Category: Uncategorized

Walk date – 30th October 2025

Distance – 4.5 miles

Weather – Some sun and light cloud at start, very cloudy later, no breeze to begin with, but strengthened later as cloud cover arrived, mild

 

Today’s weather forecast mentioned a weather ‘window’ between 9.00 am and 12 noon where there would be a chance of some sunny spells. It didn’t last for the full three hours though and by 11.00 am we were back to square one and under a grey woolly blanket of cloud yet again. Still, it was nice while it lasted. The forecast also mentioned a foggy start and it was certainly that when we looked out of the window at seven o’clock this morning. We had decided to take advantage of the chance of some sunshine, irrespective of how long it lasted, so we drove over to Bowscale hamlet and had a short morning walk up to Bowscale Tarn . During the drive over to Bowscale we could see that all the valleys around us were full of fog but all the fells around us were largely free of cloud hanging around their tops. Although they were free from cloud all the fell summits ahead of us were nevertheless quite muted and remained so, unless a ray of sunlight managed to land on them. By the time we were driving back home, just turned noon, they had all turned a dull shade of grey. By the way, the ‘smoke signals’ rising up behind the fells in the photo at the top of the page were the remnants of this morning’s inversions in the valleys behind them.

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Route

Off road parking at Bowscale – path above Mosedale – Drycomb beck – Bowscale Tarn – Tarn Sike – descent path to bridge across River Caldew – Roundhouse – Swineside – Mosedale – Bowscale off road parking

The little hamlet of Bowscale from the off road parking area where the road was still damp from the overnight rain and, although the cloud looked heavy, bits of blue sky were beginning to appear. The road turns down to the right towards Mosedale hamlet but we carried on straight ahead and followed the track beside which the white van was parked. Carrock Fell is the fell in the background.

A sunlit view of Carrock Fell from the track.

The view along Mosedale ahead of us as we strolled along the track. As can be seen the track is firm underfoot and well graded and we are gaining height steadily and almost imperceptibly.

Below is the Caldew river winding its way through the green fields of Mosedale. The lower slopes of Carrock Fell and the trees around the Roundhouse residence are catching the sun, but we aren’t as we are in the shadow cast by Bowscale Fell on our left.

Approaching Drycomb beck where the track becomes a tad steeper …..

….. and a series of mini cascades where the track crosses the beck.

A look back along the track after crossing Drycomb beck. The beck is situated where a diagonal line of dark green grass can be seen, and …..

….. from the same spot a look back along Mosedale where the Caldew river is quietly making its way down to Caldbeck and then onwards to Carlisle.

Still sunny around Roundhouse where, amongst the cluster of buildings, we could only see one circular building which seems to be a garden conservatory/summerhouse, or something of that nature. The rest of the buildings were hidden by all the surrounding trees. Also in view is the footbridge across the river which our descent path will lead us to. It will need a zoom in to see both of them more clearly.

Bowscale Tarn’s rim of crags, Tarn Crags, come into view so the tarn isn’t far away now. We stopped at this point for J to remove his mid-layer as he was over-heating. Mine was already in my pack as I had removed it when we parked up. There is a solo walker on the path ahead of us who passed us somewhere between here and Drycomb beck.

The sunlight landed on the fells above the mining area around Grainsgill beck enriching their autumn colours. The shot shows the Miton Hill end of Carrock Fell on the right, behind it is Drygill Head rising up to High Pike, and I think that the plateau on the left skyline is Great Lingy Hill.

Another view of Tarn Crags as we approach Bowscale Tarn. At the end of this section the path turns towards the tarn and becomes much narrower as it runs alongside the tarn. As we turned towards the tarn the solo walker who had passed us earlier was perched on a stone overlooking the tarn. We had a brief chat with him and it turned out that he was doing just the same as we were, walking up to the tarn only.

We left him sitting on the stone and walked to the eastern end of the tarn for this shot of it and the various paths around the lower slopes …..

….. then a little to the right for another view across the tarn. The V shape in the centre seems to have spoil heaps around it which may be the result of prospecting when the mine at Grainsgill was in operation. The horizontal pathways going across it don’t seem to lead anywhere in particular. We walked across there during our walk of 19th August 2014 and we managed to get a full view of the tarn from that side. I recall the grassy slopes below the crags across there as being particularly steep.

Another sunny spell came along as we walked back to the tarn’s outflow and where more paths are visible.

Approaching the outflow end now, the solo walker has gone so we have the tarn to ourselves.

Across the outflow is another path, this one leads walkers across the grassy areas below the crags and eventually leads to the path going up the ridge which is on the right skyline. See our walk of 17th September 2020 for details.

The tarn is a big one and is difficult to photograph, especially when the sun is out and the whole area is backlit by it. The sun presented no problems in that respect today as it was now beginning to cloud over and the blue skies and sunshine were drifting away to the east.

The stepping stones at the outflow …..

….. and the path leading from them. We made our way back along the path to the crossing point over Tarn Sike where we crossed over and picked up the path leading back down to the footbridge by the Roundhouse.

The blue skies and sunny spells are being nudged northeastward over Carrock Fell and we are slowly being covered over with a grey cloud blanket. The descent path was grassy all the way with some parts of it being a little steeper than others. There was also a couple of pathways going over to the left, as you look at the shot, which lead over to the Tarn Crags ridge.

Mosedale, the south-eastern end of Carrock Fell and ourselves enjoy just about the last of the sunny spells. Cross Fell and its near neighbours (part of the Northern Pennines) are over on the right skyline and below them is the Eden Valley which looks as though some elements of this morning’s foggy conditions are still hanging around.

Still descending down to Roundhouse, the white house to the right of it is Swineside.

The view back to Tarn Crags and the rest of Bowscale Fell’s ridgeline. We came across no boggy sections at all along the path so no muddy boots when we got home, just boots with bits of grass stuck to them.

The sunshine has gone somewhere else leaving the landscape looking flat and dull now. Here we go again!

Heading down to Roundhouse and the Caldew river.

J’s plated ankle gives no trouble at all down the grassy path, he’s romping down the path way ahead of me.

Oh dear, its the kind of bridge I hoped it wouldn’t be, the kind that give me the heeby-jeebies. The river is quite wide at this point and the bridge, which is supported by two sturdy stone pillars, is high above the water so J took me by the hand and led me across while I kept my eyes closed until we reached the end of it. I’m not good in aeroplanes either!

I hope it wasn’t really leaning like the photo shows and that its just the result of poor photography!

From the safety of the riverbank here’s another view of the footbridge.

The path from the bridge goes alongside the buildings of Roundhouse where there was no-one to be seen although we could hear the engine of something rumbling quite close by. As we made our way up the path and back to the lane along Mosedale we noticed a couple of chaps discussing something in one of the yards and a van which advertised a joinery business so we decided that some repairs/alterations were under way.

A look back along the Roundhouse driveway when we reached the lane. The residents have a good view of Tarn Crags, haven’t they? Notice the gloomy skies.

Walking down the tarmac lane back to Mosedale hamlet, the white house over on the right is Swineside.

Looking back to Tarn Crags and the various pathways below them as we walked along the lane.

The entrance driveway leading to Swineside.

Coming up the lane was a group of Herdwicks who took to ferreting about amongst the gorse bushes lining the lane. This one posed very nicely for me, the rest of them weren’t interested at all.

The view along Mosedale looking back to Roundhouse and its cluster of trees. Coomb Height is the high fell at the end of the valley.

So there we were, just having a natter while ambling along down the lane when we caught sight of this red squirrel taking a bit of a break on the stone wall. We expected it to disappear rapidly, as they usually do before you can get the camera out, but no, this one stayed where it was. It seemed to be as surprised by our presence as we were of its.

It finally decided to make a move, but not before I’d rattled off four shots of it, then it lowered its tail, scampered along the wall for a couple of feet before it dropped down to the ground on the far side of the wall.

We dropped down into Mosedale hamlet where we noticed this building …..

….. the Mosedale Meeting House which holds meetings for the Friends on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month at 10.30 am. Notice the date on the lintel above the door which makes this building over 300 years old.

The globalists wouldn’t like this statement at all. They view the rest of humanity as ‘hackable’ animals.

At the end of the lane at this point, the road continues on to Calebreck and Hesket Newmarket but we turn right and make our way back to Bowscale.

Approaching the ‘new’ Mosedale Bridge across the Caldew river …..

….. but we veer off to the left before reaching it to cross the river via the old bridge which is now off limits to cars and motorcycles. The white sign on the stone leaning against the bridge wall says ‘Township of Mosedale”.

After crossing the old bridge leaning against the other side wall was this one, stating that on this side of the bridge is the ‘Township of Bowscale’. Just to the right of this sign was an information board detailing all the old townships in the Parish of Mosedale (now the Parish of Mungrisedale). They were indicated by a red dot on the accompanying map and there were a lot of red dots marked on it. Each township had its own sign and volunteers have been trying to find all the old township stones. They have found only a few so far. The Parish of Mungrisedale seems to consist of the same areas as the former Parish of Mosedale, these being Mungrisedale, Bowscale, Mosedale, Heggle Lane, Haltcliffe Bridge, Hutton Roof, & Murrah and Bernier.

