Trail Magazine emailed us because they are putting together a feature on the 50 best UK hill walking routes and wanted us to help them out. There are a lot of options in the Lakes and it took us a while to come up with a finalist but in the end this is what we suggested:
"One of our favourite big mountain days in the Lakes is to set out from Seathwaite at the end of Borrowdale and climb up alongside Grains Ghyll and under Great End to Esk Hause: the central hub of the Lakes. From here with stunning views all around if we are feeling good and the weather is kind we might drop down into Upper Eskdale to search out the fine grade 1 scramble of Cockly Pike Ridge on Ill Crag. With some 400m of ascent this is one of the longest ridge scrambles in the Lakes. It is now not far to the summit of Scafell Pike. To make a round trip a descent from the top of the Pike via the Corridor route back to Styhead Tarn passes through impressive mountain scenery with a good view of Great Gable and beyond. From Styhead (a very popular place for a wild camp) it doesn't take long to drop down to Stockley Bridge and follow the track back to Seathwaite."
We can thoroughly recommend it.
Jill