Black Crag and Hobcarton End
Walk date – 22nd September 2025
Distance – 4.5 miles
Weather – dry and sunny with a northerly breeze, hazy visibility
I was uncertain about including today’s walk report for various reasons but decided to go ahead with it anyway. We had planned to repeat a walk that we did on 9th January 2019 but this time reversing the route and the start point. However, we hadn’t planned on being the two frazzled people we had become during the journey and on arrival. The cause of the frazzling began on the Keswick side of the A66 just beyond Scales where we joined a long line of traffic which came to a halt during three very long waits for the road works traffic lights to change in our favour, and when they did we only moved forward very slowly Apparently repair work is being done to the A66 bridge crossing just below Threlkeld where single file traffic is in operation controlled by traffic lights and a speed limit in place, hence the delays and long queues of vehicles in both directions. Work is scheduled to take place from 8pm Sunday 21 September to midday Friday 26 September. We knew nothing of this, and probably most other drivers didn’t either, so anyone planning to be on the A66 during those times might want to reconsider their route. In consequence we arrived at Whinlatter much later than planned and not in the right mood for a walk either. I wasn’t even in the mood for photography which is unusual for me. It had rained every day during the past week, so we hadn’t been able to get out for a walk, but by Sunday afternoon the sun was out at last so we spent it getting the garden ready for its winter hibernation. There are still plenty of garden jobs outstanding but as a sunny day was forecast for today, albeit with an overnight light frost and a cold northerly wind, we decided to take advantage of it and go for a walk. With hindsight I think it would have been better to have taken a local walk instead.
Route
Hobcarton car park – forest trail from parking area – forest path up to Black Crag – Black Crag – Hobcarton End – off path route down to Sanderson Gill – forest trail back to parking area – Hobcarton car park
The view of our route ahead from Hobcarton car park. Its owned by the Forestry Commission, (rebranded as Forestry England in 2019 – why?) has room for about seven tidily parked vehicles and is situated about halfway down the Whinlatter Pass road on the Lorton Vale side. From the car park we followed the left hand track which can be seen curving around into the chilly shade in the above shot.
Walking along the forest trail towards the Revelin Moss car park. The sunlight managed to create a few warm spots in some of the more open spaces along the track but on the whole it was quite chilly.
Just as the track begins to drop down sharply to a junction, which joins with the path from Revelin Moss car park, we leave it and take to this forest path. This is a look back to the beginning of the forest path and shows the main track we have just left beginning to drop down quite sharply.
J making his way up the wet and muddy earth trail through Hobcarton Plantation. Mountain bikers also use these trails so after a week’s worth of rain it won’t take much imagination to know what state they were in. The mud spattering of boots and trousers began here. The route through the plantations is very steep in some places and when combined with a muddy/puddly path the going was awkward in several places.
We emerged into the sunlight eventually and had our first view of Hobcarton (R) and Grisedale Pike (L).
As I turned towards Grisedale Pike for a full view shot of it I noticed this little cluster of Fly Agaric mushrooms at my feet. Not to be eaten as they are poisonous and also hallucinogenic. They are useful to birch, spruce and pine trees as they transfer nutrients to the roots of those trees. Not at all useful for humans as they cause all manner of unpleasant after effects quite quickly after eating them. We noticed several along the way.
Looking towards Grisedale Pike above the tops of a plantation of young pines.
Looking back at the Skiddaw group as we make our way up the Black Crag path. Its not as muddy as it was down there in the forest as the sun has had a chance to dry out the mud and puddles.
The view towards the Brown How end of Whinlatter Fell with Graystones Fell just behind it. Beyond them is the Solway Firth and Criffel although the latter is difficult to identify in the hazy air. Visibility was forecast to be ‘excellent’ today but long distance views turned out to be poor despite the northerly breeze. Why do the weather forecasters continue with this ‘visibility excellent’ nonsense when quite obviously it isn’t true?
Looking along the path up to Hobcarton End as it snaked its way through the heather and bilberry. Beyond the bend in the flatter area across the middle of the shot the path was very loose which had us slip sliding on a number of occasions.
Looking back along the path over Black Crag where another solo walker had just appeared. The lighter coloured area in the lower right corner is where we turned off to descend to Sanderson gill via our off path route. There is no footpath to Sanderson Gill down there.
