The Back of Blencathra

None of my clubmates wanted to join me on this walk so I set off on my own from the hut we were staying at in Patterdale.  After driving to the head of Mosedale in the northern fells I followed Grainsgill Beck, through a couple of drizzly showers, up to a point where the slope eased and I cut off rightwards towards Great Lingy Hut, probably more often known as the Lingy Hut bothy.  I added an entry to the log book and enjoyed the views of Carrock Fell and Blencathra, reminiscing that the previous time I’d been here was just over 26 years ago!

Mosedale from the Lingy Hut

Lingy Hut bothy

Hare Stones was my first summit of the day.  I could clearly see the summit of High Pike with a few people on it but as it’s a Wainwright, I’d been there before and it would need an unnecessary out-and-back to reach it again; today’s agenda lay in the opposite direction.

I followed the clear path towards Great Lingy Hill.  From the top I thought that I could just make out Criffel but the nearer fells of High Pike and Carrock Fell were very clear and terrain at the back of Blencathra showed its complexity which is not widely commented on.  Conversely, Knott lay straight ahead as a lump obscuring Skiddaw.

The top of Miller Moss had a modest cairn but my attention was held by Knott, taunting me with its apparent close reach but the ground to the tiny and rather inconsequential summit of Little Lingy Hill had no obvious path through the heather and hags before completing the dogleg to the day’s highpoint.

Helvellyn, Thirlmere and Lonscale Fell & Pike from Knott

Knott summit is a good viewpoint as the Vale of Keswick comes into view.  Lonscale Fell with its Pike were clear and behind me the Lingy Hut could be seen.  The descent from Knott steepened as the col was approached and the ascent of Little Calva took longer than I thought it might because of a combination of heather, bogs and marshy terrain underfoot.  The view to the south became much more interesting with Helvellyn, Thirlmere and Skiddaw House all clearly seen.  Across the Solway was misty but Cross Fell in the east was easily identifiable, despite its lumpen form.

Skiddaw House from Great Calva

I followed the fence around to Great Calva’s summit cairn and then to the south summit where the fence turned left to the descent of almost 1,000 feet.  No path was marked on the map but this is obviously a common way of travel, up, down or both, as there is a narrow but well-worn path.  Wiley Gill marked the end of the descent and only a two mile walk along the Cumbria Way was needed to get back to the car.

The North of the Spine

The day turned out to be the hottest of the year so far. 

So my decision to tick some northern Pennine outlying summits was probably a good one as three shorter walks allowed for some respite during the day

Thack Moor was the first singleton of the day.  An early start allowed me time to get lost on the lanes leading to Renwick but I was soon parked up on the main street and was heading uphill before 9’o’clock.  A good track followed by a good path led inexorably to the summit and posed no navigational problems and the trig point marked what most would assume to be the high point.  However, when Thack Moor was being surveyed and awarded Nuttall status, the actual summit was found to be 1 centimetre higher on the other side of the wall.  I carefully climbed over to a grassy sward with no obvious highest point but I used GPS to get to the “top” – tick!

Thack Moor trig point

the Dodds ridge with Great Gable behind

The views to the Lake District were hazy but High Street, Helvellyn, the northern Dodds, Blencathra, Skiddaw and Binsey could be easily identified.  There was a distant summit poking above the Dodds which I thought could have been Grisedale Pike but it turned out to be Great Gable.  I used my monocular to spot the summit of Grey Nag to the east, a Nuttall that I had walked up a couple of months earlier.  Cold Fell to the north – a target for later today – looked as if it had some significant summit furniture.

The descent back to the car was quick and I then drove up the quiet roads to Hartside summit before enjoying the descent to Alston along with many bikers – both the motor and pedal versions.  At Nenthead I turned uphill to the road summit and started my stroll to Flinty Fell.

The summit of Flinty Fell was previously determined to be on an old spoil heap which seems to be an obvious place for it to be.  But more recent surveys have found that it is in the middle of a significant plateau where there is no obvious highest point.  According to my GPS I got to within zero metres of the 10-figure grid reference of the summit but that point had no particular significance to the eye.

