Great Gable from the corridor route (Tony Wimbush)

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This is a coast to coast, station to station, sea to summits traverse of the Western Lakes contrasting some of its best known areas with some of its remotest. The route was originally conceived as a v65 celebration. It took the form of a solo, unsupported run with the objective of taking the early train from Silecroft to St Bees, ticking off 10 Marilyn summits and arriving back at Silecroft before dark. This got delayed by a few years due to injury and poor weather by which time realism had set in so road and fell support was recruited! For the uninitiated Marilyns are defined as hills/mountains having at least 500' of ascent on all sides, so demanding climbs are guaranteed throughout. An unrelenting string of big ascents over Pillar, Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Scafell Pike and Scafell form the crux of the route. Their rocky paths then gradually give way to predominantly wild, trackless terrain as the route arcs its way back to the coast at Black Combe with its impressive backdrop of sea and sky. Perhaps on a par with the Joss Naylor Lakeland Challenge, it takes in some 15,000' climbing and nearly 47 miles that includes some of the most arduous terrain in the Lakes. The inaugural traverse was finally made by Tony Wimbush in July 2018 in 17-52 with hill/road support from Rachel Hill, Sean Lennon and David Nicholls. There were unsupported completions by John Fleetwood (15-30,south to north) in 2019, and Richard Kendall (12-49, north to South) in 2021.

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Route