On Saturday 14th May, @John Fleetwood Lathan Ball and myself set out to place a cross at the top of Pillar Rock just below the summit of Pillar Mountain. This video documents our journey - cinematic DJI Mini 2 drone footage and photos from the day using my Sony A7 iv camera. Large part of the video was filmed using my iPhone 13 Pro Max in Cinematic mode - pretty ace!!

▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

0:00 - Intro from OS maps of our Journey to Pillar Rock
2:25 - Walk from Buttermere
3:16 - Rest before Traversing across Seat
3:44 - Piece to Camera and chat with John
4:35 - Bridge and walk up to Pillar
6:37 - John and Lathan work out how to get the cross up
7:00 - Pulling the cross up
7:38 - Cinematic Video of the Cross on Pillar Rock
12:16 - Photos of Pillar Rock and valley

John said

Last weekend I made another pilgrimage to Pillar Rock, but this time to fulfill an ambition I'd had for a while - to carry a large cross up to the bottom and erect it on the top. The idea was to light it up with solar powered christmas lights but that didn't quite work - they were far too feeble. I was accompanied by Jonny Gios who took some great drone footage and Lathan Ball who helped to carry the stuff in. I view Pillar Rock as a holy place - a mountain cathedral - and placing a cross on the summit claimed it as such. Of course we didn't leave it there - we had to take it back - but for one night it crowned the Rock. I'd made it in three parts so it could be assembled on the spot and took a rope to use as guy lines, but had never actually put it up, so it was very much an act of faith. We ground our way up to the base of the final climb where I climbed the easiest route and hauled the pieces up. I then screwed and nailed the cross together. It was proving highly problematic to hold the 2.5 metre high cross whilst trying to set the guy ropes, but fortunately there was a nice sized crack to place the cross in and that made it easier. I used warthogs (winter pitons) as anchor points and it worked! Getting the pieces up was easier than lowering them because they kept getting stuck on ledges. I then abseiled off only to find I'd left my hammer on the summit. Doh! I did go back and this time climbed down. The sunset was great and it more than lived up to my expectations. Here's the video:
   • Pillar Pilgrimage  


It was a challenging walk but worth the views of the spectacular scenery around Ennerdale Valley and mountain beyond.

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