Category: Uncategorized

Walk date – 23rd August 2023

Distance – 5.75 miles (excluding boat trip)

Weather – Dull, cloudy start but gradually turning sunny and warm, very light breeze

 

The usual dull grey cloud blanket stared down at us when we glanced out of the window this morning, but as it was forecast to be mostly dry and cloudy and with only a 20% chance of cloud free fell tops we had already decided how our walk today would pan out. We opted to walk the Roehead to Howtown section of the Ullswater Way which we partially did on the return leg of our walk on 17 Nov 2017. The weather on that day was dull and rainy causing us to cut short our walk, thus omitting Howtown, on that occasion with the intention of returning another day and completing this particular section of the Ullswater Way. So, six years later, today we finally got round to it. The morning began with dull cloud but as the morning progressed the cloud gradually began to break up, bits of blue sky started to appear and eventually we had more frequent and longer lasting sunny spells. Lest anyone should think we are suddenly able to miraculously walk on water when looking at the route map I should explain that we returned to Pooley Bridge via one of the Ullswater ‘steamers’, and jolly nice it was too, particularly as by then it had turned into a very sunny and warm afternoon.

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Route

Roehead – The Cockpit stone circle – Aik Beck – Swarthbeck Gill- Swarthbank – Howtown – Ullswater – Pooley Bridge – Roehead

Walking up from the roadside parking at Roehead with a view over to a sunny Arthur’s Pike. There is plenty of cloud around at the moment and long distance visibility is not all that good but there are some small blue patches of sky here and there so we are hopeful that the cloud will break eventually.

Long distance views towards the Helvellyn group remain murky although one of the fells behind seems to be in the sunlight. Not definitely sure which one it is though, possibly Green Side above Glenridding.

A little more of Ullswater begins to appear as we continue on up the path from Roehead.

Blencathra begins to appear behind the Mell fells over on the right skyline.

No point in taking any photos when we reached the stone circle as there were too many people, both walkers and cyclists, to have a chance of taking a worthwhile shot so we kept straight on. Over on the left is White Knott, one of the  subsidiary humps on Arthur’s Pike which you might encounter on the way to the summit depending on your chosen route. It looks dry enough along here but quite a lot of the path was very wet and muddy thanks to all the rainfall lately.

Dropping down to Aik Beck here where a good flow of water meant splashing through and hoping for the best. As it turned out it wasn’t too deep and didn’t come over the ‘running boards’, which is how I refer to the strips of rubber which encircle the entire boot and cover the joint between the uppers and the soles of our boots and the toecaps. They are properly known as ‘rands’.

Climbing up out of Aik Beck with a look back at one of the small waterfalls.

A sunny spell lands on the fields around Ullswater although Little Mell Fell and Priest’s Crag to the left of it didn’t get a share of it.

White Knott and Arthur’s Pike were doing much better as far as sunshine went.

Hints of sunshine too, here and there, on the fells in front of us. As we were walking along here the last person in a very long line of cyclists came past us, obviously struggling to keep up with the rest of the group. Each little grouping warned us of more to come and thanked us for stepping aside to let them pass although we didn’t have much choice to do anything but given the speed at which they were going. It didn’t seem to occur to any of them to slow down when approaching us.

A lovely view of Ullswater and the surrounding fells from this section of the path, the cloud seems to be breaking up quite well now and we are getting longer spells of sunshine.

The route ahead and, although the bracken is still very abundant and tall, its fronds are beginning to turn brown as the summer (what summer?) inevitably morphs very gradually towards autumn.

Ullwater and its surrounding fields bathed in sunlight as are the northern fells in the distance. Little Mell Fell on the other hand loses out completely, again.

Dropping down towards Auterstone Wood and …..

….. just a little way further down is the ‘Ullswater seat’ where walkers can pause, take a seat and enjoy the views across the lake for a few minutes. The inscription reads ‘Ullswater, that loveliest of lakes curving gracefully into the far distance’.

Passing below Auterstone Crags on the western side of Arthur’s Pike …..

….. with a look back as we pass beyond them. Arthur’s Pike seems to be getting quite a lot of sun this morning.

Approaching Swarthbeck Gill, we could already hear the water rushing down.

The slab bridge over the beck …..

….. and a view looking upstream at the many small waterfalls the beck creates. AW wrote this about Swarthbeck Gill – ‘if it were more accessible it would be one of the showplaces of the district. Here between towering rock walls are beautiful cataracts, but, alas, they are out of reach of the average explorer. The ferny, tree clad lower gorge, however, may (and should) be visited. The prudent venture no further.’ We didn’t venture further up the gill than this but it might be an interesting place to explore when there isn’t so much foliage around if only to see the falls just a little further up. Probably best visited in early spring/late autumn when there are fewer leaves blocking the view.

Passing a derelict barn below Bonscale Pike, one of the trees has made a home for itself inside the barn. Did the growing tree branches push the barn’s roof off or was the barn already roofless and the tree simply took advantage of a sheltered spot in which to grow?

Ullswater, that loveliest of lakes curving gracefully away into the distance.

One of the Ullswater ‘steamers’ coming in from Pooley Bridge making its graceful way towards the Howtown landing stage.

Descending Swarthbank now and heading for the jetty so I took a close up shot of Steel Knotts…..

….. Place Fell …..

….. and Hallin Fell. The steamer has arrived at the jetty and passengers are disembarking, joining the throng of folk already in, on and around the water. Youngsters falling off paddleboards and squealing as warm bodies meet cold water, people fishing off a yacht or dipping nets to see what they might catch. Others begin making their way up the zig-zag road to the hause on their way to walk over one or more of the surrounding fells. Some passengers, having disembarked, seemed somewhat at a loss as to what to do or where to go next. Our intentions are to find somewhere to sit and eat our lunch and while away the next half hour as we wait for the boat from Glenridding to arrive at 12.55 and ferry us over to Pooley Bridge.

Well, we’ve had our lunch and are now waiting for the boat to Pooley. The one in the shot has just off loaded its Howtown passengers and is on its way down to Glenridding. The one we are boarding is now approaching the jetty having stood some way off and waited until this one got under way.

The jetty now being steamer free I took the opportunity to take this shot of Hallin Fell. All the following shots were taken from ‘The Raven’ which rather puzzlingly had a metal image of a stag affixed to the funnel …..

….. Bonscale Pike as we were leaving Howtown…..

….. Steel Knotts …..

….. Hallin Fell …..

…. looking along Fusedale with the landing stage fast receding…..

….. Beda Fell …..

….. Gowbarrow Fell …..

….. another view along Fusedale …..

….. Bonscale Pike …..

….. Swarthbeck Gill …..

….. Arthur’s Pike with Auterstone Crags below the summit …..

….. Little Mell Fell gets its share of the sunshine at last …..

….. Arthur’s Pike and Bonscale Pike …..

….. the waves created by our boat took one of a pair of paddleboarders for an unplanned swim as we approached the jetty at Pooley Bridge. When we disembarked we bought a couple of Magnum ice cream lollies from the shop on the jetty as we knew there would be long queues at the shops in Pooley. True to form Pooley was very crowded and thus all the shops, cafes and pubs were very busy …..

….. so it was nice to leave all the frenzy behind and begin making our way back up to the car at Roehead. This is a look back towards the village as we left. A little further along we crossed the Howtown road and then walked up the lane to Roehead. We passed a lady leading a golden Labrador which was very reluctant to walk more than a few steps before it decided to stop and lie down. As we passed I asked if she had far to go and the reply was Askham. Not a long distance but with a very reluctant dog we were left wondering how long it would take them to get there. She did manage to get it through the gate at the end of the lane and up onto the homeward path across so I hope they made it back to Askham before the daylight went.

Looking back towards Ullswater from the Roehead lane. We’re back at the car, the Labrador is being persuaded through the gate and the afternoon has blossomed into a warm and sunny one with plenty of blue sky overhead. Well, that’s today’s jaunt over and today, Thursday, as I write the sky is cloudless and wall to wall blue with only a light breeze disturbing the leaves on the trees. On the other hand here’s part of today’s forecast for the Lake District from MWIS –

Walk date – 9th August 2023

Distance – 7.2 miles

Weather – dry, some sunny spells, mostly overcast, slight breeze

 

The MWIS forecast for today indicated that the best chance for any sun today would be around the fells in the north east of lakeland which more or less decided where we would walk today. In the end we opted for a ramble over the grassy slopes of Loadpot Hill and Wether Hill from the start point at Moorahill Farm just above the village of Bampton.  Many of you will have driven through Bampton on the way to Haweswater and Mardale Head. We turned off the road, just before entering Bampton, and drove up the narrow lane from the telephone box to our start point at Moorahill farm where off road parking is available. The day started off bright enough but, as has been the pattern lately, the breaks in the cloud soon joined ranks again leaving us with the usual blanket of cloud overhead. We did get the occasional spell of sunshine around noon but it didn’t stay the course for the rest of the afternoon. On the plus side the cool northerly breeze had been replaced with a warmer and gentler southerly one. That disappeared as we began our return leg back to Moorahill and we walked back to the farm during a very warm afternoon.

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Route

Moorahill – Carhullan – The Pen – Hart Hill – Loadpot Hill – Wether Hill – High Kop – Low Kop – The Hause – Towtop Kirk – Moorahill

Here’s the view of some of the fells leading up to Low Kop on the western side of Haweswater from the off-road parking at Moorahill farm. More about the farm towards the end of this report.

We walked from the parking area at Moorahill along the track up to the rental properties at Carhullan. This is the larger of the two properties and our route takes us between the outbuilding on the left of the shot and another one which is out of shot. As can be seen the morning is bright and sunny.

