Until
the 1974 county boundary changes of 1974, Lancashire had a highpoint worthy of
such a great and historic county, but The Old Man of Coniston was wrenched from
the grasp of the red rose and placed firmly within the manufactured county of
Cumbria. The new highpoint was
Gragareth, a much less worthy mountain, only a stone’s throw from Lancashire’s
arch-rival – Yorkshire.
In
recent years, there has been some debate as to the true county top with Green
Hill claiming the honour with a published spot height just 1 metre superior to
that of Gragareth. But a recent GPS
survey has conclusively determined that Gragareth is actually the true top.
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| The Three Men of Gragareth |
From
the parking area just short of Fell House I could see The Three Men of
Gragareth and set off towards them, avoiding the worst of the boulder
fields. Close to them was an impressive
alcove shelter which could be likened to a hollowed-out cairn but it was too
early to consider using it for a rest.
As the mist enveloped me I aimed for the trig point and soon reached
it. But this is not the true
summit. I walked east for 100 metres to
a small cairn marking the top and felt a tinge of disappointment that a county
summit could be marked by such a small pile of stones.
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| Gragareth summit cairn |
The
impressive drystone wall that follows the county boundary led to the summit of
Green Hill, an equally unimpressive summit that I soon left behind. The junction of the old counties of
Lancashire, Westmorland and the West Riding of Yorkshire is marked by the
“County Stone” which is almost overwhelmed by the walls that meet at it and if
you didn’t already know about it, its significance would easily be
overlooked. Great Coum was only a short
distance away and quickly bagged as was Crag Hill, its trig point looming out
of the mist amidst a promise of clearing skies.
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| Crag Hill trig point |
I
contoured around the head of the Ease Gill valley and despite the recent
freezing conditions still managed to go knee deep into bog ! Resisting ticking Green Hill again, I took a
bearing from the col between it and Gragareth to the shooter’s track clearly
marked on the map. Many brace of grouse
flew away as I disturbed them while trying to avoid the worst of the groughs.
The
track is one of the worst I’ve walked and would be a challenge for all but the
hardiest 4x4 but the last kilometre or so was rewarded with a magnificent
sunset over Morecambe Bay.
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| Morecambe Bay sunset |
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