Rossett Pike

Rossett Gill had a bad name for years. Wainwright called it the pass he liked least, because of its stones rather than its steepness, and heavy use made it worse. A great deal of stone pitching has since repaired it, and it is now the standard way onto Rossett Pike from Great Langdale.

Park at the National Trust car park by the Old Dungeon Ghyll and follow the track up Mickleden to the head of the valley. The path zigzags up beside Rossett Gill, crosses Stake Gill by a footbridge and joins the old packhorse route between Great Langdale and Wasdale. Near the top of the climb, a short rocky gully needs basic scrambling. At the col, a faint grassy path branches right to the summit, about 3.25 miles and 1,860 feet from the car park. A longer pony route to the south avoids the gill. From Borrowdale, walkers come up from Stonethwaite by Langstrath and Stake Pass, which is also part of the Cumbria Way.

Angle Tarn lies in a round corrie under Hanging Knots, just west of the fell. It is about 50 feet deep, holds small trout and drains into Langstrath.

The summit is a small cairn at 651 metres. Bowfell dominates the view west, and the Langdale Pikes look good from here. A short walk east along the ridge brings you to a second cairn above the head of Mickleden, with the Pikes beyond. Rossett Pike also lies on the round of Great Langdale, the long ridge walk that circles the head of the valley.