We left the established track above Cawdale Edge and climbed straight up over the rough grassland for the main track across The Pen from where this shot was taken. There was no-one to be seen anywhere, not even at the holiday rentals or the farm and that’s how things remained until we were approaching Loadpot’s trig column.

Hart Hill from The Pen …..

…..plus a look back along The Pen. We were walking through snow the last time we walked across here in January 2021.

The view across Bampton Common in the direction of High Street as we start the steady climb up Hart Hill …..

….. and a look behind across to The Hause which will be our return route back to Moorahill.

High Raise in shadow on the centre skyline with the green slopes of Wether Hill just to the right of it.

A view of the northern fells from the trig column on Loadpot Hill. As we were approaching the trig point a cyclist also reached it via the path in the shot. He paused very briefly before making his way on towards Wether Hill so we didn’t have the usual exchange of greetings with him.

The light was low so distant views were rather greyed out but over on the right are the northern fells and over on the left are the Dodds and Clough Head.

A little brighter towards the west where Saint Sunday Crag, on the left, is looking rather dark and menacing. The Helvellyn group occupies most of the skyline behind it with White Side and Raise over on the extreme right.

Saint Sunday is now to the right and taking up the left skyline is Fairfield, Hart Crag and Dove Crag.

From Loadpot we made our way over to Wether Hill passing the former shooting lodge belonging to Lowther estate …..

….. the remnants of which have been fashioned into a sort of shelter …..

….. and just below the former lodge a few strides off the path is this old boundary stone. Any initials indicating land ownership have long since weathered away but I guess that the eastern face would have displayed the letter L (for Lowther) at one time.

The tarn on Wether Hill and the path we’ve just walked down from Loadpot.

High Spying How, part of Birkhouse Moor and the top of Catstycam become illuminated by one of those very brief sunny spells we had from time to time. Saint Sunday and Birks missed out again.

Another splash of sunlight lands and brightens up the skyline over on White Side, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd and Great Dodd. Some of it even manages to light up the lower end of Place Fell across the middle foreground.

Now its the turn of the Fairfield group to get their few minutes of sun. The very steep nose of The Nab is on the left of the middle foreground while over to the right of it is Heck Crag above Bannerdale.

Another cyclist on an adjacent path to ours just passed by and gave us a cheerful ‘Hi’ and a wave as we climbed up Wether Hill, not sure if it was the same guy we saw on Loadpot though. A zoom in will show him on the path below making his way towards the tarn.

Finally we get our five minutes in the sun and everything became much less gloomy. Below us is Beda Fell, then Ullswater below Gowbarrow, and in the distance the northern fells once again. It was great to have the lights back on again.

Wether Hill’s cairn is nothing fancier than a pile of stones but it does act as a way marker for anyone making their way over to High Raise directly ahead on the centre of the skyline.

The view back to Loadpot from the Wether Hill cairn.

Looking ahead to High Raise, on the centre skyline, with the long shoulder of Kidsty Pike to its left and just a smidge of a shaded High Street right behind it.

Looking west where the lights have gone out again. Heck Crag is prominent across the middle foreground so the rest of the fells behind it will be easy to name. From Wether Hill we retraced our steps back down the northern slope for a short distance and eventually located the path on High Kop which would eventually lead us back to Moorahill.

After a short stop to have something to eat and drink here we are making our way down from High Kop during another brief but very welcome sunny spell. The breeze dropped out along here and the afternoon became very warm.

Haweswater comes into view …..

….. and once we we far enough down to see most of it I took a shot. The distant hills around Mallerstang remained greyed out.

The view back up to High Raise from the descent path.

At this junction we take the left hand path for Moorahill. The right hand one eventually leads down to Haweswater and on to Burnbanks.

The northern Pennines in the distance remained just a blue-grey smudge although the silhouettes of Cross Fell and its neighbours Little Dun Fell and Great Dun Fell are easy enough to identify.

Heading down towards the Hause now where there is now only one stand of trees instead of the two that used to be there.

Cawdale Beck meandering below us, Carhullan on the left and Moorahill on the right and our car still the only one parked in front of it.

A look back at the Hause to show the brown patch where the stand of trees used to be. The OS map still shows two patches of green but then OS maps often show things that aren’t in evidence on the ground, major paths being just one example. On our route map above you will see a little kink in the route we took across The Pen just to the right of the words Hart Hill. That was J going over to find the red path indicated on the OS map. It was bugging him that although we were actually walking on a path wide enough to accommodate a bin lorry the gps was showing that we weren’t on the red path indicated on the map. He went over and stood on the point where the path was supposed to be yet there was nothing to be seen but rough untrodden grass. Maybe one of these days they’ll get round to revising it.

The two holiday rentals at Carhullan. The one over on the right it known as Little Carhullan, the larger one is just Carhullan.

Moorahill farm and our car parked off road in front of it. When we were back at the car I saw a notice attached to one of the deer fence posts adjoining the farm wall so I went over to have a read. It was a planning application detailing what changes were being applied for. It appears that it is no longer a working farm as the application was in the names of a Mr and Mrs whose surname didn’t suggest a UK and/or a farming background. The details of the changes to be made included a sauna and things associated, linking outbuildings to the main house (no doubt via glass walls), and all the rest of it although I stopped reading after a couple of sentences. What I had read was enough to indicate what it will eventually look like should planning permission be granted. Let’s hope that it doesn’t and that the traditional character of the farm is preserved.

Meanwhile J had made his way down to the old slab bridge across Cawdale beck …..

….. while I was still looking upstream of the beck and over at Carhullan before joining him.

Once across the bridge there was only a short walk up the slope back to the farm and the car. Despite the dull skies from mid-day onwards it became very warm indeed, note that we’re down to t-shirt level, so it was quite a pleasant walk throughout, and we got back to the car dry and not soaking wet like we did on our last walk. Other than the cyclist, or perhaps two cyclists, we didn’t see another soul. Very unusual for August.

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Walk date – 6th August 2023

Distance – 6 miles

Weather – Cool and wet

 

In our last walk report I mentioned that we would take the camera with us when we next had a walk over to Hill 401 which we did this afternoon. After yet more weeks of very poor weather, this morning remained dry although the skies were still overcast with very low cloud covering most of the fell tops. It seemed set to stay that way so we decided to go and see if we could find the double stone circle that I referred to in our 13th July report. Unfortunately the weather gods decided otherwise and it turned out to be a very wet and gloomy afternoon as can be seen from the photos below.

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Route

Off road parking below Howe Nook – Coalpit Hill – Long Mire – Seal Howe – Cairn circle – Hill 401 –  Howe Nook parking area

Howe Nook farm from our parking spot. The farm is situated on the southern edge of Crosby Ravensworth fell and we had intended to divert across to it from Hill 401 on the return leg of our walk. However when the time came we decided we’d had quite enough of walking in the rain so we didn’t bother. The path begins just beside the little stony patch in the foreground of the shot.

Here’s the view from the beginning of the path which, according to the OS map follows the course of a Roman road, with the dark mound of Hill 401 towards the left of the skyline. Its a gentle climb which alternates between being grassy or stony and its always littered with sheep droppings. Leaden skies everywhere today.

At this point along the path we met a group of bull calves and this one seemed particularly curious about us …..

….. his mates were too busy eating to pay much attention to us. We kept meeting the rest of the group as we walked further along. There were several different breeds altogether, Aberdeen Angus, Belted Galloways, Friesians, Jerseys and one Highland. Its quite unusual to see such a mix of breeds in one herd but they all seemed to be getting along very well with each other.

Sizing each other up during a stand off on Hill 401. The baby bull calf blinked first.

Looks like the cattle have had something to do with the trashing of the grouse shoot lunch shed judging by the amount of hoof marks in the mud. These doors are usually closed and locked but one of them has been shoved open, something heavy has got inside and gone straight through the wooden floor of the shed. The owners of the shed will have a bit of tidying up to do before the wooden picnic tables stored inside can be taken outside.

A glimmer of sunlight in the distance and no raindrops falling on our heads or in the ‘dog bowl’. At this point, other than being a little on the cool side, the weather wasn’t too bad.

We reach the path junction where we would normally turn off to walk over to the top of Hill 401. Its official name, according to the OS map, seems to be Coalpit Hill. We will be going over to the top of it after we’ve found the double cairn circle on Seal Howe.

The route ahead as we carry on toward Seal Howe. It began to rain at this point. Well of course it would, just when there wasn’t a scrap of shelter to be found.

A glimpse of the structures on Hill 401 as we carry on towards Seal Howe and Oddendale.

Approaching the circle of trees surrounding Oddendale hamlet and where we leave the track and turn left across the rough moorland in search of the double cairn circle. The rain is getting heavier.

With the help of J’s gps we eventually reach the double cairn circle which apparently has been here since the Neolithic age. This is the inner circle of stones with a couple stones belonging to the outer ring also visible in the shot. The cairn on Seal Howe is visible on the skyline.

The outer ring is quite large so its difficult to fit in the shot but with a zoom in its possible to glimpse some of them, the others were mostly hidden by the long grass. Hill 401 is on the centre skyline.

An attempt at getting the inner and outer rings in one shot, although they are difficult to identify thanks to the low light and the rain drops landing on the lens. Wiping them off the lens before taking the shot was futile, no sooner had the lens been wiped it was spattered all over again. In the distance are the greyed out far eastern fells.

Looking towards a rain soaked Hardendale Nab from the cairn circle. A little over three weeks ago we were up there in very windy but sunny conditions. We haven’t had any decent weather since then.

