Leap of faith

Welcome to the adrenaline-fuelled, grin-inducing world of ghyll scrambling. Jonathan Manning dives in...

Time for a Lake District bath,” laughs Oli, pointing to a pool of crystal clear water flowing over multi-coloured pebbles. It’s springtime in Cumbria, the snowmelt is below 10º C and we’re three men of a certain age trussed up in layers of synthetic rubber, ready to take the plunge into the world of ghyll scrambling.

Ghyll is derived from the old Norse ‘gil’, meaning steep-sided valley, although today the word tends to be used to describe a narrow mountain stream.

Ghyll scrambling involves scrabbling down a ghyll, riding slides, jumping off ledges and careering into pools. The activity can be enjoyed by children as young as seven if the proper safety procedures are observed, and it doesn’t need to be too physically taxing either. But it does involve whooping and hollering like giddy teenagers released into a playground after double maths.

With a combined age in excess of the maximum three-dart score, Mike, Richard and I have cast caution to the wind, squeezed into wetsuits, and trudged half way up a mountain for the chance to splash our way down.

It turns out that walking uphill on a sunny day dressed in rubber is hot work, hot enough to make the gin-clear waters of Stoneycroft Ghyll look inviting.

The fourth member of the group is our instructor, Oli – guide, adviser, safety consultant and all-round orchestrator of glee. “Bend your knees, tuck your elbows in, then feet first down the slide,” he says, before swooshing down the first shoulder-width channel to demonstrate.

Gallery

Jonathan (second from right), Mike and Richard tried ghyll scrambling with guide Oli (in yellow) near Causey Pike, near Derwentwater, in the Lake District.

This is Mother Nature’s answer to man-made water parks and family swimming pools. The acceleration is exhilarating, I abandon any sense of control, and two seconds later the stream dumps me in a waist-deep plunge pool. It’s impossible not to laugh, proper belly bellows of joy at the sheer excitement and ridiculousness of it all.

There’s no point to ghyll scrambling beyond fun – no viewpoint to reach or summit to climb. This is not a voyage of discovery or an expedition to an otherwise unreachable destination – a wide stone path starting 50m above us offers a smooth and easy alternative route down the mountain. Our feet-first descent of the hillside is just a chance to be exuberant in a stunningly beautiful setting.

Theme parks clearly provide no end of excitement, but there’s no escaping the artificial surroundings, the mechanics, merchandise and merciless queues.

Here in the heart of the Lake District, with Causey Pike towering above us, the thrills are just as pulse-raising, with the added bonus of a blissful environment.

Oli guides us along the stream bed in Morse Code fashion, dots and dashes of steps and slides, sometimes ankle deep, other times completely submerged in swirling eddies. Buoyancy aids keep our heads above water, but spin and twist us like barrels in a storm, so we often end up facing rocky walls or clutching at tree roots stripped smooth by the water.

Brighter weather has prompted algae and moss to bloom, creating treacherously slippery surfaces underfoot, although the specialist boots we’ve hired offer extraordinary grip. The danger is not so much slipping over, but slipping so far and fast that we careen down the ghyll like runaway boulders in an Indiana Jones movie.

Gallery

When we approach these points of heightened risk, Oli subtly steps in, ready to grab a handful of life jacket to curb our speed. When four walkers cross the stream below us, it’s easy to imagine a game of human skittles as we bowl uncontrollably down the rapids, but there’s always time to pause, catch our breath, and laugh some more – the ghyll provides its own waltz-like punctuation of quick, quick, slow rapid sections interspersed with shallow, innocent stretches.

“Slide or jump?” asks Oli. The drop is about 6ft and I think he must be joking; surely, we glide down the chute on our backsides. But no, it’s a straightforward leap of faith into foaming waters. I take a deep breath, pick my spot and jump, icy water soon racing up my nostrils and down the back of my wetsuit. High on endorphins, I feel amazing.

Close to the end, a longer slide into frothing water has the added advantage of stepped rocks along the side. We may be too adult to shout “Again, again,” like impatient toddlers, but our expressions clearly give the game away. And so we clamber out of the stream, climb up a few yards, sit down in the torrent and let gravity do its grin-inducing best once again.

Hunter S Thompson wrote: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!’”

Amen to that.

Information

A two- to three-hour ghyll scrambling session with Keswick Adventures costs £50, including guide and equipment.

Contact: keswickadventures.co.uk, 07712 162088

Stay: Borrowdale or Troutbeck Head Club Campsite

Taking the plunge

• Dolgarrog, Conwy

North Wales’ answer to ghyll scrambling is ‘gorge scrambling’, the same activity with a different name. Scramble, squeeze and splash your way up through a beautiful gorge with North Wales Active (£45).

Info: northwalesactive.co.uk, 07800 666 895

Stay: Riverside Touring Park Affiliated Site

• Truim Falls, Highland

Enjoy flumes, rock slides and scrambling on an adventure (£45) that culminates in a 20ft jump for the bravest, led by Highland Outdoor Adventures.

Info: highlandoutdoor adventures.co.uk, 07534 419373

Stay: Grantown-on-Spey Caravan Park Affiliated Site

• Okehampton, Devon

Plunge into pools, wade across the river and scramble up waterfalls on this wet and wild gorge scrambling experience (£33.60) with Adventure Okehampton.

Info: adventureokehampton.com, 01837 53916

Stay: Lydford Caravan and Camping Park Affiliated Site

Note: Ghyll scrambling is a fun but potentially dangerous activity. It should only be undertaken alongside a proficient guide and with appropriate safety equipment and clothing.