massif.
I had plenty of time to reflect on the way back to the car about whether I had bettered my original image? The weather while unbelievably challenging was superb....it really had all seasons in a stunning 40 minute cameo and I do like the new composition I found. However both trips where very different, the first was a relaxing and calm summers evening, a slow paced and stress free shoot. This time was the polar opposite, challenging conditions, stressful, chaotic, uncomfortable and adrenaline fulled. Like the first the conditions dictate the feel of the image and both portray this perfectly....both images tell their own story. I actually think its hard to compare the images, I love both because of the distinctive experience they gave me at that moment in time. I don't really feel like I should chose one over the other. They both hold a firm place in my heart for very differing reasons. The outcome was the same with both giving me a wonderful experience and images worthy of the conditions. In the end thats all that really matters. The long stroll back to the car was accompanied by the huge smile on my face....what a trip. High Stile.......you've done it again....in the highest Style.
Tim