All the Fells: Grike

Grike – The Western Fells 1,596′ (136)

Date: 19 September 1991

From: The Cold Fell Road

Before Wainwright completed The Western Fells, I doubt many people outside the immediate environs of Ennerdale knew of the existence of Grike and fewer even of them would have known its name. Grike is a ridge-shaped fell on the south side of Ennerdale Water, but it’s really nothing more than a bridge between the West Cumberland foothills and Crag Fell, the first real fell on the ridge that leads ultimately to Pillar. Though there are walks to it from the valley, the fell lacks in any intrinsic qualities that might make you want to climb it individually, except perhaps to expend energy. I parked the car on the Cold Fell road before the drop towards Ennerdale Bridge, took the road into and through the forest and, once I was in the clear, angled up onto the ridge to the summit. By doing so, I saw nothing of the fell itself, but I ticked it off a list and, without wishing to sound disrespectful, that’s pretty much all it is.