Back in Bowscale now so all that’s left to do is turn left when we reach the house on the left and the off-road parking area will be just a few yards away. Its just a couple of minutes before noon and the cloud cover is total. Oh well, we had some sunny spells along the way but now its gloomy and the wind has increased. We’ve had a pleasant couple of hours walking, it didn’t rain so that was a plus, and best not to mention the footbridge episode, so we’ll get off home and get the kettle on.

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We received an update from Friends of the Lake District re the proposed Zip World visitor attraction at the former quarry site at Elterwater. You may remember that a two day hearing was held in April this year which we referred to in our walk of 7th May 2025. Mr Justice Mould has finally made a decision and has ruled that the permission, originally granted by the LDNP authority in May 2024 and which The Friends of the Lake District had appealed against, may now go ahead. The charity is now considering appealing against Mr Justice Mould’s decision. As the Lake District is a World Heritage Site the relevant authority has naturally taken an interest –

UNESCO World Heritage Committee Decision 47 COM 7B.136, The English Lake District, July 2025. That the World Heritage Committee requested the UK government to provide an “updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of [its recommendations] by 1 December 2026” is itself a signal of the depth of concern that the Committee holds regarding the management of the Elterwater site.

For more details the link to The Friends of the Lake District is here:

https://www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/News/elterwater-judicial-review-outcome

 

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Walk Date – 22nd October 2025

Distance – 3.5 miles

Weather – mostly cloudy, several rain showers, some sunny spells, hardly any breeze

 

Heavy cloud and plenty of rain describes the weather since our last outing and today was not much better although we did see some blue sky, mostly where we weren’t! Anyway, we needed to get out for a walk and Gowbarrow is one of our ‘go to’ fells when the weather continues to be unreliable so that’s where we went. Its only a short walk over a not very high fell, although it does have its moments of steepness here and there, and its handy for us as it doesn’t require a long drive to get to it from the Eden Valley.

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Route

Quarry car park – High Cascades bridge – Gowbarrow summit – Green Hill – path above Aira Beck – High Cascades bridge – Quarry car park

A glance across at Gowbarrow as we set off down the path towards Aira beck. The cloudy sky didn’t look encouraging.

The trees are doing their best to provide some autumn colour, a splash of sunshine on them would really make the colours stand out, but not today.

Down beside Aira beck now and just below the High Cascades bridge.

Looking upstream from the bridge. It had to be a quick shot only as there was a group of people already on the bridge all talking loudly to each other. Only two of them were suitably clad for what they were about to undertake, the rest weren’t.

It began to rain as we emerged from the wooded area above the bridge and onto the open fell. The group, who had been on the bridge talking to each other, had decided to move on and we could hear them, still talking, as they moved through the woodland a little way behind us.

Anyone who has used this route up Gowbarrow in the past will know that the route going up towards the gate in the wall across the grass was always very wet. Now there is a well compacted gravel path across the grass which is firm, dry and much better. We were only up here in February 2024 and it wasn’t here then.

When we stopped to take a shot looking back at the junction, where the new path begins, the walking group from the bridge caught up with us and turned up it after being directed by one member of the group. We waited until the stragglers had gone past us before taking the shot which, in addition to showing the path junction, looks towards Parkgate farm and Watermillock Common. When we reached the gate there were three workmen on the other side of it who were attempting to manoeuvre some wooden fence posts and long sections of wood. We  didn’t stop to ask what they were doing as they were already having a struggle with it and the last thing they would want would be a couple of walkers stopping them and asking what they were doing.

We first mentioned on our walks in March and November 2021 that workmen had begun laying a new path. The path is now finished and more or less follows the line of the one which existed previously. Above is the view back down it. I found that some of the steps up have been placed a little too high for those of us with shorter legs!

However, what used to be a quite steep section over the grass alongside the wall has now been turned into a series of zig-zags complete with fences which end at the wall. By ending the top rail of the fencing at the wall perhaps the hope is that it will prevent walkers from walking beside the wall. See our walk of 11th November 2021 to understand what this area used to look like. We thought that the workmen down at the gate who were dealing with the fence posts and long planks of wood were either removing the unused posts and planks, or were about to haul it up the fellside to strengthen the fence line. It certainly looked quite flimsy and we wondered how long it would last. Gowbarrow is a popular walk and many walkers will use the fence as a handrail to haul themselves up with.

The murky view along Ullswater as we reach the top of the new path where it joins with the existing path across the fellside up to the trig column. All the way up the path we have had light rain occasionally falling and by the look of it another shower is making its way along the water.

The chatty group of walkers have made it to the trig point so it was quite busy when we arrived just after them. I noticed several of them were wearing shorts so they must be a lot hardier than we are, we’re in our winter weight trousers.

Other walkers began arriving at the trig point and it became quite crowded for a while. This shot, across Ullswater towards Heughscar Hill, was taken as we waited for the crowd to thin out.

A view of Great Mell Fell during a sunny spell …..

….. but Little Mell Fell, just across from it, was only able to manage a bit of dappling at the time.

The walking group eventually moved off towards the terrace route path, the bloke who propped his walking poles against the trig point eventually removed them and went the same way so I was finally able to take a shot of the trig point and Great Mell Fell.

A huge line of cloud was hanging over the northern fells, Blencathra’s top was covered over, its neighbouring fells were in shadow and only Souther Fell, the long fell on the right, remained in the sunlight. This was taken during a sunny spell while we were at the trig point.

The view across Matterdale to Great Dodd (L) and Clough Head (R) when both fells and Matterdale were also illuminated by a sunny spell.

Great Dodd is now over on the right, opposite it and a little further to the left is Birkett Fell with Hart Side just behind it. Watermillock Common is occupying most of the middle foreground.

A little further to the left where the fells became a tad murkier and less recognisable. The sunny patch has landed on the Brown Hills area but the fells in shadow alongside it are harder to see. Its only because we know what’s there that we can identify them as Sheffield Pike and Birkhouse Moor, behind them is the Hellvellyn range and Catsty Cam.

The view south from the trig point towards Saint Sunday Crag on the centre skyline. The middle foreground is taken up by a rock tor just slightly below Airy Crag and which we plan to visit next.

The rock tor and the path leading to it from a slightly different viewpoint on Airy Crag.

Cloud and rain showers obscure the views to the south east but we can make out Sleet Fell and High Dodd, across the middle foreground, which are a couple of high points on Place Fell. Just beyond them parts of Beda Fell are also just visible.

Another rain shower approaches on the right of the shot. This one arriving between Beda Fell and Steel Knotts.

As we were leaving the now deserted trig point I caught this glimpse of the column and its surrounding rocks.

We followed the very wet path below Airy Crag to our next viewpoint, the rock tor. Along the way I took a look back at the crag and its trig column which was now bereft of walkers.

Up on the rock tor now and the splendid view along Ullswater towards Clenridding. It would be even more splendid with a splash of sunlight on it. Unfortunately the only high fell to get such a splash was Saint Sunday Crag in the centre of the skyline.

With the brown plateau area of Gowbarrow below us I took another shot looking across Watermillock Common with Birks Fell and Great Dodd on the skyline to its right.

A little further round to the right for the view of Great Dodd again but this time with Clough Head. The Skiddaw group on the extreme right of the shot looked quite dark and brooding in contrast.

Descending from the rock tor I noticed another group of walkers had arrived on Airy Crag …..

….. and this is a shot of the rock tor from which the previous four photos were taken. There is a well trodden path up there which we only found when we were descending. The route we took to get up there from the established path below it was over rough grass and tough heather, need I say more?

J puts the satnav away having checked that its functioning as it should, I turned around to wait for him and decided to take a shot of where we’d just been. It will take a zoom in to notice them but on the skyline, just above J’s head, the group of walkers are still on Airy Crag but have since spread themselves out along the top of it.

Sunlight is still on Saint Sunday Crag and now Arnison Crag, below and to the left of it, also has a patch of sunshine. The area around Glenridding is also looking a bit brighter. Hope things stay that way.

Now making our way over to Green Hill although that’s not it below us. When we reach the flat path below it we’ll turn left and follow that path over to …..

….. the cairn on Green Hill with its backdrop of the Loadpot Hill ridge

….. although by now the views had deteriorated. This shot is looking towards Watermillock Common and The Dodds behind it where rain showers seem to be coming our way …..

….. and sure enough, as I took another look down to Ullswater, we began to feel the rain landing on our jackets, hoods went on accordingly.

Despite the rain I thought I noticed figures on the skyline as I looked back towards Gowbarrow’s summit area. It will need a zoom to see them though and even then they might not be at all clear. I checked the larger sized originals when downloading them from the camera and there are definitely at least two walkers and possibly a third person close by.

The rain shower is now upon us so with a final look along the water from the cairn we began to make our way back down.

Aira Point below from our descent path which, because it was raining, seemed to go on forever. On a dry sunny day you’re down almost before you realise it.

Lyulph’s Tower below us, its still raining.

Despite the rain I had to have a shot of one of the ‘steamers’ making its way over to Howtown. We had been remarking that we hadn’t seen one so far so when one appeared I took the shot. A body of water without a boat of some sort on it seems somewhat lifeless.