The circle of trees around Oddendale hamlet and more raindrops on the camera lens. We had planned to go over an have a look at the hamlet but decided to wait for a better day. At least we found the cairn circle.

Still raining as we made our way back to a path junction which will take us across to Hill 401.

By the time we reached the path junction it had stopped raining so I had a chance to wipe the lens dry yet again and take a shot of the low cloud activity billowing over High Street, Kidsty Pike and High Raise over to the west of us. A very dramatic and impressive scene and much more interesting than the flat grey cloud blanket we’ve been seeing lately.

Having dried out to some extent during the rain free spell we’re now getting wet again on the way up to the top of the hill.

J waits for me at the large cairn while I take this shot of another circular mound of stones although I have no idea what sort of structure it is or why it was created. There are many such oddities scattered across these lower hills.

Its lashing with rain now and quite windy up here. There should be a view of the far eastern fells behind the trig column but the rain clouds are blocking the views …..

….. and the views to the east from the large cairn are not much better either. This is a very large cairn set on a flatter area of the hilltop and is encircled by …..

….. what might have once been some kind of defensive structure as there are many indications of something like that even though everything is now down to ground level. We didn’t stay long up here, the strong wind and driving rain had us hurrying down to the path on the eastern side of the hill where it continued to rain but at least we were out of the chilly north wind.

Along the way there are several well concealed grouse butts set into the ground so I took a look down into one of them …..

….. and further along a shot of another one to show well concealed they are. There is another type which looks similar to a sturdy fence panel behind which the grouse shooters would have to stand. Some of these seem to have been used as scratching posts by the cattle, one having been completely pushed over and laying flat on the ground, another one, now leaning at a precarious angle, will no doubt soon be joining it.

A look back at our path from Hill 401 as we rejoin the main path back to the car. It is still raining heavily.

A blurry shot of the Howgills on the skyline and …..

….. another blurry shot as we approach the lunch shed once again. Wiping the lens only results in blurry shots now since we have nothing left which is dry enough to wipe the lens.

Back at the lunch shed with the rain now down to a steady pitter patter so the lens gets wiped dry with the hem of my t-shirt. Interesting to note the white shot marks on the upper half of the end of the shed. Presumably the shooters were aiming at grouse, oops!

The car is back in view so we’re almost at the end of our walk and a very wet walk it has been. The rain continues, the skies are heavy with dark clouds, the temperature remains on the cool side, and it feels like autumn rather than the middle of summer. Let’s hope for some improvement soon.

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Walk date – 13th July 2023

Distance – 5.1 miles

Weather – fair weather cloud, sunny spells, very windy

In complete contrast to the forecast today’s weather brought an unexpected break up of the blanket of cloud which has persisted day after day just lately and by lunch time the sunny spells were becoming more prolonged and looked set to continue. It was still very windy though so we decided to have a short walk quite close to home on some of the lesser hills to the east of Shap. There are limestone pavements in abundance here so there’s plenty of evidence of quarrying together with a large amount of ancient cairns, curricks and stone circles indicating the presence of human activity but whose history is now forever lost in the mists of time.

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Route

Hardendale Lane – Hardendale Nab – Hardendale Quarry – Iron Hill – Harberwain Rigg – Oddendale – Seal Howe – Hardendale Quarry – Hardendale Lane

We parked off road beside the lane up to the hamlet of Hardendale from where we have a good view across to High Street, Kidsty Pike and High Raise. I had to hang on to the car door as I opened it to prevent the strong wind yanking it off its hinges, so what it must be like over there on High Street heaven only knows.

A local resident gives me the once over as I take this shot looking eastward towards Cross Fell on the nothern Pennines. In the trees just ahead is the hamlet of Hardendale and that’s where the tarmac lane ends. From here we climb just a very short distance up to …..

….. the curricks just below the top of Hardendale Nab. We came up here a few days ago on a much murkier day so I didn’t have the camera with me and on that occasion there were six curricks. The sixth one has since collapsed and its stones are in a heap just out of shot to the left. We did think at the time that it had been built at a later time than the five in the shot and it wasn’t as well constructed. I don’t think it has been pushed over deliberately, at least I hope no-one has done such a thing, I think its more likely that a sheep has scratched itself against it and accidentally knocked it over. If that’s the case the sheep must have had quite a fright. Just how long these curricks have been standing here I have no idea but judging by the amount of lichen and algae growing on them it must be a considerable amount of time, those things are not exactly famous for their rapid growth rates.

Just a very short distance from the curricks is the top of Hardendale Nab, a limestone pavement the length of which is now grass covered.

The view back to the curricks indicates just how short the distance is between the two. Some of the northern fells are just visible on the right of the skyline. Blencathra is visible but it will need a zoom in to identify it.

The Howgills form the southern skyline as we walk along the top of Hardendale Nab, the limestone cliffs on this side create quite a drop.

Below us is the M6 …..

….. and looking directly west into Wet Sleddale and its reservoir. The Tata company’s limestone works were an unavoidable intrusion. I had trouble keeping my balance taking this shot as the strong westerly wind was coming directly at me.

We left the windy conditions on the hill top and headed eastward towards the quarry. We had hoped that we’d gain some respite from the wind along here but we were still getting battered.

The cliffs of the quarry begin to appear …..

….. and are quickly followed by the appearance of the quarry pool …..

….. so we made our way down to the fence for a better view.

Information board in front of the fence …..

….. and a close up of some of the information. Its quite a long board so its difficult to show all the information.

We continue down towards the fence line where a gate allows us to gain access to the path going down the hill at the northern end of the quarry. Our route will take us down the hill to the tarmac lane by the tree plantation. When the lane reaches the first single tree we will leave it, pass through a gate close to the tree and continue on through a lonning across to Iron Hill.

The quarry cliffs from the tarmac lane. The wind is just as strong down here as is indicated by the rough surface of the quarry water.

A look back at our route from Hardendale Nab from the tarmac lane.

The quarry pool is fenced off but the broken down wall offers the chance of at least getting a little closer …..

….. and getting a better view of the cliffs and the water. Note the blown over lifebelt stand.

Walking through the lonning where the tall grasses were being tossed every which way by the wind. Some of them were as tall as I am, although that’s not saying very much, but at least the lonning wasn’t full of bracken.

Looking back at the quarry as we walk through the lonning…..

….. and another view of High Street and its neighbours over to the right.

We’ve left the lonning behind now and continue across the open fields towards Iron Hill.

The stone circle on Iron Hill is the first thing we come across, despite the map indicating otherwise, and in the distance is the cairn itself.

Looking west back to the quarry from the stone circle.

We stroll across Iron Hill to the ancient cairn …..

….. with J’s hair (and mine) plastered down by the wind. We almost didn’t bother with walking poles today so we only took one each. I gave mine to J while I took a photo and it looks as if its being put to good use. Cross Fell is back in view.

The distant skyline showing Mallerstang Edge (L) and Wild Boar Fell (R).

On we go making our way over to Oddendale with a pleasant green path under our feet all the way. Oddendale hamlet is in the patch of trees in the centre of the shot. Behind the patch of trees is what we call Hill 401 as it doesn’t appear to have a name. We often have a walk over there but I’ve never taken the camera with me, perhaps I should next time we go there.

We reach Oddendale and its tiny hamlet of houses encircled with trees …..

….. and the lane entrance to the little hamlet. The houses are well protected from strong winds by the surrounding trees, so well protected that its impossible to see anything other than the entrance.

From the hamlet we follow a gravel farm track and make our way over to Seal Howe. A patch of limestone pavement comes into view just a short distance away so I stopped to take a look back from it towards Hardendale Nab.

Approaching the cairn on Seal Howe ……

….. the other side of which reveals a partial collapse. How long it has been here is unknown. Over to the right of the shot is another stone structure which we eventually went over to take a look at.

Hardendale Nab and the quarry from the cairn on Seal Howe.

We’re now at the stone structure I’ve just mentioned but I’ve no idea what its original purpose was. It is a very long curved oval shape and the two end sections are not joined on to anything. As the tallest section of it has its back to the west, the prevailing wind direction, perhaps it served as a shelter for whatever animals were being kept by those ancient hill dwellers.

As we returned from Seal Howe we came across another very similar structure, built to the same pattern and similarly located against the prevailing winds. Had we known of its existence we would have searched for the double stone circle which is also located on Seal Howe, on another visit we’ll go and look for it.

Back at the southern end of the quarry now and its abundance of notices effectively telling everyone to keep out – Danger/Keep out/Quarry/Deep water/Do not swim/Cold water can kill/Cliff edges/Quicksand. Why not include crocodiles and man-eating sharks while you’re about it?

The piles of shingle indicate the edge of the high wall of cliffs below which are the spoil heaps left over from the quarrying.

The view towards the northern end of the quarry from the southern end, between the two is this vast area of lunar like wilderness beyond which is the deep quarry pool.

Hardendale Nab over to the left with the quarry cliffs below it.

Hardendale Nab again as we reach the end of the quarrying area. From here we go down the steps and make our way around the lower end of the hill to reach the lane leading up to Hardendale hamlet.

Walking back to the Hardendale lane now along the main quarry road where a much smaller quarry pool is situated. Another limestone pavement is visible along the crest of the distant hill.

Walking back up the little tarmac lane leading to Hardendale hamlet with the limestone escarpments of Hardendale Nab ahead of us. It doesn’t take very much longer before …..