It’s got to be said that if it wasn’t on a list then Flinty Fell would be seldom, if at all, visited.  And I suspect that it gets few visitors now!  My “ascent” followed a significant dry spell and it was fine underfoot but after more typical British weather, the area would be horribly boggy. Despite the lack of positive attributes, it does afford good views of Cross Fell and the Dun Fells although you can see these just as clearly from the summit of the fell road!

The drive back down to Alston and then on towards Brampton was a treat in the Sunday afternoon sunshine.  I parked at the RSPB reserve at Geltsdale and walked down the track to the old quarrymen’s cottages at Howgill before attempting to follow the track marked on the Landranger map that has long become overgrown with bracken and is now all but impossible to follow.  I should have turned off at the more obvious path that looked as if it cut the corner.

The track marked above the zig-zags was a lot clearer to follow but the sun and the heat made for slow progress on my third walk of the day; time for some chocolate and jelly babies to consume some calories before heading once again uphill.

The track narrowed to a path, boggy in a few places and encroached upon by tall grasses and bracken until open moorland was reached.  A snake slithered off the path and into the undergrowth – I was too slow to identify the species but I suspect it wasn’t an adder.  Once past the fence the path led to a grouse butt and took a line to the left but soon petered out.  Then it was heather bashing to the fenceline which could then be handrailed to the summit.

Cold Fell summit

Accompanying the trig point was a substantial shelter and an impressive cairn.  Although hazy, the views to the Lake District were clear enough to identify the same summits that I saw earlier in the day from Thack Moor.  Looking at the photos later at home, Great Gable was as prominent and Scafell Pike and Lingmell straddled Clough Head.  As I was so close to the border the view over the Solway to Criffel was uninterrupted.

northern Dodds, Scafell Pike, Lingmell, Great Gable, Blencathra

I followed a path downhill that led directly to the grouse butt that I saw on my way up.  I rejoined my original track just below the butt and turned around to see that the path I had just descended could not be seen and it was obvious that the path I took on the way up was misleading.  I noted this for the future but it’s unlikely that I’ll ever be back here again.

The descent was very quick and I was glad to get back to the car, take off my boots and start the drive home.  Overall it was a long day which was made that much more enjoyable by doing the walks in the sun and after the recent spell of dry weather.

Bowfell

Since completing the Wainwrights and with my focus turning to the Nuttalls, a visit to Bowfell was needed to tick the mountain’s North Top.  Although that was the day’s target, I had also wanted to walk along the Climber’s Traverse and have a close look at the Great Slab.

The Old Dungeon Ghyll was the meeting point and six of us set off in the rain, taking aim for the cloudbase which we met long before we reached the summit.  The path leading to the traverse was indistinct at first and not obvious as it split from the main route, not far beyond the minor summit of White Stones.  As we ascended the way forward became more obvious and much narrower, occasionally having to use our hands to negotiate a number of small rock steps.  The low cloud had persisted with the cliffs rearing above us to the left and the drops to our right being masked by the gloom.

At the bottom of the Great Slab we sheltered for lunch and then walked up alongside it before taking a direct line to Bowfell’s summit.  I would have liked to walk over to its edge but the low visibility wasn’t encouraging an exploration of the edge of this impressive rock feature; perhaps I’ll just have to come back again.

The group followed the path towards Ore Gap but I kept on the higher ground over the Centre Top – which is at the top of Bowfell Buttress – and carried on to the North Top.  In clearer conditions this elevated stroll would make a quieter and more worthwhile alternative to the main path.

At Ore Gap the cloud had lifted and looking back we could see the summit of Bowfell.  Ahead of us, the Gables breached the edge of Esk Pike and the view to the north was clear to Skiddaw and Blencathra.  We decided to head for Esk Pike and upon reaching the summit the Scafell massif dominated the landscape to the east.  Identifying numerous summits without referring to the map gave us a challenge and when we satisfied our curiosity, we walked off towards Esk Hause.

Great End and the Gables

Great Gable and Green Gable

The end of the walk was straightforward, walking over Tongue Head to the outflow of Angle Tarn before testing our knees on the descent of Rossett Gill.  Thankfully, the good path along Mickleden took us directly to some welcome beer at the ODG!

towards the Langdale Pikes

the Great Slab from below