Oh, for the want of some sunshine the colours are lost. Still descending, still raining.

Keep straight on and turn left at the gate for the Aira Force car park. We aren’t parked there so its a right turn for us and the path high above Aira beck back to the High Cascades bridge.

We could hear the water rushing down the beck and when the opportunity arose I managed to get a few shots of the various falls …..

….. this was quite a big fall just a little way below the bridge …..

….. with the water about to flow into the falls squeezing its way through the rocks just above them …..

….. a smaller fall just below the High Cascades bridge and where we come full circle as we reach the end of today’s walk. After we crossed the bridge all that was left to do was walk back up the slope and cross the A5091 road back into the old quarry car park. We peeled our wet jackets off and I hung mine from the head rest on the passenger seat to give it a bit of drying time during the drive back home. Its only been a short walk today but the weather conditions weren’t really favourable for anything longer. The higher fells were usually covered in cloud so views were limited and we were rained on a handful of times, but at least we were out for a couple of hours. We’re back to dull skies today and the wind is stronger than it was yesterday. J informs me that another named storm, Benjamin apparently, is due to arrive and if that occurs we’ll have to batten down the hatches again and stay indoors until its over and done with, darned weather!

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Walk date – 13th October 2025

Distance – 5.5 miles

Weather – sunny at first, total cloud cover later, mild, no wind

 

 Please note the following information which we recently received regarding road closures in January 2026 –

The M6 will be closed between Junction 39 (Shap) and Junction 40 (Penrith) in both directions from:

Evening of Friday 2nd January 2026 to morning of Monday 5th January 2026

Evening of Friday 9th January 2026 to morning of Monday 12th January 2026

This is to safely demolish the old Clifton railway bridge and replace it and diversion signs will be in place. These closures will also affect the A6 at Clifton since that road goes over the bridge and local diversions will also be in place. The information leaflet also mentions providing residents with permits to access local roads although no information is given regarding how residents can obtain such a permit.

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Back to today’s walk report.

We decided to take a walk up to Loadpot Hill to see if any inversions were taking place in the valleys below it, especially as presently we seem to have the right weather conditions for them to occur. Sunday was supposed to be a ‘glorious’ day for being out on the fells but the fog/cloud didn’t lift all day and when we drove into Penrith around lunchtime on Sunday afternoon we could see no sign of the North Pennines or any of the fells to the west of the A6 or A66 which, on any other day, are usually visible, so the cloud base was very low.  Walkers would have had to be on a very high fell to be able to see any sight of an inversion on Sunday. We had a sunny start to our walk today but the skies eventually clouded over and as a result I didn’t take many photos.

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Route

Moorahill Farm (Bampton) – Carhullan – Cawdale – off path climb from Cawdale – Loadpot Hill – Cawdale Edge – Carhullan – Moorahill Farm (Bampton)

Approaching the holiday rental cottages at Carhullan where we can see a parked car in front of the white house on the left. Its a bright sunny morning with no sign of fog anywhere ahead of us. The hillside behind the cottages is part of The Pen, one of the many routes up to Loadpot Hill.

When we reached the cottage where the car was parked we could see that the people who had rented it over the weekend were just packing their bags into the boot so we stopped to have a chat with them. They were three ladies from Walsall in the West Midlands who had rented the cottage for three nights over the weekend so we asked them if they had enjoyed their stay to which they replied that they had. They asked us if we lived locally and with our reply being in the affirmative they said how lucky we were to live in such a beautiful, peaceful place. We eventually wished them a safe and trouble free journey home and carried on with our walk. The above shot shows Cawdale beck meandering along the valley bottom and in the distance the fog hanging over the Eden Valley.

On the other side of Cawdale beck is The Hause, and its familiar plantation of conifers, it eventually rises up to Low Kop which is part of Bampton Common overlooking Haweswater.

Looking towards the head of the valley where a stand of conifers is situated. That will be the point where we will leave the Cawdale valley and begin the steep climb out of it through the dead bracken.

Another shot looking along the valley when we stopped to remove our jackets, it became very warm through here and with a steep climb coming up we decided to remove them now rather than later.

Cawdale beck making its way down the valley and …..

….. further along, on the opposite bank, was this large and derelict sheepfold/washfold which has probably never been used for a good number of years now.

Plenty of water was falling over the various obstacles in its path as the beck made its way downstream. This was a mini waterfall and …..

….. this was a series of mini cascades. By this time the banks of the beck were becoming steeper and it was time for us to leave the beck and begin our climb out of the valley. There is no path to follow so we just made our way through the bracken die-back as best we could. Naturally enough, progress slowed considerably during the climb out.

A glimpse of the spoil heaps beside Sealhole Grain below Low Kop from the climb out of the valley. On the upper spoil heap is a glimpse of one of the former buildings and there seemed to be several pathways so perhaps this is an area worth a visit in future.

Looking back along Cawdale from the climb out. Above the fog in the Eden Valley at the far end of the shot are the low hills between Hackthorpe and Clifton. Behind them we should be able to see the Northern Pennines but there’s too much cloud around them today.

We reach the grassy area beyond the tree plantation and the dead bracken where there’s a partial view of the former slate mine, its spoil heaps and what remains of the old mine buildings. We can see a few paths around it and it looks to be worth a future exploration.

We used a variety of sheep trods and quad bike tracks for the remainder of the walk up to the top of Loadpot and it was on one such trail that I spotted this, one half of a pair of antlers which probably once belonged to a young red deer. It was an interesting find and one that I had not come across before. The other half of the set was nowhere to be seen.

Eventually the trig column on Loadpot Hill came into view. Notice how clear it is around the trig point yet in the distance barely anything could be seen. We had also noticed that Wether Hill, which is just a little lower than Loadpot, was covered in cloud. Why Loadpot Hill generally seems to escape cloud, fog and inversions is puzzling. Anyway, it was very pleasant up here so we decided to have a coffee break and something to eat before deciding on our return route. A couple of walkers had reached the trig column before us but didn’t stay long before they turned around and went back using the same path they had arrived on. While we were having our break we were joined by another couple who exchanged greetings with us and who also decided to take a short break up here. They didn’t stay very long either and soon headed off towards Wether Hill.

After our coffee break I decided to go over and take a look down at the valleys below us. This shot looking towards the Bannerdale side of The Nab revealed only its steep nose, its summit, and those of the rest of the surrounding fells were hidden by the low cloud.

As I walked over to the rocky outcrop on the right a huge cloud came rising up from the valley below so it looked like an inversion had occurred but was now in the process of breaking up.

From the rock outcrop I took this shot looking down into Boredale where the cloud was lifting and the nearby summits becoming clearer. Even The Nab’s summit only had a few wispy bits hanging around it.

Looking in the direction of Rampsgill Head where some lighter sky is just appearing. On the left of the shot is Wether Hill and the drop down between it and Gowk Hill.

Immediately below us is the view down to Steel Knotts, behind that is Beda Fell with Place Fell behind it.

There was still quite a lot of mist drifting around but we did manage a glimpse of Ullswater between Sleet Fell (L) and Hallin Fell (R).

We even managed a partial view of Gowbarrow beyond Hallin Fell as the inversion remnants persisted in hanging around.

Behind us another big lump of cloud inversion was rising up from Ullswater. The sheep were more interested in what I was doing though.

We returned to the trig column and decided that we would return via the Cawdale Edge path rather than risk being caught in the cloud on Wether Hill. We had put jumpers and jackets back on while we had our coffee break and kept them on as we made our way back down the quad bike track. As can be seen in the above photo. what had been quite clear on our outward leg had somehow become quite foggy and a little cooler. However the tree plantation on the Cawdale side of The Hause always signals that you are on the right track for Carhullan.

Very little by way of long distance views now as we descend via Cawdale Edge.

The lack of views didn’t perturb this group of fell ponies as they made their way across the moorland. They were only interested in finding some delicious grass to eat as they plodded along.

There’s the stand of conifers near to which we began our steep climb out of Cawdale. Over on the right of it is the beck called Atkinson’s Grain and to the left of it is Sealhole Grain where the former slate mine is. Grain is another word for a beck/stream.

Things turn slightly brighter as we get lower but the sky is still overcast. The descent across the Cawdale Edge path has a few junctions and if you keep bearing right at each junction …..

….. the rooftops of the holiday rentals at Carhullan will eventually appear, as do the rooftops of Moorahill Farm just beyond Carhullan.

Back at Carhullan where we saw the three ladies preparing to leave when we started our walk …..

….. and as we went through the gate after saying our goodbyes to the three ladies, we also noticed a couple of workmen busy repairing the wall just off to the right as we passed them . A brief glance at the wall as we approached the gate told us that they had repaired it and they were now sitting in the red van, over on the left, and chatting to a man. He wasn’t a walker so he was probably discussing the wall repair with them. He passed us in his car as we were stowing packs and walking poles away in our car.