….. we are back where we started. The handful of cars which were parked when we arrived have gone and they probably belonged to local residents who were out walking their dogs as its a popular place for that activity. These lesser hills eventually tail off and become the flatter lands of the Eden Valley beyond which the land begins to rise again and eventually becomes the North Pennines which can be seen in the distance. We met only two people just as we were about to enter the lonning, so if peace and quiet is what you require this could be the place for you, and its a lovely area to walk in on a day such as today. On completing our walk report I looked out of the window to find that the weather has reverted to type – its raining and the tree branches are being blown horizontal.

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12 July 2023

 

Thirty two minutes worth of context and plain speaking which provides a clear and concise account of the situation.

 

 

His bio, video interviews and writings are listed here – https://futuredefensevisions.blogspot.com/  – the colonel’s video interviews with Judge Andrew Napolitano are especially worth watching, there’s no waffle, are concerned with current news and rarely last more than 30 minutes.

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NB: We’ll be back on the fells whenever the current miserable spell of gales and wet weather ends.

Walk date- 16th June 2023

Distance – 4.5 miles

Weather – hot and sunny, very little breeze, fair weather cloud, hazy

 

The sunny dry spell continues so we opted for a short morning walk today to take advantage of the relatively fresher morning conditions and avoid the afternoon heat. We didn’t stray too far from the location of our previous walk to Bleaberry Fell and High Seat and instead of parking up just above Ashness Bridge we carried on up the road to our start point at Watendlath from where we would go over to Great Crag and then back across to Grange Fell. These two fells, as was the case on our previous walk, have notoriously boggy sections around them and we thought that these would now also be dry enough for us to experience the opportunity of a squelch free walk across them just as we did between Bleaberry and High Seat. On that walk report I mentioned that neither of us could remember the last time we had rain but now we can, it was on Sunday 11th June. Huge rain clouds arrived and dropped their contents on us for about 15 – 20 minutes after which they moved on and the sunny weather appeared once again. About two inches of rainwater had collected in an empty plastic planter I had left out in the garden so it was quite a downpour. Since then nothing, so its back to watering by hand.

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Route

Watendlath – Watendlath Tarn – Great Crag – Dock Tarn – Puddingstone Bank – Grange Fell – Puddingstone Bank – Watendlath

All was quiet at Watendlath when we arrived at the National Trust car park. The toilets and cafe were not yet open and there wasn’t a soul to be seen anywhere. I think we arrived sometime between 8.15 and 8.30 am and ours was the only car in the car park. J had a bit of a hitch with the gps when it was switched on but it turned out to be something and nothing in the end. The usual method of switching any device off and starting again put everything back to rights again. Anyone thinking of hiring a boat and doing a spot of fishing at the tarn should note that the fishery is closed at the moment, due to the low water level I think. A very slight but refreshing breeze ruffled the water as we walked from the car park towards the old bridge across the tarn’s outflow. The outflow level was also low so we had no need of the bridge and simply stepped across the exposed stones in the dried out bed.

We followed the track beside the tarn from which it eventually turns away and then rises steadily across the hillside. The established grit and stone path eventually comes to an end at this beck, bone dry today but which usually has plenty of water running down it which originates in the marshy area higher up. Here we bear left and follow the grassy path around the slight rise seen in the shot.

Great Crag is over on the right as we cross another almost dry beck and begin to follow an established path which has been laid specifically to avoid damage to the plants in the marshy green area below the crag. This is usually a very wet crossing as the laid path is always running with water too, but not today so we enjoyed another novel experience and emerged by the gate in the wall with dry boots.

A look back at the skyline which shows, from left to right, Ether Knott, a distant Skiddaw and Lower Man and High Seat. Worthy of mention too is the bone dry path.

Looking ahead we are just about to pass through the gate and begin the steep climb up the stone stepped path towards the summit of Great Crag. There is also the option of bearing off to the left just beyond the gate on a path which leads directly to Dock Tarn, that’s the path we used for our return to the gate.

A look back towards Watendlath and its tarn sitting snugly below High Seat from some point along the steep climb. I can’t remember if we had stopped for a breather at this point or if we were about to divert from the main path and climb up to the summit via one of the paths going off to the right of it. Anyway, whichever it was we eventually reached …..

….. the summit of Great Crag, although it might be more accurate to say ‘summits’ since there are two high points which each have a cairn on them. Here the view is looking towards to the slightly higher, according to AW, south cairn from the north cairn, although there’s only a couple of feet difference between the two. The ‘pimple’ on the distant and hazy skyline just behind the south cairn is Pike O’Stickle.

The view looking north, from the north cairn, where Ether Knott and the Skiddaw group behind it have a cloud ‘tiara’ drifting gracefully above them.

From the north cairn a path leads over to a viewpoint from where I took this shot of Rosthwaite village down there in Borrowdale.

Above the village the skyline shows Pillar, over on the left, Dale Head on the right with the merest hint of Honister Crag (Black Star) just beginning to appear between them.

A little further to the left we have Great Gable, Green Gable, Brandreth and Grey Knotts. Pillar is now over on the right.

We crossed over from the north cairn to the south one using the path winding its way through the heather over there on the north top. Its obviously not a huge distance so it doesn’t take long to cross from one to the other. The very slight breeze we had down at the tarn as we started out seems to have vanished so there’s no air movement at all now. Here’s a few more views from the south top …..

….. smack dab in the centre is Combe Head on Glaramara with Bessyboot (Rosthwaite Fell) immediately below it, although it is difficult from the photo to separate the two, flanked on the left by Bowfell and on the right by Great End …..

….. over to the south east now with a view of High Raise and Pike O’Stickle on the skyline with the shadowy knobbly summits of Eagle Crag and Sergeant’s Crag across the middle foreground …..

….. even further to the left are Low and High Saddle on Coldbarrow Fell with Ullscarf taking up the right skyline. We get our first glimpse of Dock Tarn too which reminds us that we’ve been loitering on these two tops now for some time and we ought to be getting a move on.

We dropped down from the south top via one of the many paths which snake their way through the mass of heather and made our way over to Dock Tarn. The tarn sparkled and glinted as the sunlight hit the tops of the ripples created by a very slight breeze as it passed over the tarn’s surface. We weren’t getting any of that air movement at all as we walked along the path and it was like being in a hot oven along here.

Water lilies, not yet in bloom but it won’t be long until they are, on Dock Tarn.

Almost at the end of the tarn now and the area beyond it known as Green Combe. This was as far along the tarn as we went so we turned around and looked for a suitable spot to park ourselves and get the chocolate bars out. It was a bit early for a refreshment break but as it was now getting very warm we were concerned about them melting, we caught them just in time. As we were sitting there beside the path a couple of ladies came along from the Lingy End direction, as they passed by us one of them apologised for walking along in her underwear. Not that she had fully stripped down to her briefs and bra but she explained that she had taken her t-shirt off because the weather was so hot and couldn’t stand wearing it any longer. J couldn’t have cared less what she was wearing and I thought, in purely practical terms, as is my nature, that going for the next size up might have been more in keeping with the point of wearing a bra in the first place. Dumplings boiling over came to mind. Another pair of walkers came along shortly after and that was the sum total of people we met until we returned to Watendlath.

Having got ourselves upright and walking again after our break we returned to the gate in the wall via the path mentioned earlier and after passing through it more or less immediately veered off the paved path and headed left across the next usually marshy section towards Puddingstone Bank and Grange Fell. Apart from one tiny spring bubblng up from the ground and going nowhere the walk across was completely dry. There being no shade at all across here and out in the open with the sun on our backs it felt as though we were being slowly cooked in a very hot frying pan.

J passes through the gate in the first wall after which, and a good distance beyond this one is the gate in the second wall at the top of Puddingstone Bank.

By the time we reached the afore mentioned gate above Puddingstone Bank I was slowly turning into a melting jelly. I’m not that comfortable with too much heat, the beaches of the Mediterranean are not for me at all, and I could have done with some shade and a cold drink at this point. Well, looking ahead shade is off the menu unless I huddle beside the wall like the sheep do, and although we did have lots of liquid to drink by now it was warm enough to wash your hands in so drinking it didn’t cool me down either.

After a brief stop at the gate to take some warm liquid on board we set off up the slope heading for the stile crossing and the path beyond.

The view back towards Ullscarf and Great Crag after the stile crossing …..

….. and the lovely view across to the Borrowdale fells as we begin the last part of the climb up to the summit of Grange Fell. I was struggling to put one foot in front of the other by this time and mentioned to J that I was running on empty. Me and heat are not good companions but with lots of brow mopping stops and plenty of liquid I eventually made it to …..

….. the top where I could flop down, have a bite to eat and indulge in a relaxing break. Having got myself together again I reached for the camera and took my usual ‘views from the summit’ shots so here they are. To the southwest, beyond the summit crags, Great Gable takes centre stage …..

….. Great End on the centre skyline …..

….. Ullscarf and High Raise …..

….. King’s How is the view below us with Maiden Moor as a backdrop …..

….. to the north, Derwentwater and the Skiddaw group …..

….. to the east across Watendlath Fell are Browncove Crags, Helvellyn Lower Man, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Dollywaggon Pike and Fairfield …..

….. White Side and Raise to the left of Browncove Crags …..

….. Watson’s Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd, White Side and Raise …..

….. High Seat, which we visited a week ago …..

….. Dale Head and High Spy …..

….. and finally, Great Gable, Green Gable, Brandreth, Grey Knotts and Dale Head. Great Crag and Grange Fell may not have the commanding heights of their neighbours but they certainly punch well above their weight in terms of their summit views.

The heat is intense now so we made our way back to the Puddingstone Bank path and then walked down to Watendlath with …..

