Bob Graham Round Leg 3: Dunmail Raise to Wasdale Head

The route

Leg 3 is the longest and hardest section of the Bob Graham Round. From Dunmail Raise it climbs Steel Fell and crosses rough, often boggy ground over Calf Crag to Sergeant Man and High Raise (762m), then the Langdale Pikes of Thunacar Knott, Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle. It drops to Rossett Pike and climbs again over Bowfell (902m), Esk Pike and Great End onto the Scafell massif: Ill Crag, Broad Crag, Scafell Pike (978m) and finally Scafell (964m), before the long descent to Wasdale Head. It is 25.5km with 1321m of ascent and fifteen summits, the high point of the whole round in every sense.

Bob Graham context and the crux

The Bob Graham Round is the Lake District's 66-mile, 42-peak, 24-hour fell challenge from Keswick Moot Hall, first run by Bob Graham in 1932. Leg 3's defining problem is the link from Scafell Pike to Scafell: the direct line is Broad Stand, a short but serious rock step that most Bob Graham contenders avoid by descending to Lord's Rake or the West Wall Traverse, or by looping round via Foxes Tarn. Getting this right, in the dark and tired, separates successful rounds from failed ones.

Why it works

Taken on its own this is a magnificent, serious mountain traverse over the roof of England with rough, pathless ground that rewards good navigation. It is genuinely hard: the terrain is technical, the rock around the Scafells is unforgiving, and there are no easy escapes from the high central fells. Recce the Scafell crux thoroughly before committing, carry full mountain kit, and treat the boggy Steel Fell to High Raise section as the place where time quietly disappears. Many contenders use a support runner who knows the Broad Stand alternatives by heart, and most schedules budget well over four hours here even for fast runners. The descent off Scafell to Wasdale is steep and loose, a final test before the changeover, and not a leg to take on in doubtful weather.