Back at Moorahill Farm now where our car is parked just out of shot on the grass across the road from the new greenhouse which has appeared since our last visit up here on 9th August 2023. On that occasion I read that the owners had submitted a planning application and on this occasion I noted that planning permission had been granted on 30th July 2025. The original planning application had been slightly changed hence the delay while the slight changes were considered. Anyway the new owners have managed to get the greenhouse installed and there are the beginnings of scaffolding going up around various buildings so work should be under way before much longer. Moorahill Farm is a listed building so we’ll have to wait and see how it all turns out. I should mention that the outward route we took today is not suitable for a family walk as there is a steep and bracken clad climb out of the valley and no established paths. Although the route across The Pen follows a good track it may not be suitable for young children unless they are particularly fond of long uphill walks across featureless grass and moorland.

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Walk date – 8th October 2025

Distance – 6.2 miles

Weather – dull and overcast, mild, occasional light breeze

 

We’ve been confined to barracks by the weather since our last outing. Grey and gloomy skies, strong winds and rain have prevailed and, to cap it all, we were treated to Storm Amy during last weekend. Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning brought constant rain and ferocious winds and, as the weather began to calm down on Sunday afternoon, we were out in wet weather gear dealing with the aftermath in the garden. Since then, other than the wind dying down, we’ve had the same gloomy skies and poor light, not even a hint of sunshine, and it has rained on and off. Today’s forecast offered much the same but we were keen to get out and take a walk somewhere so we ended up falling back on one of our ‘poor weather go to’ walks. It wasn’t what we wanted to do but at least it didn’t involve walking across soaking wet and spongy ground.

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Route

A591 lay-by (Grasmere) – Town End – Town End Lane – Howe Top – Coffin route to Rydal – Rydal Mount – A591 to Badger Bar – Bridge over Rothay river – shoreline path by Rydal Water – shoreline path by Grasmere Water – Grasmere village – A591 lay-by

Other folks must have felt just the same as us because the lay-by just outside Grasmere, was almost full when we arrived. I took this shot from the lay-by while J was waiting for the gps gadget to register our presence. Don’t be deceived by what looks like blue sky above Helm Crag and Steel Fell because it was only another layer of lighter grey cloud.

The gps took a while to decide where we were so as I was waiting I took a close up shot of Helm Crag. Most of the folk who were still in the lay-by eventually crossed the road and followed the field path down into Grasmere village.

We walked down the road from the lay-by to the traffic roundabout at Town End and tracked left onto the lane where Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum are located. The little group in the distance further up the lane were a group of excited infant school children being escorted across the road by their teachers. When we reached them they were just crossing the road, all wearing wellies or boots so they were probably going to participate in one of the outdoor activities for children which the museum offers.

Leaving the excited squeals and yells of the infant class behind us we continued on up the steepish lane to Howe Top …..

….. where the signpost indicates that taking the lane to the right will lead you back to Ambleside but, apart from letting you know that taking the left one isn’t a through road for motor vehicles, doesn’t offer much by way of letting you know where it does lead to.

Fortunately this wooden signpost just to the left of the metal one does tell walkers which direction to take. As we walked up the hill from the junction we were passed by a lorry and we thought that the driver must not have noticed the signpost indicating that there was no through road.

At this point, where the lane continues to curve uphill on the right, there is a path leading through Brackenfell Woods which continues on to Alcock Tarn. Also at this junction is a metal bench seat although it might need a zoom in to see it clearly.

The lane eventually flattens out and further along it we noticed another signpost which also indicated this route up to Alcock Tarn.

Further along the lane now and we come to this un-named tarn alongside the path. It has been given various unofficial names and is also known as Wordsworth’s tarn as he used it in winter for ice skating. Its quite overgrown now and we’ve noticed that it has steadily got worse over the years. In today’s low light the whole place looked particularly cheerless.

A shot looking up Dunney Beck which is an alternative route up to Alcock Tarn while I waited for J to join me. Just a few paces back from this point we came across the lorry I mentioned earlier. The driver and his mate were out of the cab and looking around and they asked J if he knew where the house they were looking for was located. J tried to help but his gps only has the same information as the OS maps and individual cottages aren’t named on it. I walked on to this spot thinking it would be a good place for them to turn the lorry round while I waited. J eventually caught up with me and was followed by the lorry which the driver proceeded to turn around and go back the way it came. It wouldn’t have been able to go much further as only a few more paces along we came to this …..

….. spot where Storm Amy had brought a tree down and its branches were strewn across the path although bending down slightly was all that we needed to do to get through it. We saw several more which had been brought down along today’s route although most of them had fallen on the surrounding slopes rather than across the path.

Single file only along here and definitely no room for a lorry.

A glade with a seat where on a warm summer’s day it would be a nice spot to linger for a minute or two but everything was too wet today to even think about it.

A pause here to remove a layer as it became quite muggy walking through the woodland and we were overheating. I took the shot looking down to where the path we are on becomes three and then back to two. The lower path by the wall drops down and then rises steeply, the higher path above it leads to a slabbed area which drops down to join with the lower one coming up to meet it.

Further along the track now and there is another open area where two former coffin resting stones (it is known as the ‘coffin route’ after all) have been transformed into seating benches. There are open views of Loughrigg Fell at this point.

A close up shot of Loughrigg Fell across Rydal Water. The greyish area on the left of the shot is the large quarry cavern which contains an equally large pool of water. At the bottom left of the shot, above the sheep, is a whitish vehicle speeding along the always busy A591.

A close up view of the cavern at the old quarry area and below that is one of the beach areas alongside Rydal Water. During our walk of 2nd July 2015 we visited the cavern so take a look at that walk to see the photos we took while we were there. The path which can be seen rising through the dead bracken above the cavern also brought back memories of the very wet conditions when we walked up it during our walk on 25th October 2017.

The skeletal remains of a tree blown down in a storm many years ago. I used this shot for today’s ‘top of the page’ photo as it seemed quite appropriate given the number of trees we had seen blown over by the weekend’s storm.

The path ends at the top of Rydal Mount from where I took a look at Horseshoe Cottage and its trees which are always very colourful at this time of year. Just above this cottage is the residence known as Rydal Mount and once the home of William Wordsworth. He lived here from 1813 until his death in 1850. I couldn’t get a good shot of the house since it was masked by trees and shrubbery so I haven’t got one to display. The house, which is owned by one of Wordsworth’s descendants, is currently for sale at offers over £2,500,000. A campaign to keep Rydal Mount open to the public as a site of literary heritage has been launched.

Walking down Rydal Mount towards the A591 where we saw that the usual roadside parking is now severely limited by the addition of short wooden posts with large rocks placed between them. Little wonder then that Wordsworth’s Rydal Mount home is short of visitors, if they can’t park they won’t come. Rydal Mount does have a car park but it is only small and charges £10 for the whole day. Once that’s full extra parking is available at the nearby Rydal Hall, just across the lane, but I don’t know if there is a charge.

St Mary’s Church in Rydal where Wordsworth used to be a churchwarden.

At the bottom of Rydal Mount we cross the A591 and walk along the narrow pavement until we reach …..

….. the path dropping down to the bridge across the river Rothay. The wet leaves were a little slithery but there is a handrail to hang on to should the need arise.

A look back after we crossed the bridge and made our way over to …..

….. Rydal Water, where a couple of ladies were just making their way back to the shoreline after a spot of ‘wild swimming’. They weren’t the only ones in or on the water …..

….. there were three more over on the left followed by two paddleboarders …..

….. on reaching the island the swimmers simply turned round and swam back the way they came, the paddleboarders decided to circumnavigate the island and we saw them making their way back to the shore once they had done so.

Plenty of folk walking the path around the two bodies of water today and plenty of debris along the path too which had been washed up by the storm.

A look up towards Ewe Crag on Loughrigg as we passed below it …..

….. and from the top of the next climb the view over towards the High Pike to Low Pike ridge behind Nab Scar which is on the left.

A view of the weir, from the path above it, at which point Grasmere tumbles through a narrow channel which eventually flows into Rydal Water.

On the shingle beach now with a gloomy view along Grasmere towards Helm Crag and Steel Fell. J thought he felt spits and spots of rain along here but they never amounted to anything more than that. It looked like it was going to rain all the time we were out but it never actually did. While we were walking over the beach we did manage to spot a very brief and hazy hint of sunlight on Helm Crag, that too never amounted to anything either.

As there were some low grassy banks to sit on we spread the sitmats out and had a coffee/refreshment break, we were soon joined by a few other walkers who proceeded to do the same. As can be seen from the ripples on the water it was slightly windier along here than what we’ve experienced so far.

If anything it seemed to be getting gloomier and more overcast by the minute during our coffee break. In the distance Helm Crag is towering over Allan Bank, another of Wordsworth’s several homes in the area.

Seat Sandal and Stone Arthur across Grasmere Water, also looking very dull.

A seat with a view across the waters of Grasmere which would also be a pleasant place to pause for a few minutes on a better day.

The path comes to an end at the private grounds of The Lea, which is the residence featured in this peep over the wall shot. The property was on sale in 2014 for £1,750,00 so somebody must have bought it as we have seen renovations taking place during the following years. No trace of building work at all now so the renovations appear to have been completed. The path beside the wall leads up to the Red Bank road where we take a right turn and …..

….. walk down towards Grasmere village and eventually passing the front entrance to The Lea.

Some autumn colours on the trees along the Red Bank road.