….. a glance over to Great Crag and below it the ‘frying pan’ we walked across on our way to Grange Fell.

Almost back down to Watendlath, after a walk down in baking hot sunshine, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the cafe will be open so that I can have a cold drink at last.

Back at the tarn and the path we set out on earlier this morning. Its much too hot to do anything now, even the beach area where people usually sit is deserted. We stowed our stuff into the car boot and as we did so a couple trying to operate the parking meter called out to us. We went over and they told us that they couldn’t get the machine to recognise their credit card. We knew that the cafe often has problems taking payment by credit card as there is rarely an internet signal to make their machine work and therefore they can only take cash. Realising that the machine could not operate without the internet signal we told them that we were leaving soon and that they could have our parking ticket which still had plenty of time left on it, not that anyone from the National Trust would be coming up to Watendlath to check anyone’s tickets. If they come up once a plot to empty the machine of any cash I’d be surprised. We also mentioned to the couple, who might have been either German or Austrian judging by the language they used between themselves, that if they intended visiting the cafe that the same problem would arise and to make sure they had enough cash to cover their purchases. They thanked us quite a few times for helping them and I think they were also quite relieved to know that their credit card wasn’t the source of the problem. After all that I was more than ready for a sit down in some shade and drink a can of something very cold so off we went to the cafe and joined everyone else doing exactly the same. We chatted to the chap serving in the cafe about the lack of internet and he mentioned that he’d ‘telled ’em aboot it but they ne’er do owt, so a’ve gin ower botherin, they nivver come up anyway so a’ve stopped werryin’. The German/Austrian couple also used the cafe and eventually came into the garden with a tray laden with their purchases giving us a wave and a smile as they made their way into their own shady corner of the garden. A very pleasant way to end today’s walk we thought.

 

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Walk date – 9th June 2023

Distance – 5.5 miles

Weather – very warm and sunny, some high level cloud, slight breeze, very hazy

The good spell of weather continues although here in the east of the county a gusty easterly breeze, which had quite a nippy edge to it, has kept the temperature pegged back to some extent. I tried sitting out in the garden one afternoon this week but gave up after ten minutes as the cool gusty wind swirled every which way around me and just became a nuisance after a while. The forecast for today was for the sunny weather to continue with a slightly stronger breeze so we hoped that today’s walk wouldn’t be too affected by it. The walk over Brown Knotts would be in the lee of Bleaberry Fell and once on the top of that we hoped that the Clough Head/Dollywaggon Pike ridge would also act as an extensive wind break as we carried on over to High Seat. It seemed to work as we experienced very little of the forecasted gusty wind, nothing more than a light movement of air when we were on top of Bleaberry and similarly High Seat. The deciding factor in our choice for today’s walk was the long dry spell we’ve been having, to the extent that neither of us can remember the last time it rained. The area between Bleaberry and High Seat is usually very wet and marshy and always involves long detours to avoid the very worst of the mire but after such a long dry spell we hoped that it would have mostly dried out by now. It had, and the walk across from one fell to the other was a delight and enhanced by the fact that we’ve never walked these two fells during the summer months. Its not a very long walk so we have usually kept it as a winter walk when daylight hours are at a premium. Sunshine, a light breeze, dry ground underfoot and the fells sporting their new summer greenery was a new and very enjoyable experience for us on these two Central fells.

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Route

Ashness Bridge – High Strutta – Brown Knotts – Bleaberry Fell – High Seat – Dodd – Ashness Gill – High Strutta – Ashness Bridge

A rare sight as we crossed the road from the pay and display car park to join the High Strutta path, no-one at all at Ashness Bridge. There is usually someone around, a photographer or an artist for example, but today the place was empty. The parking area was the same other than a camper van, which had obviously been there all night, and a couple of cars.

We followed the path up High Strutta for a short distance and then turned left to cross the old footbridge across the beck. Once through the gate beyond the bridge we were out onto the open fellside and walking over Brown Knotts.

The views of Derwentwater get better and better as we climb the path over Brown Knotts so I took quite a few shots as we walked along. There was no breeze at all across Brown Knotts, good thing we started out in t-shirt and shorts then.

The lack of rain and the resulting low water levels has resulted in the very tops of little ‘islands’ appearing in Derwentwater. You can see one of them in the shot between the two nearest and permanent islands. Its having an effect on the routes of the Keswick launches too and some landing stages are not being used at present.

Catbells across Derwentwater is clear enough but the fells beyond are very hazy, it wasn’t a good day for long distance views I’m afraid.

Maiden Moor and High Spy on the western side of Derwentwater flanked by Dale Head (L) and Robinson (R).

The view south from Brown Knotts where, in the centre of the shot, Castle Crag, the lowest of all the 214 Wainwrights, is surrounded and dwarfed by all its neighbours.

The view across Keswick to the Skiddaw group from the Brown Knotts path. Part of the rocky section of Walla Crag, in the bottom right hand corner, managed to creep into the shot while I wasn’t looking …..

….. so here’s a full shot of the same and one of the paths leading up to it.

Another lovely view along Derwentwater as the path passed above one of the gullies along the way.

We passed on going across to Walla Crag and eventually turned off the Brown Knotts path and joined the Bleaberry Fell one …..

….. which leads up to the old sheepfold where we had a short stop to wrap ourselves around some liquid refreshment.

The view across Borrowdale as we round the bend in the path, this is where the heavy lifting begins.

We’re just below the final climb up the pitched steps to the summit of Bleaberry Fell at this point while waiting for three walkers to complete their descent down the narrow stairway. Brown Knotts just below us on the left, Walla Crag to its right and Derwentwater between the two of them. If you peer hard enough you might be able to see Bass Lake beyond it.

Up on Bleaberry now with a good view of Blencathra which would have been even better without all the haze.

The shelter on Bleaberry summit with High Seat, the next fell we’ll walk across to, over on the right. We sat on the grass over to the left and had a Mars Bar stop. Eventually we were joined by the other walkers who had climbed the ‘stairway’ a short distance behind us. Two of them were fell runner chaps, who paused only to get their breath back after the steep climb before setting off again, the other two with their dog had paused at the first cairn, also to get their breath back, before they eventually joined us on the summit. They too sat on the grass and had a break. There was nothing much by way of the forecasted gusty breeze up here and it was very pleasant just to relax for a few minutes on the dry grass, enjoy the sunshine and take in the views.

From our grassy perch we had a fine view of Clough Head beyond High Rigg and below are a couple of skyline shots I took from the summit …..

….. from L to R on the skyline – High Raise, Pike O’Stickle, Grey Friar, Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and Esk Pike …..

….. Esk Pike again, the Scafells, Lingmell and Great Gable. As we were leaving the couple with the dog asked us where we were heading so we replied accordingly, after which they, well him really, said that they were thinking of going back down and treating themselves to an ice cream, they didn’t in the end but more of that later.

Well before we reached this point a solo male walker making his way up Bleaberry stopped to talk to us. A very sociable chap from St Helen’s who we chatted to for some time, it seemed quite a long time before we got going again. He obviously wanted to have a chat with somebody having been by himself since 7.30 am when he got off the bus somewhere along the A591 and began making his way up to Armboth Fell, High Tove, High Seat and Bleaberry Fell. He mentioned that ‘we’ have rented a cottage and that ‘we’ were going back home on Saturday, so obviously whoever formed the ‘we’ had decided not to accompany him today. A nice pleasant chap who knew a lot more about the pubs in Keswick (and their beer) than we are ever likely to. Anyway, getting back to our walk, at this point in the shot we were about halfway across and about to reach one of the wetter spots. We needn’t have been concerned as the worst we encountered was a very slight amount of ‘give’ under our boots.

A tarn we passed on the way across, it obviously hadn’t dried out and didn’t look as though it was likely to either, so perhaps its topped up by an underground spring.

The view back to Bleaberry Fell where we can see two figures coming down the hill, was it the couple with the dog who were going to go and get an ice-cream we wondered?

 Crossing the stile where I startled J into looking round as he heard the camera shutter click.

Approaching the trig column on High Seat.

Looking eastward to Clough Head, Calfhow Pike, Great Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd and Raise on the skyline behind the trig column. The craggy outcrop with the cairn on it is known as Man and is a subsidiary top of High Seat. The two are separated by a wire fence.

Still looking to the east the skyline continues with Raise, White Side, Catstycam just putting in an appearance, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike.

Ahead of us is the path we’ll use for our return leg with some of the north western fells behind Catbells. A few more skyline shots from the summit coming up…..

….. Ullscarf, High Raise, Pike O’Stickle, Grey Friar, Pike O’Blisco and the beginning of the route up to Crinkle Crags …..

….. Pike O’Stickle again followed by Crinkle Crags, Bowfell, Esk Pike and Glaramara …..

….. Esk PIke, Glaramara, the Scafells, Lingmell and Great Gable …..

….. Lingmell, Great Gable, Kirk Fell (just showing behind Green Gable) and Black Crag and Red Pike over in Wasdale …..

….. Black Crag, Red Pike, Pillar, Dale Head, the tip of High Stile and part of Hindscarth …..

….. the top of High Stile, Hindscarth, Robinson, Maiden Moor and Whiteless Pike …..

….. Whiteless Pike, Wandope, Grasmoor, Crag Hill, Hopegill Head, Hobcarton Crags, and a little bit of …..

….. Grisedale Pike, and finally…..