A very hazy view from Hobcarton End looking across Whinlatter Fell, Widow Hause (looking very stripey after all the tree felling) with Ling Fell right behind it. The Solway Firth is the lighter strip of blue beyond the coastal plain.
There has also been quite a large area of tree felling on Graystones in recent years leaving a large exposed patch which is clearly visible just below the slopes of Hobcarton End.
A view of Broom Fell behind Whinlatter Fell followed by …..
….. a view of Lord’s Seat and the plantations around Ullister Hill beyond Whinlatter top. Binsey is the isolated fell to the left of Lord’s Seat.
Even the Skiddaw group was lacking clarity today.
We walked along the path a little way for a view of Grisedale Pike and Hopegill Head. The summit area of Hobcarton Fell is between the two.
A little further round to my right for the view of Hopegill Head and Ladyside Pike …..
….. followed by a look along the Vale of Keswick towards the Mell Fells flanked by the lower slopes of Blencathra (R) and Clough Head (L).
The skyline view across Hospital Plantation of Clough Head, Great Dodd and Stybarrow Dodd. Watson’s Dodd is between Great Dodd and Stybarrow Dodd but is difficult to see clearly in the hazy conditions.
Further along the skyline view begins with Stybarrow Dodd, now over on the left, followed by Raise, White Side, Catsty Cam and the Helvellyn group. The long distance views were very disappointing so continuing on up Grisedale Pike and just seeing more of the same murky views we decided was a waste of time and effort so we didn’t bother today. We can always return on a much clearer day and get better views of the fells surrounding it. With the decision made we turned around and had a coffee break while we considered what our return route would be. The solo walker I photographed earlier had reached Hobcarton End by now and was coming towards us as we walked back along the same path. He had a brief word with us about the loose state of the path, whilst mopping his perspiring face, before continuing on his way. As we sipped our coffee we had a think about our return route as we didn’t fancy the muddy trails back down through the forest.
We decided to return via this off path route down to the track alongside Sanderson Gill and kept to a gradually descending traverse through the heather and bilberry. The large mounds of bouncy dry heather did what heather usually does and legged both of us over a couple of times but at least we each had a soft landing! The white line below us in the shot isn’t the track alongside the gill its just a long line of discarded tree brash and once we reached it we could see the track beside Sanderson Gill quite clearly. Below the brash was a fairly new plantation of very small pine trees covering the last part of the fellside just above the track. This was a short but almost vertical drop and our gloves went on so we could grab hold of the young trees, with their prickly stems of pine needles, for stability. The ‘five points of contact’ method was adopted for the final slither down the grassy bank to the established track.
Safely down to the track beside Sanderson Gill where the water was flowing over the rocks and forming a couple of mini falls. The banking we have just clambered down can be seen in the upper right hand corner of the shot.
Walking the track beside Sanderson Gill with a view of the Skiddaw group and Blencathra. On the left hand side is a view which was typical of the vegetation of the steep sided banking referred to earlier. At the end of the track is the junction I mentioned at the beginning of this report. The right hand track leads back to the Revelin Moss car park, the left hand one goes up the hill and leads us over to …..
….. the main track and back to the Hobcarton car park. On the left is the forest path we turned off onto at the beginning of today’s walk.
Despite the sunshine everywhere else it was still quite chilly along the forest track. As we were walking along we noticed this unusual and well built structure …..
….. and this is the other end of it. The low walls were capped off, no sign of any gable end walls, and it was still intact, not falling down like many of the structures that we come across, and had been in situ long enough for moss and lichen to become established on its stones. What its original purpose was we couldn’t work out and it isn’t marked on the OS map either.
The junction just above the car park so we take the right hand track down to it. The left hand track eventually leads to the forest trail above Hobcarton Gill where there might possibly be a view of Ladyside Pike, Hopegill Head and Hobcarton Crag towering above the Swinside valley.
The final shot of the day is of the entrance to the Hobcarton car park with the Whinlatter Pass road (B5292) going across it. The slopes of Whinlatter Fell are on the far side of the road. That’s the end of today’s walk, what there was of it, and as we are still somewhat frazzled from our earlier traffic experience we were not looking forward to a repeat of it during the drive home. We had considered alternatives but on balance we decided to return via the A66, rather than use a much longer route back, and try to be patient if we were held up. Fortunately it was too early for the school run traffic or the home from work traffic so we were only kept waiting at the lights for about three minutes. All’s well that ends well, I suppose.