Allan Bank on the left and Seat Sandal on the skyline as we reach the outskirts of the village.

Stone Arthur from Grasmere village.

Crossing the bridge over the Rothay river as we leave the village.

A dour Seat Sandal and a sunlit Stone Arthur as we crossed the field and made our way back to the lay-by. That splash of sunlight on Stone Arthur is only the second patch of sun we have seen today and just about tells the story of today’s walk. No matter, it was good to be out walking again even if it was in gloomy conditions. Yes, the views were very dull but it didn’t rain and it wasn’t cold or too windy and things have stayed more or less the same today. All the same, is a little sunshine now and again too much to wish for, even if it is autumn?

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Walk date – 25th September 2025

Distance – 2.5 miles

Weather – dry, sunny, warm, hardly any breeze

 

We had a very short walk on a very sunny morning today when we went over to Staveley to walk up to Reston Scar and Hugill Fell, two of  the fells mentioned in AW’s book ‘The Outlying Fells of Lakeland’. Neither of the two fells are very high, being just 836’/255m and 908’/277m respectively, but what they lack in height they more than make up for in the extent and quality of the views to be seen from them. The fells around Kentmere and Longsleddale, the Coniston fells, Crinkle Crags and Bowfell, the Scafells and their neighbours, a few of the fells around Mardale Head plus the Howgills were all on view today and the air quality and visibility were much better today than they have been lately. A lovely walk in very pleasant weather and, even when walking at quite a slow pace, one which shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours at most. It would make an ideal family walk or perhaps one that could be tagged onto the end of a walk over the fells around the Kentmere or Staveley areas.

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Route

Barley Bridge, Staveley – Reston Scar – Hugill Fell – Black Crag – Barley Bridge, Staveley

We parked in the lay-by and strolled down to the weir which the Kent river was thundering over and creating plenty of white water as it did so. Above the weir and beyond the green foliage you might be able to spot a white van also parked in the same lay-by. After viewing the weir we walked from the bridge and followed the footpath, indicated by a signpost directly opposite, which after a short distance …..

….. brought us out onto this narrow walled lane which a little further along …..

….. led to this step stile at the wall junction. The path on the other side of the stile is higher than this side which we hadn’t been expecting. Its a bit like the stile on Sergeant’s Crag, long on one side and very short on the other.

A zoom in will reveal the stile crossing at the far end, and at this end of the tree shaded and narrow path was this white gate. The white gates on the left of the shot were the entrance to the driveway of a private house.

The view we had from the white gate as we met the track coming up from Brow Lane in Staveley. The tarmac section continues into the driveway just mentioned while the track going up the hill to the right becomes stony and eventually grassy.

Up the hill we go then, no complicated navigation needed as its just a case of simply following the track.

One of the few steepish sections of the path as it rises and passes below one of the many nameless humps and bumps we came across.

This sight stopped us in our tracks quite abruptly. It doesn’t look too bad on the photo but this section was extremely wet and muddy. To make the going even trickier cattle had also been using it and churned up the track, and the ground on either side and its subsequent holes had filled with water. Well, I hope it was water! No matter where you put your feet the surrounding area immediately began to fill with liquid and, consequently, we began to sink into it. There was little option but to choose a line, take a run at it and hope for the best. Claggy boots, again!

On a less claggy section of the path further up J mentioned that we had company. I turned around expecting to see fellow walkers so you can imagine my surprise at the sight of a cow following us up the trail. As we were blocking the path it moved onto the grass beside the track and proceeded to make more deep holes in the wet ground. It was obviously making its way up to …..

….. the rest of the herd which comprised a bull, a large number of cows and several calves. They were wandering freely anywhere that took their fancy which was mostly where we wanted to be as well. Neither of us are worried by cattle as they generally just amble away when anyone approaches them. Keep dogs on a lead, don’t do anything which might alarm them and everything should be fine. The bull gazed at us in a relaxed kind of way so he seemed fairly contented and why shouldn’t he be with all those females around? If one doesn’t find his attentions to her liking there’s plenty more for him to choose from!

These two young ‘uns have just had a go at each other so J had a word and told them to pack it in, whereupon they looked at him balefully, just as kids do when one of their parents or a teacher have told them off, before ambling back to their respective mothers. We continued on up the hill …..

….. passing yet another nameless mound of grass covered rock.

Further up the hill I turned round for this shot of Kemp Tarn which looked in danger of being overgrown by the reedy grasses growing around its periphery.

A longer shot of Kemp Tarn to include a skyline view of Potter Fell and Ulgraves at the south eastern end of Brunt Knott. See our walk of 12th September 2018 for more details of that area.

Still following the trail across the grass as we pass between two more nameless humps and bumps and finally arrive at …..

….. the jumble of stones on a rocky outcrop marking the summit of Reston Scar. In the distance are the Coniston Fells …..

….. across from them are Cold Pike, Crinkle Crags, Scafell Pike, Bowfell, Esk Pike, Great End, Allen Crags and the Langdale Pikes …..

….. moving around to my right we can see Wansfell, Sour Howes and the top of Red Screes …..

….. and a little further to my right, beyond Hugill Fell across the middle of the shot, is Sallows, the sunlit craggy area rising up from Kentmere, Yoke and Rainsborrow Crag, High Street, Mardale Ill Bell and Lingmell End, Nan Bield Pass, Harter Fell and The Knowe …..

….. following on from The Knowe is Kentmere Pike and Shipman Knotts …..

….. beyond Black Crag (middle foreground) are Shipman Knotts again, then just a sliver of Branstree with Tarn Crag and Grey Crag occupying the bulk of the skyline …..

….. Sleddale Forest and Brunt Knott …..

….. and finally Potter Fell and Ulgraves on the southern end of Brunt Knott. Over to the right of them we could clearly see the tops of Fell Head, The Calf, Bram Rigg and Calders over in the Howgills. All in all and on a fine, clear day such as today, the views are well worth the minimum amount of effort required to get up to this point and take a look at them.

From Reston Scar we followed the path through a couple of copses of birch trees, this was the first of them, and then followed the path to a gate which brought us out  …..

….. to this view of Hugill Fell where we followed the path to the right, soggy and often wet in places, over towards the clear path through the brown bracken on the right of the fell. If you zoom in and concentrate on the ridge line you will see that we passed more cows on the way from that path across to the summit area. More holes full of liquid awaits us then, sigh!

Up on the top of Hugill Fell with a look towards the north where we can see the houses of Kentmere below the rocky area of Crag Quarter above the village. On the skyline from L to R are Yoke and Rainsborrow Crag, High Street, Mardale Ill Bell, Nan Bield Pass, just a sliver of Harter Fell, The Knowe, Kentmere Pike and part of Shipman Knotts.

Another view of Tarn Crag and Grey Crag. I didn’t take any more photos from Hugill Fell summit as the views were more or less the same as those from Reston Scar but I thought that the above two shots were worth including as the fells shown were mostly in sunlight. Many of them weren’t always thanks to the amount of fair weather cloud which has come along. Its interesting to see the dappling effect that such cloud has but it often means that many fells are in shadow as a result.

I took a look back at the summit area as we were leaving and noticed that in the distance, just slightly to its left, was Black Combe which is almost 22 miles away.

We had noticed a couple of walkers taking a break on a hill top jut across from us when we were on Hugill Fell and met them at this point. One of them asked about Williamson’s Monument so I pointed it out. Its there on the grassy mound, currently in shadow, between us and the far end of Hugill Fell, known as High Knott. It’ll need a zoom in to establish it exactly though. She asked if it was possible to get to it so we mentioned that it was on privately owned land, so, in theory, no it isn’t possible. But, given all the gates which have been inserted in the various walls between here and there, it should be possible to get to it. After all, the place isn’t exactly buzzing with law enforcement or farmers looking out for trespassers, is it?  They also asked where we had been so we mentioned that we had just come down from Hugill Fell and prior to that had been on Reston Scar. We were surprised to learn that they had just been to Reston Scar as we had seen them clearly sitting on a piece of high ground opposite Hugill Fell summit. Reston Scar is some distance below Hugill Fell and on the south side so if they had been sitting there we wouldn’t have seen them. We think that they had actually been on Black Crag without realising it, especially as we met them between Black Crag and Hugill Fell and that Black Crag is immediately opposite Hugill Fell.

We arrive at the afore-mentioned Black Crag which is a cluster of craggy cliffs covered in dying back bracken, shrubs of differing types, various types of prickly plants and grass. We went around the crag so no photos but they would have been just the same as those I have already included.

Looking back up to Black Crag together with a couple more views …..

….. a tangle of vegetation below one of the outcrops …..

….. the path from Black Crag winding its way down to Staveley …..

Below Black Crag now and soon after we followed …..

….. this residential access track up to a very ‘desres’ type of house at the top of the left hand side banking. We followed the curve of the access track and …..

