SEPTEMBER 2025 · ADVENTURE
Fjallraven Classic UK 2025 — Part 1
Lake District, England
The Fjallraven Classic UK runs from Borrowdale to Wasdale Head to Ravenglass, three days across the southern fells. We started in September, which meant the bracken was turning but hadn't flattened yet. The route follows old passage — drove roads, wall gaps, Beck crossings — and the organisation of the event means you move in waves: sometimes alone on a high path, sometimes in a loose line of orange packs.
Out of Borrowdale the valley opens fast. The dry stone walls come at you continuously — walls that fold the land into fields and fells and sheep folds without ever quite explaining where one becomes the other. I shot a five-bar gate early on, wooden and weathered, path disappearing toward the mountains. Standard enough, but the light was right. A stone sheep fold came later with multiple pens, the valley spreading green behind it. This is the pastoral layer that gets compressed as you gain height.
The dry stone walls come at you continuously — walls that fold the land into fields and fells and sheep folds without ever quite explaining where one becomes the other.
Lake District — September 2025
Langstrath Valley. Trekkers in orange and red packs on the stony path, the fell sides rising brick-brown at that season. A mountain beck running alongside for most of it, tumbling over rocks through the open floor. Two backpackers crouched at the stream, a third further back. We stopped at every crossing.
The Sty Head approach. A wooden footbridge over a rocky gorge, the beck fast underneath. A backpacker crossing mid-shot. This is where the valley narrows and the sky gets larger. On the high plateau above: rolling tussock grass hummocks under a dark stormy sky. The camera is flat to catch the scale — grass on all sides, cloud pressing down.
Dense woodland before the start of the route: rhododendron and a tree with orange-red stripped bark. I photographed the moss at close range too — a bulbous cushion formation on a branch, properly eccentric. A single solitary birch beside a mountain beck on the open fell. Things you see when you're walking slowly.
Muncaster Castle appeared on day two — medieval battlemented tower above the gardens. A lone figure on the path below. It sits at the edge of what this route is, a landmark that belongs to a different kind of day out. We were walking through its grounds toward the coast.
Backpacker with orange pack walking along a track beside a dry stone wall, green valley and autumn fells ahead, Lake District
Open wooden five-bar gate in a dry stone wall, path receding toward Lake District mountains, autumn bracken surrounding
Trekkers in orange packs walking a stony path into a wide Lake District valley, red-brown fell sides rising ahead
Two backpackers on a narrow path between dry stone walls, ferns alongside and Lake District valley fells ahead
Dry stone sheep fold with multiple pens, green pastoral valley beyond, winding dry stone walls and trees, Lake District
Three backpackers walking a narrow tarmac lane between dry stone walls, green Lake District fells ahead, overcast
Two trekkers on a hillside path, green pastoral Lake District valley below with dry stone walls and trees
Two people on rocky ledges above a dark mountain pool in a craggy gorge, Lake District fells visible behind
Wide sunny view of a Lake District valley from the hillside, trekkers on a zigzag path with dry stone walls, Borrowdale below
Trekkers in orange vests on a gravel path beside a dry stone wall, steep Lake District fells rising directly ahead
Mountain beck tumbling over rocks through a wide open fell valley, red-brown moorland grass on both sides, Lake District
Two backpackers on a rocky path beside a mountain beck, third figure resting at the stream, open fell valley, Lake District
Trekker with orange pack on a stony path beside a rusted fence, red-brown fell valley ahead, Lake District
Rolling green tussock grass hummocks across a high fell plateau under a dramatic dark stormy sky, Lake District
Wide view down a broad Lake District valley, trekkers climbing the left slope, winding beck on the valley floor below
Solo trekker pausing at a dry stone wall looking over a sweeping golden-green bowl valley, Lake District
Wide view of a U-shaped Lake District glacial valley, winding beck on the valley floor, mountain peaks beyond
Wooden footbridge over a rocky gorge with a rushing beck, backpacker crossing, steep green Lake District fells around
Trekker with orange pack on open fell path beside a solitary birch tree and mountain beck, rocky ridgeline ahead
Narrow gravel path between a tall dry stone wall and bracken, Lake District valley and trees visible ahead
Narrow rocky path between dry stone walls, trees with early autumn colour and Lake District fells beyond
Sheep with lambs resting under a large oak tree in a green Lake District meadow, dry stone wall behind
Three backpackers with red, blue and green packs walking through bracken beside a dry stone wall, large fell ahead
Dense green woodland with rhododendron and a striking orange-red stripped tree trunk, Lake District
Close-up of a moss-covered tree branch with a thick bulbous cushion moss formation, woodland bokeh behind
Narrow fern-lined path beside a dry stone wall winding toward Lake District fells, lone trekker in the distance
Trekkers in bright coloured packs crossing an open green field beside a dry stone wall, Lake District fells ahead
Dry stone wall gate opening onto a boggy marshy Lake District valley with rough pasture and fells rising behind
Muncaster Castle medieval battlemented tower above gardens, lone figure on path, Cumbrian countryside beyond