…..  a view of Clough Head. We dropped down a little from the summit area to have an early lunch break in a sheltered sunny spot away from the slightly stronger breeze we had up here. The couple we chatted to on Bleaberry Fell came by as we were having lunch with the male of the party telling us that he was having to wait for his ice-cream because she (i.e. the person he was with) had talked him into walking over to High Seat instead. (We females are good at talking chaps into doing things they themselves had no intention of doing. aren’t we ladies?). They didn’t pause for a break on High Seat and carried straight on down the path back to the car park. I’m guessing that Luchini’s ice cream parlour in Keswick would be the next stop on their itinerary. Anyway, our lunch break was very relaxing but the time eventually comes when you have to begin the return leg of the walk so …..

….. with a look back at High Seat we take to the path leading back down to Ashness Bridge.

A view of Bleaberry Fell from the return path which …..

….. stretched away into the distance as if it would go on forever …..

….. with some lovely views of Derwentwater along the way.

No waterfalls in Ashness Gill today, just a few dribbles here and there and a few pools of water. The path had turned very rocky by now so we were  pleased to see the back of it when …..

….. we saw the gate in the wall below us and the grassy path going down High Strutta.

A short stop for drinks and to let our legs recover from the rock strewn descent before passing through the gate and making our way down High Strutta.

Another lovely view of Derwentwater from the descent path beside the gill and it doesn’t take us much longer to reach …..

….. the mountain hut beside the path which we started out on earlier. We’ve yet to see this hut actually being put to use and yet, situated as it is beside the well used path, with a car park immediately opposite and a very popular bridge attracting hundreds of visitors no more than 100 yards down the road, you would think that opening it up and selling hot or cold drinks and snacks would be an ideal way for the National Trust, who own the hut, to earn itself a little extra cash. Perhaps that sort of thing is beneath the National Trust’s dignity nowadays. Anyway folks, that’s the end of our walk for today, not a very long one in terms of distance but very enjoyable nevertheless, especially the bone dry saunter we had between Bleaberry Fell and High Seat which, for us at least, was a very unique experience.

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Walk date – 2nd June 2023

Distance – 9.5 miles

Weather – sunny, very warm, slight breeze

 

The dry weather spell continues so we were off on our travels again today, although we didn’t have to travel very far from home for today’s walk. A drive of about forty minutes, traffic depending, is usually as long as it takes us to reach Glenridding. We started out early enough to be able to have a trouble free drive along the lakeside road although the various little parking spaces all the way along were beginning to fill and folks were already pulling assorted aquatic vehicles from car boots in preparation for their day on the water. No doubt there would be plenty more along later all hoping to find that last little parking and beach space in order to set themselves up for the day. The car park in Glenridding on the other hand had plenty of space so we parked up easily and once the gps was up and running we were soon on our way up the Greenside Road. Passing The Travellers Rest pub I noticed a small sign propped up by the roadside informing passers-by that they now serve breakfasts from about 8.30 am to 10.00 am, I’m not sure those are the exact times as I only glanced at the sign as we walked past it but I thought it worth mention.

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Route

Glenridding – Greenside Road – Greenside Mine – Stang End – Green Side – White Stones – Stybarrow Dodd – Hart Side – Glencoyne Head – Green Side – Stang End – Greenside Mine – Greenside Road – Glenridding

Birkhouse Moor from the Greenside Road. No walkers along the road just a couple of vehicles heading up to the holiday lets plus a very large bin lorry doing the weekly ‘blue bag’ collection. We passed it, then it passed us and headed on its way up to the Youth Hostel near the old mine buildings at the end of the road. Having collected their refuse bags back down the road it came with the crew giving us a wave as they returned to Glenridding. After that we were on our own again.

A look ahead towards Green Side and White Stones, the first section of today’s route. There was no breeze along here so at intervals along the road the trees provided some welcome shade.

We’re beyond the mine buildings now at the point where we turned off to the right to make the climb up to Stang End. The path snaking its way through the greenery in the centre below Catstycam leads over to Raise, the path across the beck goes up to Red Tarn and thence to Helvellyn via one of the ‘edges’ or over to Catstycam.

We continue up the dry, dusty track towards Stang End.

The view back down towards Glenridding from one of our many ‘get your breath back’ pauses. We’ve just seen three lads making their way back down to Glenridding via the Red Tarn path so perhaps they’ve been enjoying a wild camp there. Maybe they’ll have some breakfast at The Traveller’s Rest.

Flanked on the left by High Spying How and on the right by Lower Man here’s a view of Catstycam wearing its new summer coat.

Looking down to the buildings of the former Greenside mine. About three of the buildings have been turned into des res’s, two of them had ‘Sold’ boards placed in front of them. Here’s a link to one of them and its eye-watering price –

 https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132450980#/?channel=RES_BUY

We noticed a couple of heat pumps at the back of the conversions, good luck with heating these homes with those things during a Cumbrian winter, its taken from last October until just recently to turn warm enough to go without a mid level fleece or a jacket!

With all the rough loose paths behind us we took a short break, i.e. J wrapped himself round a Mars Bar, here by the bridge over Glenridding Beck. A couple of walkers came by while we were here and we exchanged greetings as they passed by and headed over to Sheffield Pike. The young woman seemed very hesitant to begin with and her male companion looked as though he was having to encourage her from time to time.

They headed off up the path across there but as I took the shot they disappeared behind one of the dips in the path, its quite a short distance and not very steep so I hope they made it to the summit and I hope she gained a lot of confidence by having done so.

We set off on the same path after our break where plenty of cotton grass lined the path. Thankfully, it wasn’t as wet as it often is but there was still quite a bit of ‘give’ underfoot in places.

Looking back from the Sheffield Pike path to the bridge and the spoil heaps with Catstycam (L) and Raise (R).

Climb up the Green Side path now with a short diversion at this point to catch a view of Glencoyne and Ullswater and …..

….. a little further on, the view back towards Sheffield Pike where the path across the Glencoyne side of the fell can be seen quite clearly.

Still climbing Greenside with a look over towards Helvellyn, now putting in an appearance behind Catstycam.

Higher up and the palm leaf shapes of the spoil heaps begins to appear. Also much clearer to see now is the ‘chimney’ path, behind the spoil heaps, rising up to Raise. The route is OK until the remains of the old chimney are reached, beyond that point there is no established path over to the summit of Raise instead there’s just a slog over rough grassland.

The views begin to open up as we climb higher with Saint Sunday Crag and Fairfield now appearing over on the left behind Birkhouse Moor.

The view back from the very steep climb up Green Side, can’t see the hesitant walker and her companion from here though, there are too many humps and bumps in the landscape.

Once above Green Side there’s a less steep climb up to White Stones from where I took the above view of High Spying How, Catstycam, Helvellyn, Lower Man and Raise. There was a very welcome light easterly breeze up here, it was good to feel some air movement at last.

J making his way over to one of the cairns on White Stones. Great Gable is just visible over on the left.

One of a couple of cairns on White Stones, either one could be marking the summit but the area at the top of the climb is very sprawling so the actual summit could be anywhere across here. Doesn’t matter all that much to us anyway as we’re not sticklers for a definite summit marker. Up ahead is our next objective, Stybarrow Dodd.

J strides out once again, I’m taking things at a slower pace. Just before we reached the summit of Stybarrow a young female runner came up behind us, she too had to slow down to a walk and mentioned when passing us how some parts of the path certainly took it out of the legs. We certainly agreed with those sentiments.

The cairn on the summit of Stybarrow Dodd with the green top of Great Dodd right behind it on the right. Over on the left skyline is the Skiddaw group and in the centre is Blencathra. Below are a few more views from the summit …..

….. the path over to Watson’s Dodd running across the centre of the shot and the Skiddaw group right behind it. A little bit of Bass Lake has appeared over on the left.

The Lord’s Seat group of fells on the skyline above Bass Lake.

Bleaberry Fell across the middle foreground and immediately behind it are Barrow and Outerside. No doubt viewers will be able to work out the names of the other fells around those two.

Thirlmere below us and the big lump of rock poking out of the trees on the right goes by the name of Raven Crag. High Seat occupies the middle foreground, I’ll leave viewers to name the fells behind High Seat.

The big lump slightly left of centre is Great Gable so again it will not be too hard to work out what the others are.

We spent a few minutes checking out the views from Stybarrow Dodd and then we headed over to Hart Side. Other than the female runner who came by us on Stybarrow we’ve not met another person so far. Not complaining though the peace and quiet was wonderful. On the path in the distance, just before the path begins to rise, you might be able to identify a darker patch, a dried out peat hag or something very similar, and when we reached it we had a scout around for something resembling a path which would take us over Glencoyne Head. When we reached the hag we spotted something that might be useful and made a mental note to turn off onto it. We didn’t want to return to Glenridding by following the same route back over White Stones so we hoped this would go where we thought it would. Meanwhile we carried on over to Hart Side …..

….. where I took a look back at Stybarrow Dodd plus the old prospecting trench. We had been seeing the large group on Hart Side from a good distance and we had expected to meet them somewhere along the path when they started descending. When we reached Hart Side it was obvious that the group were not intending to leave any time soon. Most of them were sitting on the grass with their belongings spread around, two were standing up holding a large map and studying it intently, none of the others seemed remotely interested in it, or their surroundings, and were quite content to leave them to it. They were all still there when we left. Before we did I took a few shots of the surrounding views …..

….. Great Dodd across the Deepdale valley …..

….. Blencathra and some of the northern fells behind Randerside …..

….. and the two Mell Fells across the middle foreground with the very hazy North Pennines in the distance.

We dropped down from Hart Side and made our way back to the peat hag area keeping a lookout for the spot we had noted earlier. We found it and duly turned off fully expecting it to fizzle out to nothing but it didn’t. It turned out to be a well trodden path above Glencoyne Head which isn’t indicated on our OS map so it was a pleasant surprise to find it. It was a very enjoyable walk back over to Green Side where it eventually joined the original path we had used on our outward leg.