….. there below us was the road between Staveley and Kentmere. When we reached it we turned right and walked the hundred yards or so back to the parking area by the weir at Barley Bridge. Well folks, that’s our walk for today and we hope that you’ve enjoyed it just as much as we have. Its a very short walk but a most enjoyable one, and probably best done on a clear and sunny day to get the most out of the views it has to offer. Everyone, from grandparents to young children will get some enjoyment from it, so choose a warm and sunny day, take a picnic, and have a leisurely stroll around these lower fells. To round it all off Staveley has the well known Wilf’s Cafe in The Mill Yard and an equally well known pub, The Eagle and Child, on Kendal Road. As for us, its back home to where those gardening jobs are still outstanding.

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Walk date – 22nd September 2025

Distance – 4.5 miles

Weather – dry and sunny with a northerly breeze, hazy visibility

 

I was uncertain about including today’s walk report for various reasons but decided to go ahead with it anyway. We had planned to repeat a walk that we did on 9th January 2019 but this time reversing the route and the start point. However, we hadn’t planned on being the two frazzled people we had become during the journey and on arrival. The cause of the frazzling began on the Keswick side of the A66 just beyond Scales where we joined a long line of traffic which came to a halt during three very long waits for the road works traffic lights to change in our favour, and when they did we only moved forward very slowly  Apparently repair work is being done to the A66 bridge crossing just below Threlkeld where single file traffic is in operation controlled by traffic lights and a speed limit in place, hence the delays and long queues of vehicles in both directions. Work is scheduled to take place from 8pm Sunday 21 September to midday Friday 26 September. We knew nothing of this, and probably most other drivers didn’t either, so anyone planning to be on the A66 during those times might want to reconsider their route. In consequence we arrived at Whinlatter much later than planned and not in the right mood for a walk either. I wasn’t even in the mood for photography which is unusual for me. It had rained every day during the past week, so we hadn’t been able to get out for a walk, but by Sunday afternoon the sun was out at last so we spent it getting the garden ready for its winter hibernation. There are still plenty of garden jobs outstanding but as a sunny day was forecast for today, albeit with an overnight light frost and a cold northerly wind, we decided to take advantage of it and go for a walk. With hindsight I think it would have been better to have taken a local walk instead.

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Route

Hobcarton car park – forest trail from parking area – forest path up to Black Crag – Black Crag – Hobcarton End – off path route down to Sanderson Gill – forest trail back to parking area – Hobcarton car park

The view of our route ahead from Hobcarton car park. Its owned by the Forestry Commission, (rebranded as Forestry England in 2019 – why?) has room for about seven tidily parked vehicles and is situated about halfway down the Whinlatter Pass road on the Lorton Vale side. From the car park we followed the left hand track which can be seen curving around into the chilly shade in the above shot.

Walking along the forest trail towards the Revelin Moss car park. The sunlight managed to create a few warm spots in some of the more open spaces along the track but on the whole it was quite chilly.

Just as the track begins to drop down sharply to a junction, which joins with the path from Revelin Moss car park, we leave it and take to this forest path. This is a look back to the beginning of the forest path and shows the main track we have just left beginning to drop down quite sharply.

J making his way up the wet and muddy earth trail through Hobcarton Plantation. Mountain bikers also use these trails so after a week’s worth of rain it won’t take much imagination to know what state they were in. The mud spattering of boots and trousers began here. The route through the plantations is very steep in some places and when combined with a muddy/puddly path the going was awkward in several places.

We emerged into the sunlight eventually and had our first view of Hobcarton (R) and Grisedale Pike (L).

As I turned towards Grisedale Pike for a full view shot of it I noticed this little cluster of Fly Agaric mushrooms at my feet. Not to be eaten as they are poisonous and also hallucinogenic. They are useful to birch, spruce and pine trees as they transfer nutrients to the roots of those trees. Not at all useful for humans as they cause all manner of unpleasant after effects quite quickly after eating them. We noticed several along the way.

Looking towards Grisedale Pike above the tops of a plantation of young pines.

Looking back at the Skiddaw group as we make our way up the Black Crag path. Its not as muddy as it was down there in the forest as the sun has had a chance to dry out the mud and puddles.

The view towards the Brown How end of Whinlatter Fell with Graystones Fell just behind it. Beyond them is the Solway Firth and Criffel although the latter is difficult to identify in the hazy air. Visibility was forecast to be ‘excellent’ today but long distance views turned out to be poor despite the northerly breeze. Why do the weather forecasters continue with this ‘visibility excellent’ nonsense when quite obviously it isn’t true?

Looking along the path up to Hobcarton End as it snaked its way through the heather and bilberry. Beyond the bend in the flatter area across the middle of the shot the path was very loose which had us slip sliding on a number of occasions.

Looking back along the path over Black Crag where another solo walker had just appeared. The lighter coloured area in the lower right corner is where we turned off to descend to Sanderson gill via our off path route. There is no footpath to Sanderson Gill down there.

A very hazy view from Hobcarton End looking across Whinlatter Fell, Widow Hause (looking very stripey after all the tree felling) with Ling Fell right behind it. The Solway Firth is the lighter strip of blue beyond the coastal plain.

 There has also been quite a large area of tree felling on Graystones in recent years leaving a large exposed patch which is clearly visible just below the slopes of Hobcarton End.

A view of Broom Fell behind Whinlatter Fell followed by …..

….. a view of Lord’s Seat and the plantations around Ullister Hill beyond Whinlatter top. Binsey is the isolated fell to the left of Lord’s Seat.

Even the Skiddaw group was lacking clarity today.

We walked along the path a little way for a view of Grisedale Pike and Hopegill Head. The summit area of Hobcarton Fell is between the two.

A little further round to my right for the view of Hopegill Head and Ladyside Pike …..

….. followed by a look along the Vale of Keswick towards the Mell Fells flanked by the lower slopes of Blencathra (R) and Clough Head (L).

The skyline view across Hospital Plantation of Clough Head, Great Dodd and Stybarrow Dodd. Watson’s Dodd is between Great Dodd and Stybarrow Dodd but is difficult to see clearly in the hazy conditions.

Further along the skyline view begins with Stybarrow Dodd, now over on the left, followed by Raise, White Side, Catsty Cam and the Helvellyn group. The long distance views were very disappointing so continuing on up Grisedale Pike and just seeing more of the same murky views we decided was a waste of time and effort so we didn’t bother today. We can always return on a much clearer day and get better views of the fells surrounding it. With the decision made we turned around and had a coffee break while we considered what our return route would be. The solo walker I photographed earlier had reached Hobcarton End by now and was coming towards us as we walked back along the same path. He had a brief word with us about the loose state of the path, whilst mopping his perspiring face, before continuing on his way. As we sipped our coffee we had a think about our return route as we didn’t fancy the muddy trails back down through the forest.

We decided to return via this off path route down to the track alongside Sanderson Gill and kept to a gradually descending traverse through the heather and bilberry. The large mounds of bouncy dry heather did what heather usually does and legged both of us over a couple of times but at least we each had a soft landing! The white line below us in the shot isn’t the track alongside the gill its just a long line of discarded tree brash and once we reached it we could see the track beside Sanderson Gill quite clearly. Below the brash was a fairly new plantation of very small pine trees covering the last part of the fellside just above the track. This was a short but almost vertical drop and our gloves went on so we could grab hold of the young trees, with their prickly stems of pine needles, for stability. The ‘five points of contact’ method was adopted for the final slither down the grassy bank to the established track.

Safely down to the track beside Sanderson Gill where the water was flowing over the rocks and forming a couple of mini falls. The banking we have just clambered down can be seen in the upper right hand corner of the shot.

Walking the track beside Sanderson Gill with a view of the Skiddaw group and Blencathra. On the left hand side is a view which was typical of the vegetation of the steep sided banking referred to earlier. At the end of the track is the junction I mentioned at the beginning of this report. The right hand track leads back to the Revelin Moss car park, the left hand one goes up the hill and leads us over to …..

….. the main track and back to the Hobcarton car park. On the left is the forest path we turned off onto at the beginning of today’s walk.

Despite the sunshine everywhere else it was still quite chilly along the forest track. As we were walking along we noticed this unusual and well built structure …..

….. and this is the other end of it. The low walls were capped off, no sign of any gable end walls, and it was still intact, not falling down like many of the structures that we come across, and had been in situ long enough for moss and lichen to become established on its stones. What its original purpose was we couldn’t work out and it isn’t marked on the OS map either.

The junction just above the car park so we take the right hand track down to it. The left hand track eventually leads to the forest trail above Hobcarton Gill where there might possibly be a view of Ladyside Pike, Hopegill Head and Hobcarton Crag towering above the Swinside valley.

The final shot of the day is of the entrance to the Hobcarton car park with the Whinlatter Pass road (B5292) going across it. The slopes of Whinlatter Fell are on the far side of the road. That’s the end of today’s walk, what there was of it, and as we are still somewhat frazzled from our earlier traffic experience we were not looking forward to a repeat of it during the drive home. We had considered alternatives but on balance we decided to return via the A66, rather than use a much longer route back, and try to be patient if we were held up. Fortunately it was too early for the school run traffic or the home from work traffic so we were only kept waiting at the lights for about three minutes. All’s well that ends well, I suppose.