A few shots of the different aspects of Ullswater, Glencoyne and Sheffield Pike as we walked across …..

Back on the main path and descending Green Side now, the descent being no easier than the ascent because of the steepness. Below us we could see a young man making his way up, he had to stop every so often to get his breath back too. He was making his way over to Birkett Fell so we mentioned the path we had just used from Harter Fell in case he decided to use it. Hope so, because it would cut out much unnecessary climbing if he was only going over to Birkett Fell.

Descending back down to the bridge across the beck at this point so an ideal vantage point for this view towards Sticks Pass and the col between Raise and Stybarrow Dodd.

Heading back towards the bridge where we plan to take a short break and give the legs chance to recover from the steep descent of Green Side. No breeze down here so its very, very warm now.

The view down to Glenridding Beck as we make our way back down to Stang End …..

….. and follow the very rough and very loose path back down to the valley where …..

….. the very firm surface of the Greenside Road awaited us. This was bliss after the roughness of the Stang End paths and those around the mine area. Back at the now full car park we both swigged down plenty of liquid before flopping gratefully on the car seats. The journey back home was just as trouble free as our initial journey because, as its only early afternoon and there was lots more sunshine to be had, nobody seemed to have any intention of going home just yet. Every square foot of all the available Ullswater beach areas was packed with families making the most of the fine weather and the last day of the half term holiday. A lovely day for all of us, whether it was spent on an Ullswater beach or taking a walk over the surrounding fells, when the sun decides to shine on it there’s simply no other place we’d prefer to be.

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Walk date – 26th May 2023

Distance – about 6 miles

Weather – dry, warm, sunny spells, plenty of cloud, no breeze

 

No gps map today or precise mileage either as the person in charge of the gps gizmo forgot to put the batteries in and only discovered their absence once we were ready to set off from the lay-by. Our walk today is one that we’ve done several times so it wasn’t a necessity and we always carry an OS map anyway, we didn’t use that either. We’re having a warm, dry, settled spell up here at the moment and there is a definite pattern to the weather:  warm temperatures, bright sunny morning skies which gradually fill with cloud, slight to non-existent breezes and no rain. All in all it has been very pleasant walking weather and today even I started out in shorts and t-shirt.

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Route

A591 lay-by at Grasmere – Michael’s Fold – Greenhead Gill – Alcock Tarn – Nab Scar – Heron Pike – Stone Arthur – Greenhead Gill – Michael’s Fold – A591 lay-by at Grasmere

There was a bit of a wait while we waited for the traffic to clear before we could cross the road so I took this shot of Seat Sandal while we waited. Not a cloud in the sky at the moment but we know that will have changed by mid to late morning so we each have a long sleeved lightweight top in our packs just in case the cloud gets really heavy.

We had a fine view of Helm Crag as we walked up the semi-circular lane to Michael’s Fold and the little lane leading up alongside Greenhead Gill.

Walking up the path beside Greenhead Gill towards the footbridge.

The stone pitched path at the other end of the footbridge although it looks as though some walkers don’t care for it and prefer walking up over the grass instead. My memory may be playing tricks on me here but I have a recollection that this path used to be just a simple dirt track many years ago. All the very steep sections of the path now seem to be stone pitched in this manner while the less steep sections are still dirt tracks.

The bench where we always pause and take in the views. The fact that we’re usually gasping for breath at this point is neither here nor there!

A close up shot of the view from the seat area down to the old aqueduct.

Across the gill is Stone Arthur, the last fell on our walk today.

Just before we reach Alcock Tarn we stop at the little grassy area to take in the views. Visibility was rather hazy today so the long distance views were a bit disappointing. Even so we can make out the Coniston fells over on the left skyline then comes Pike O’Blisco followed by Crinkle Crags. We haven’t been walking very long and already the cloud is building.

Just a little further to the right now where, across the vale of Grasmere, we can just about see Bowfell on the centre skyline, followed by the Langdale Pikes, Sergeant Man and High Raise …..

….. and another hazy view, this time of Helm Crag, Ullscarf and Steel Fell on the western side of the A591.

Looking south along Alcock Tarn where a small group of walkers were sitting below us, just out of shot on the right, and who left shortly after we arrived, walked along the path over on the right and disappeared from view behind the small rise at the end of the path. It wasn’t long before they were replaced by a group of three walkers and two dogs. Dog number one was straight in, dog number two just about got its feet wet and then refused to fetch the ball which had been thrown for it. Dog number one eventually obliged and brought back the ball.

When we left the tarn we used the somewhat wetter path on the other side to get to this point where we would cross the wall and follow the path over to Nab Scar. The tarn is in a lovely setting, perched high above Grasmere on a large flat shelf of land and on such a beautiful morning it looked absolutely enchanting. A very tranquil, peaceful place to be this morning.

A look back at the tarn as we made our way over the path to Nab Scar …..

….. which rises gently over the lower slopes of Heron Pike and eventually leads to the little col between it and Nab Scar.

Just before the col we diverted just a few steps away from the path for this view down to Grasmere water and the fells beyond.

Up at the col now and we decided to continue up the path crossing over Nab Scar for just a short distance to …..

….. this high point and although it may not be the actual summit it is certainly higher than the two points below which each have cairns positioned on them. We didn’t bother going over to either of them, the views were murky everywhere today, so …..

….. we re-traced our steps back along the path and made our way up to Heron Pike instead.

A look back towards Nab Scar and Windermere as we made our way up the Heron Pike path. On the extreme right of the shot it might be possible to see the group of walkers who joined us at Alcock Tarn with their two dogs about to arrive at the little col. They eventually passed us with just a quick chat but by the time …..

….. we reached Heron Pike they were nowhere to be seen, neither were they anywhere on the path going over to Erne Crag or climbing up the path to Great Rigg. They just seemed to have vanished.

Maybe they hadn’t intended going further than Heron Pike and just took an off path route from here back down to Alcock Tarn and Grasmere. The path going over to Erne Crag was empty and they weren’t that far ahead of us anyway so that was the best we could come up with.

Steel Fell, over on the left, gets a glimmer of sunlight, but the view ahead of us is quite shaded now that the cloud has built up. There are still plenty of blue patches though so we keep our fingers crossed and carry on over to Erne Crag.

The view back to Windermere and Heron Crag as we make our way over the very undulating ridge path.

We didn’t go over to Erne Crag today and veered off onto the left hand path indicated at the cairn.

Ahead of us the path stretches all the way over to Great Rigg giving us a rather subdued view of it, which together with its neighbours, Fairfield and Hart Crag, creates a big full stop at Rydal Head.

A look back to Erne Crag from the un-named tarn beside the path.

A better view of the dramatic scenery around Rydal Head …..

….. and a peep down into the valley for a view of the oddly shaped sheepfold which always reminds me of an ice-cream cornet.

Further along the path and now we can have both Erne Crag and Heron Pike in the one shot. We took a refreshment break just a little further along from this point during which several walkers, travelling in both directions, came along the path.

We’re on the Stone Arthur path at this point which we began to follow just before the start of the last section of the climb up to Great Rigg. Sunny Dollywaggon Pike and Nethermost Pike are sandwiched between the crags of Seat Sandal (L) and the green slopes of Great Rigg (R).

A look across at some of our ridge route from Heron Pike today as we walk down the Stone Arthur path.

Alcock Tarn and Grasmere come back into view as we make our way down Stone Arthur. Its a pity it is so hazy today as there are a lot of good viewpoints on Stone Arthur.

Despite the murky conditions it was still possible to catch a glimpse of Easedale Tarn over on the left behind Helm Crag.

Something else we always look out for when we are on Stone Arthur, is this stone bield, said to be a fox trap but whether it is or not I don’t know.

Grasmere, the village and the water, from another of the superb viewpoints on Stone Arthur.

Alcock Tarn in the distance as J takes to the grassy path again after…..

….. we had just made our way down from this rock tor. This can be bypassed if you’re not feeling adventurous by using the grassy path out of sight to the right of the shot.

We’re well down the slopes of Stone Arthur now with a view down to the old aqueduct and the footbridge, the bench is on the flatter area above the aqueduct. Huge bags of large stones were lying alongside the path at various intervals further back so some path work is eventually going to take place.

Some work has already started and this section was a little awkward to cross. Crossing mounds of dry and loose soil perched above deep holes in the ground waiting to be filled with suitably shaped stones was a little precarious to say the least. Fortunately this section of ‘a work in progress’ was at the point where the established path turns and runs close by the old stone wall so we didn’t have to deal with it for very long,

On the right of the shot is the old stone wall beside which is the established path just mentioned and which tips us out right beside Greenhead Gill and the double gate leading to the lane down Michael’s Fold.

All we have to do now is stroll back down the lane, turn right at the bottom and carry on until we meet the A591 where the car is parked in the lay-by opposite. The rhododendrons were in full bloom all the way down but I took this shot of the delicate yellow flowers of an azalea as a reminder of today’s walk on a very pleasant late spring day. Fingers crossed that the fair weather lasts just a little while longer so we can get outdoors again before it all goes to pot again.