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Walk date – 14th September 2025

Distance – 5 miles

Weather – no rain, overcast, low cloud, cool breeze

 

We had planned for a walk on Wednesday but the camera was playing up so we had to abandon it. When I looked through the viewfinder I could only see very fuzzy and out of focus images and it didn’t make any difference in which direction the focus ring was turned. Obviously there was something amiss with the focus which meant that I had no clue as to what I was taking a shot of, which is no good at all when out on a walk and you have no idea what you’re looking at, or even whether its in focus or not. Anyway the pouring rain and strong winds took over from that day to this and using the camera on a walk was out of the question anyway so I put it away until yesterday. In the meantime I mulled over getting it repaired or perhaps buying a new one. I took the camera out again yesterday, had a look through the viewfinder and was surprised to see a perfectly clear image. We had done nothing by way of repair but somehow in the intervening days between Wednesday and today (Sunday) everything had gone back to normal. The weather today was poor with overcast skies, as usual, and plenty of very low cloud everywhere so it wasn’t a day to be out on the fells.  In view of that we opted to stay in the east and take a low level walk just to try the camera out. If it worked we would have some photos to upload and if it didn’t then we at least would have had the benefit of being outdoors and walking somewhere for a couple of hours. We have had a lot of rain lately so everything was very wet and muddy, and all the paths were running with water and/or full of big puddles.

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Route

Handley’s Bridge – Murthwaite Park – Murthwaite – Murthwaite Rigg – field path below Harter Fell – Adamthwaite Farm – old packhorse route below Wandale Hill – Narthwaite – Handley’s Bridge

Looking along the A683 in the Rawthey Bridge direction from the lay-by just below Handley’s Bridge. Its a dull, damp morning with grey skies everywhere and lots of very low cloud obscuring most of the fell tops. The lay-by has no parking charges and was empty when we arrived.

We walked the short distance back up the road from the lay-by to Handley’s Bridge which is easily identified by the metal gate across its entrance. The bridge spans the River Rawthey.

The Rawthey river tumbling down to Sedbergh, almost as if it was in a hurry to get there. This photo contrasts sharply with the one we took on our previous walk (28th May 2020), when the water level was much lower. The rock slabs bordering its banks were visible then and the river was almost at a standstill. Too much foliage today to see very much but the shot gives some idea of how full and fast flowing the river was today.

The view as we walked across the field towards the wooded area below Murthwaite Park. A patch of the A683 was just visible between the trees below and the low cloud had blotted out the view of Wild Boar Fell in the distance.

Towards the end of the field path is a ford which crosses Wandale beck just before it flows into the Rawthey. We knew that there were stepping stones but we hadn’t used them on our previous walk, there was no need to as the beck was almost dry.

However we had no such luck today as the beck was running high and fast and the stepping stones were well below the waterline. The path through the woodland is on the other side of the beck as can be seen so we were a bit stuck, as the expression goes. We hunted around for a few minutes trying to find a way across but with no success so we had an ‘executive meeting’ and came to the decision to abandon it and return to Handley’s Bridge.

We turned tail and hadn’t gone more than a few steps when we noticed this bridge just a little lower down from the ford crossing. Presumably it is there to provide access between the two fields for both livestock and farm vehicles. We thought if we turned left once we had crossed it and walked back towards the ford we might find some access to the woodland and the path going through it. We found a small gate in the field fence, complete with the arrowed waymarker symbol, which led us straight onto the path we needed.

From the path I took this shot of the beck looking towards the broken down gate shown in a previous photo. Even the lower section of wooden barrier (we call them sheepstoppers) across the beck was under water and was being pushed backwards by force of the flow.

We carried on along the path through the woodland, which felt very muggy as there wasn’t any air movement at all, and just before we stepped out onto the open moorland I took this shot looking back along the path we had used.

It was more than refreshing to emerge onto the open moorland across Murthwaite Park as walking through the wet long grasses felt as though we were taking an extended shower. Trouser bottoms, jacket sleeves and hems, even hands were instantly soaked through at the slightest contact and our boots only got wetter and wetter. On the skyline Harter Fell’s top is obscured by the low cloud. The barn, on the skyline to the right of Harter Fell, …..

….. is this one, and when we has passed it I took a look back for a shot of it and of Cautley Crag. The barn appeared but Cautley Crag didn’t, it was hidden somewhere in that low cloud on the skyline.

A look back at the gate we have just passed through and where the wall curves down to a cluster of buildings on the hillside below us.

A short distance from the previous shot and from this track there was a better view of the buildings which we assumed to be the farmstead at Murthwaite. There was no sign of any farming activity or machinery and it was difficult to decide whether it was a working farm or not. The house looked as though it was fit for habitation so perhaps its just a holiday let these days. We turned around and walked up the track for a short distance to …..

….. this derelict farmhouse which we came across on our previous walk along here …..

….. and this is the other end of it. It seems to have been quite an extensive two storey building and built in the traditional manner using local stone. This was the first of several such buildings we were to come across during our walk.

From the derelict farmhouse we had more long, wet grass to walk through as we walked across Murthwaite Rigg towards Adamthwaite farm. On the skyline we had a view of Grere Fell and Adamthwaite Bank which were now clear of low cloud although Harter Fell to the right still had a few wisps hanging around its top. We intended using a path across the fields instead of the well established track going around Harter Fell so we kept a lookout for the junction.

We missed it initially and found ourselves on the afore-mentioned track instead. From the track we looked around for any hint as to where it might be and spotted a wooden fence post with what looked like an arrowed waymark sign attached to it. We back tracked a few paces through the long grass and eventually found this old stone stile whose steps were green with moss and which obviously hasn’t been used very much. The path indicated on the OS map didn’t exist on the ground so we made our way across using the gps, which did show the marked path, as our guide.

The gps guided us through several fields and across broken down walls and eventually brought us to this gate, again with a waymarker sign, which we passed through  …..

….. and were immediately met with this stile across a line of fencing, the top line of wire was barbed but the same wire which ran along the upper wooden rail had been stripped of its barbs which made the stile crossing less fraught than it might have been.

A look back shot showing how close together the gate and the stile were.

Adamthwaite farm finally came into view from our elevated position on the slopes of Harter Fell. There still wasn’t an actual path on the grass but …..

….. there was a series of way mark posts which we used until a semblance of a path began to appear. The elevation of the path was constantly changing but eventually …..

….. we reached the track leading down to the Wandale beck crossing marked by these old gateposts.

The watersmeet where Adamthwaite Sike (L) and Stonely Gill (R) combine to form …..

….. Wandale beck …..

….. and a look back at the land bridge between them. From here there was just a short walk up the hill to a gate which led around a barn and into …..

….. the farmyard where this old Leyland tractor took J down one of his memory lanes. He had driven one of these when it was taken in part exchange by an agricultural business he worked for when he was a young man. He would also accompany his boss to ploughing competitions where they would advertise and demonstrate the latest tractors and ploughing equipment. Do ploughing competitions still take place in this era of computerised tractors? I hope they do as it would be continuing a well established tradition and its interesting to watch, especially when horses, and not horse power, are used.

From the farm we took to the track leading us along the old packhorse route below Wandale Hill. Very wet along the whole length but by this time it didn’t make a great deal of difference as we already had wet boots and trousers.

We passed an old wooden cart abandoned beside the track …..

….. and a look back at Harter Fell, now clear of the low cloud, where we noticed a derelict barn below the wall.

A view of Wild Boar Fell on the skyline as I took a look across to the wooded slopes of Murthwaite Park. The grassy area above the woodland is where we emerged after our walk through the woods, In the dip below the trees is Wandale beck.

We came across several derelict buildings as we walked the old route, and this was one of them. We had assumed it would be another old barn but …..

….. when the path curved around alongside it we could see that it was considerably bigger than a barn and was probably an old farmhouse or cottage. Probably a one storey building judging by the height of the gable end walls as they weren’t high enough to accommodate an upper floor.

Shortly after we came across this structure which had some interesting features which suggested a rather grander building than the previous one. The gable ends were much taller, suggesting an upper floor, there was an imposing entrance porch with inserts in both walls which suggested storage areas of some kind, window spaces with dressed stonework and what once might have been a courtyard.

The building extended for some distance which wouldn’t fit into one shot so this is the other end of it.

A look back at the old farmhouse and yet another building in close proximity to it as we continued along the track. A little further along the track deteriorated into a stream bed which was quite deep and so we took to walking the grass above it until it abruptly turned and made its way down to join Wandale beck. After that we back walking a grassy but muddy path again.

We arrived eventually at the flat and grassy final slope of Wandale Hill above Narthwaite where there is a good view of Yarlside whose steep sides in all directions present quite a challenge to walkers. The lower slopes of Kensgriff are just in front of Yarlside across the middle foreground.

Also on view behind us were Randygill Top and behind that is the summit of Green Bell.

The farm buildings of the hamlet of Narthwaite come into view as we drop down the hill and make our way back through the buildings to the track leading back to Handley’s Bridge. Apparently one of the Narthwaite buildings once offered a refuge for Quakers by providing a hidden room where they could hold their Meetings during the time of religious persecution in the 1600s.

From the farm we made our way back down to Handley’s Bridge and …..