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Walk date – 22nd May 2023

Distance – 8.2 miles

Weather – dry, warm, a mix of sunny/cloudy spells, light breeze

We went back to Yorkshire, our native county, today although it was merely a toehold not a full immersion. We were just on the very edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park but its still Yorkshire, even though the sign, just a short distance up the road to Sedbergh from the Moorcock Inn, indicates the crossing of the county line back into Cumbria. We made the longish drive from home through the Mallerstang valley to the Moorcock Inn where there are a few off-road parking spaces. Other than a family loading up their car in the inn’s car park after staying there overnight there was no-one else to be seen. We got ourselves ready to go, J fired up the gps and then we only had to cross the road to the start of the path just below the inn.

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Route

Moorcock Inn – Yore House Farm – Cotterside Plantation – Thwaite Bridge Farm – Cotter End – The High Way – High Dyke – Shaws – Lund Chapel – Lunds Plantation – B6259 – Moorcock Inn

The path begins at this gate just below the inn so we pass through it and …..

….. begin the walk down to Yore House farm. Today’s route will take us over Abbotside Common, the skyline of which is shown in this shot. Its a warm and very pleasant day so we are suitably attired in T-shirts and shorts, well J is wearing shorts I’ve opted for crop pants with shorts tucked in my pack just in case it gets even warmer.

Below the Cobbles Plantation is the bridge crossing the river Ure where we will turn right, cross the bridge and make our way across the fields to Thwaite Bridge farm.

Approaching the bridge crossing where the lamb heard the click of the camera and looked up immediately, Mum didn’t even bat an eyelid, grass is much more important than humans any day of the week. There are actually two bridges here, the wooden one behind the original bridge being much wider and sturdier. Perhaps the stone bridge was much too narrow to accommodate modern farm vehicles, especially the monster tractors that most farmers seem to have nowadays.

A shot of this pretty little waterfall as we crossed over, not a lot of water flowing over it at present as we are having a dry spell at present.

The view back to Yore House farm as we made our way along the path. The farmer had just turned out the cows and calves into the field below so he directed us alongside the wall just to be on the safe side. Cows with calves can be a bit unpredictable sometimes although we’ve never had any trouble with them. We had a bit of chat with him about the weather and such like before continuing on our way.

From here on it was simply a case of walking across four fields of rough pastureland passing though all the various gates/stiles along the way, this is wall crossing number one …..

….. and wall crossing number two.

A look ahead across the fields towards the steep slope on the left, our eventual turn up point. If you want to walk The High Way from its southeastern end that just has to be tackled first.

The fledgling River Ure meandering along the valley bottom making its way down into Wensleydale. Its source, at Ure Head high up on Abbotside Common, is just a little further north along the valley.

Wall crossing number three was a step stile where we made a rather ungainly crossing since the steps sticking out of the wall didn’t stick out far enough for either of us to use them in a graceful/elegant manner. Not that either of us are in any way graceful or elegant but I’m guessing that you’ll know what I mean.

Wall crossing number four was simply a matter of opening a metal gate leading into the farmyard at Thwaite Bridge farm, so here’s a view of the bridge and part of the farm buildings rather than a one of a metal farm gate.

The view looking the other way with the farm buildings now behind me and the next part of the route indicated by the signpost over on the left.

We take a short uphill walk through the copse from the signpost …..

….. which led us up to this small gate and out onto the open fellside.

We had a short pause as we climbed up from the copse for a shot along the minor road between Hawes and the Moorcock Inn, this view looks back down to the buildings of Thwaite Bridge farm and towards the Moorcock direction. The pause also allowed me to change into my shorts, it was getting a bit too warm to be wearing the crop pants.

The heavy lifting started here. Below the trees in the centre of the shot it might just be possible to identify a whitish marker pole which indicates the way to a small wooden gate in the wall. Passing through the gate leads into another field crossing which in turn leads up to the gate below Cotter End. Its a steep climb over rough grassland so my back muscles weren’t too impressed.

The last little section of the steep climb as we pass through the gate leading up to Cotter End.

The flattish area on Cotter End is home to this lime kiln, plus lots of sheep who looked most put out by our arrival, one of whom added her own contribution to the large accumulation of sheep droppings lying around.

Well we’ve made it onto The High Way at last so time for a peep over the wall down to Thwaite Bridge farm with Mossdale Moor (I think) behind it.

The view ahead as we stride out along The High Way. In our walk of 1st June 2020 over Mallerstang Edge we walked part of the other end of this route. On that walk we started out a short distance from the house known as The Thrang and walked up to the stone sculpture known as ‘Water Cut’ before turning up to walk along Mallerstang Edge. We won’t be going as far as the sculpture today though as we plan to descend back down to the valley via Shaws and Lund Chapel.

Looking back along our route so far, lots of easy walking by way of compensation for the steep climb up to it.

The view ahead as we stride along. We’ve put long sleeved jumpers on now that the clouds have ganged up and the breeze is stronger and colder.

A shot of the information board attached to the gate as we passed through. There wasn’t a similar board at the end we started out from though. We did see several grouse as we walked along and heard the calls of curlews as they soared above us.

Several gills, mostly dry, were crossed as we walked along, I think this one is Johnston Gill.

Further along we arrive at the derelict buildings of High Dyke farm. All the buildings we passed along the way were in this state. Farming at this height must have been hard going and a very difficult way to earn a living so its hardly surprising that these buildings have been abandoned.

A look back at the derelict buildings as we pass by.

Dropping down towards Keld Gill where we were surprised to find a stone pitched path instead of grass under our feet. Once again no water in the gill.

Looking back across the gill towards the buildings at High Dyke.

Another derelict barn further along the route.

Another bone dry gill so the footbridge was not needed today. I’m not sure what the name of this gill is as it could be called either Scars Gill or Lambfold Gill. The two gills start out as separate entities but they eventually become one a little further back up the hill so I suppose both names would be correct. Whatever its called whenever the gill contains water it carries on down the hillside to eventually join the river Ure in the valley bottom.

A view of Wild Boar Fell as we make our way down from The High Way towards Shaws …..

….. which we found more by luck than judgement. J thought he could hear a waterfall as we were descending so he went to investigate while I waited on the path. He eventually re-appeared saying he had found Shaws so off we went to investigate and there it was. We spotted a woman coming towards us so I asked her if she knew the name of the building. She did and told us it was indeed Shaws and we ended up having a longish chat with her. She had just been to check on the chapel and was on her way home so she obviously lived nearby but we couldn’t see where home might be, every residence looked to be quite some distance from where we were standing.

I have no idea what the purpose was for this stone built round tower situated behind Shaws or when it was built but obviously it did have a purpose or someone wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of building it.

As we passed behind the Shaws buildings we came across this enchanting little series of falls in the garden. With so little water flowing down we began to think that J couldn’t have heard a waterfall after all, and that it was more likely to have been the sound of the wind blowing through the tree tops.

A look back at Shaws as we began descending again. This building used to be the Garsdale Youth Hostel but it closed its doors sometime in the 1980’s. Probably it is still owned by the YHA and if so someone will be keeping an eye on things. It is surrounded by trees and bushes now so it was difficult to photograph. If you want to see what it looked like in the 1980’s click on this link https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6895715

At the bottom of the descent we crossed this little footbridge heading towards Lund Chapel and …..

….. then crossed another one to get to the chapel.

The chapel is a Grade ll listed building and privately owned now but you can go in and take a look around. J slid back the bolt on the outside of the door but had to make his way in sideways as the door wouldn’t open very far.

The interior of the chapel would have had wooden pews at one time, rather like the one alongside the wall, and of course the modern garden furniture now placed in the centre wouldn’t have been there at all. There is a mosaic of tiles on the floor below the window but there was no information as to where it came from.

We closed the door and slid the outside bolt back into place and then took a look at some of the headstone inscriptions, all of which dated back a considerable number of years to the very early years of the 20th century and many years before that.

From the chapel we walked down the track to this footbridge across the Ure river and continued on up the track opposite to rejoin the road and the walk back to the Moorcock. From the chapel we could have walked back across the fields to Blades farm and then onto the track we started out on earlier. We decided that taking to the tarmac would be a quicker and easier return even though we don’t care for road walking all that much. As we walked up the track to the road a lorry came down carrying a load of quarry hewn boulders and we did wonder where he was going to unload it all.

We carried on up the track which eventually ended at the roadside where these stone pillars and intricate iron gates formed the entrance. There were some initials worked into the metal on the top of the gate but I can’t remember what they were now. They would have been the initials of the original owner I would imagine.

From the gates we headed off down the road towards the Moorcock with a glance across the valley towards the white building of Shaws. The lorry still with its load of boulders came back down the road and passed us as we walked along. Had he turned down the Lund track by mistake we wondered?

On we went glancing now and then across at our route on the skyline…..

….. when the lorry came back up the road still bearing its load of boulders and the driver had passed us often enough by now to give us a cheery wave from his cab. We could only come to the conclusion that he had missed a turning somewhere. He must have found the place he needed to be because we didn’t see him or his wagon again.

An imaginative roadside sign indicating the access lane to Blades Farm caused me to wonder how much ploughing actually takes place nowadays on farms around here. Not all that much I guess given the amount of cattle and sheep we’ve seen along the way.

Looking across to Yore House farm and beyond and being reminded of our earlier steep climb up to Cotter End.

Back at the Moorcock again where the car is parked just below the line of bushes on the right of the shot. The inn does B&B accommodation but at present is only open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and no food is served after 5.00 pm. They no longer do a lunch/evening meal menu and only serve bottled beer not draught. They still serve food but there is only a limited choice available at present. I remembered going there for a meal last summer and the busy waitress apologising for the long wait we’d had before our food arrived and telling us how difficult it was to hire staff nowadays. We have had many good meals there in the past and we were sad to see how things are now so we do hope it manages to keep going, it would be such a shame to lose it after all these years.

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