….. after crossing the bridge and turning right onto the A683 we walked the short distance back to the lay-by and the car. By this time our trouser bottoms were soaked through and caked with mud ,and our boots and socks were thoroughly soddened. I could even feel my toes squeezing water from my socks as I walked along. Once we were back at home the trousers and socks were peeled off and put straight into the washing machine while J removed the insoles to dry separately and then scrubbed the worst of the mud off the boots before leaving them to dry out. They are still drying out as this report is being written. I don’t think we have ever been as wet as we were today especially considering that not one drop of water fell on us from the sky! The walk photos turned out to be ok though but I’m still mulling over what to do about the ‘iffy’ camera.

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Walk date – 5th September 2025

Distance – 4.75 miles

Weather – a couple of warm sunny spells between heavy grey cloud and spits and spots of rain, breezy

 

We hadn’t planned on walking around the various humps and bumps above Burnbanks today but that’s where we ended up after abandoning our intended plan thanks to the weather. We could see that the fells to the west were largely obliterated by very low and heavy cloud so we decided not to bother with the planned walk and headed over to Burnbanks instead. We’ve had quite enough of low grey cloud over the years and don’t feel it necessary to expend the energy required only to arrive at the summit and not be able to see anything except clammy, grey mist swirling around us. The forecast for today had mentioned that the chance of any sunny spells today would be better in the east so that’s where we stayed. We have often remarked that the Eden Valley sometimes happens to be the sunny filling in between two very cloudy slices of bread, the slices being the North Pennines and the Lake District fells of course. That’s not to say that we had wall to wall sunshine today, because we didn’t, but we did have a couple of warm sunny periods in between the heavy grey cloud cover so all in all we didn’t have too bad a weather day.

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Route

Burnbanks  village – Haweswater shore path – Measand Beck – Four Stones Hill – ‘Pyramid’ cairn – path below Great Birkhouse Hill and Burn Banks – descent path down to Burnbanks village

The direction signpost at the entrance to Burnbanks village which I find quite charming, probably because all the direction signs around my Yorkshire village looked like this so its something I grew up with. The sign sits on a small triangle of grass at the beginning of the village where the road begins to curve round and go over to Mardale Head. There is usually some roadside parking available just behind me on the Haweswater road and that’s where we parked today. Having got our things together we walked back up to the signpost, turned left and walked along the lane leading to …..

….. the village of Burnbanks, although the village nowadays isn’t as big or as busy as it would have been during the 1930s when Manchester Corporation employees were constructing the Haweswater reservoir. The village was built as temporary accommodation for the employees and their families while the reservoir was under construction. When the reservoir was completed and the accommodation was no longer needed most of the temporary houses were dismantled, but a few were saved and these have been refurbished over the years and now form what remains of the former ‘temporary’ village. There was a chap working in one of the gardens, our of shot over to the left, but apart from him there was no-one else around and the whole place was silent. It always makes you feel as though you should tip-toe through it so as not to disturb the silence. We followed the lane going up to the right.

The lane is nothing more than an access road for the houses which are located along the side of it and the tarmac surface comes to an end just beyond the last house. From that point on it becomes a well worn track leading to a gate beyond which is another sign which points out the direction that walkers should take. Considering that Manchester Corporation Water Works (since subsumed first by North West Water and then United Utilities) must have installed the sign about ninety years ago the sign still looks to be in reasonable condition. The same could not be said with regard to the dilapidated shed beyond the gate.

We turned up the slope from the signpost which curved around and eventually led us up to the path high above Haweswater. We met a chap out walking his dog who was just returning to the village and exchanged greetings, he was the only person we saw today.

The exposed dry perimeter of the far side Haweswater indicated how low the water level still is even though we have had lots of rain lately.

Approaching the deer gate and still in murky conditions although in the distance we can see some sunlight landing on the tops of the hills ahead.

The breaks in clouds allowed sunlight to gain a foothold and suddenly the southern end of Haweswater and the surrounding fells came alive just as we were nearing Measand beck. We had been hearing the roar of it long before we set eyes on it.

A look back at the footbridge across the beck which had plenty of water gushing down it today …..

…… but the falls were difficult to take shots of as the trees and shrubs are still in leaf.

This is where the beck meets reservoir. Measand beck was doing its best to add its contribution to Haweswater but I suppose topping up the reservoir’s capacity of 18,697 million gallons or about 85,000 million litres is bound to take quite a bit of time. After all, when the reservoir was completed it took almost a year to fill to capacity!

From the bridge we climbed up to this viewpoint for a shot of Haweswater, looking towards the dam end of it, and also to remove our windproofs as we were now overheating during this sunny spell.

We began the climb up beside the beck where again leafy branches obscured most of the shots I took of the numerous falls along the way. …..

….. and the roar of the water dropping down over waterfalls and squeezing through the various gullies was tremendous.

We were also having to fight our way through tall wet bracken as we climbed up beside the beck and with the sun on our backs we eventually had to stop and wipe the sweat from our faces. I took the above shot of Four Stones Hill from the face wipe stop.

Still in the sunny spell as we approached the deer gate and fence across the beck with Bampton Common in the background. We are heading for the bridge which is just showing above the top rail of the fence across the beck.

A brief stop before we crossed the bridge for another face mopping and a drink of water. This sunny spell is lasting a long time.

Another view of Four Stones Hill before we crossed the bridge …..

….. and the view upstream towards Fordingdale Bottom …..

….. the view downstream towards Hugh’s Laithes Pike and Naddle Forest …..

….. and the view of Measand End after crossing the bridge. Looks like the heavy cloud is about to blot out the sunny spell. As we walked the path the spits and spots of rain began, not an absolute downpour needing a stop to put on the waterproofs, but enough to make me fed up with wiping them off my specs every couple of minutes. Wiper blades for specs needed!

From the bridge we made our way across to Four Stones Hill and when I took a look back the cloud cover had reduced the view of the fells at the southern end of Haweswater to a grey amorphous mass. It was much breezier along here too, even at this low height,

Heading along the path towards Four Stones Hill where J remarked that we’d come across a group of fell ponies the last time we walked along here and we wondered if we would see them today …..

….. which we did a few minutes later. J had just tried to give this one a handful of grass but it was having none of it, turned tail on him and walked across the path to join its mates …..

….. and there it is with its bum towards us. In the background is Four Stones Hill where its two remaining stones can be seen just above the pony on the left.

The next handful of grass was accepted, the pony chomped away on it and came back for more.

Another bunch of ponies were up on the skyline so there was quite a big group of them altogether.

We headed for the tarn situated below Four Stones Hill to look at its water level which seemed to be a little lower than usual. Most of the stones are generally submerged but they were still quite visible today. Notice the ripples on the surface as quite a stiff breeze was blowing over it, and us!

Up on Four Stones Hill now with a view of the ponies below and the two remaining stones to the right of the shot.

Still on Four Stones Hill with a look across the tarn area to the group of ponies which were on the skyline a couple of photos back. They haven’t moved but we have so what appeared as a skyline before now looks nothing like one.

Looking back at the top of Four Stones Hill as we began to drop down towards the ‘pyramid’ cairn. The shaded hills behind it form part of Bampton Common.

Looking down at Haweswater as we made our way down to the cairn in the bottom right corner of the shot.

Down at the ‘pyramid’ cairn where there is still a lot of heavy cloud towards the southern end of Haweswater, but where we were enjoying a little sunny spell.

Another view of the same cairn, built on a rocky slab at about the 370 metre mark, and with a fine view of Haweswater in both directions.

More streams of white water flowing down into the reservoir although we couldn’t determine where it was coming from other than the wooded area below Hugh’s Laithes Pike. There is an outlet marked on the map but no mention of its source.  Notice the lively breeze rippling the surface of the water.

The view back to Four Stones Hill (L) and Great Birkhouse Hill (R). The bracken is on the turn now, trees and shrubs are full of berries, blackberries are ripening, mushrooms are appearing and leaves are turning from green to yellow and are beginning to fall to the ground. The summer is slowly coming to a close and all the signs of the approaching autumn are present and clear to see. September 21/22 marks the autumn equinox and the beginning of the autumn season once again. Time to put the shorts away then, I suppose.

A clearer view of the low water level now that we have a view of the western side of Haweswater.

Passing below the two humps of Burn Banks. The one in the shot which has some fence posts on its top, a zoom in will help. It used to be the site of a radio mast and our walk map of 24th Feb 2017 shows the symbol for such a mast. Today’s walk map doesn’t show that symbol so the OS must have done a re-vamp in the intervening years. I haven’t checked the maps of the other walks we’ve taken across here so if you want to check them out just type Four Stones Hill into the walks search box and they should appear.

I think the building nestling into the little hollow in the centre of the shot is the farmstead at Littlewater. We have just passed below Burn Banks and are making our way down towards the wall at the bottom of the shot. Its a peaceful pastoral scene despite the threatening clouds.

Another tranquil pastoral scene as we make our way down to the gate leading onto the lane to and from Burnbanks village. An old lonning is directly below us and Knipe Scar is the tree covered hill on the skyline.

Once we pass through the gate we’ll be on the Burnbanks village lane, we’ll turn left and walk the two hundreds yards or so back to the little triangle of grass where the direction sign is. From there it is only a few paces to where the car is parked and then today’s walk will come to an end. It wasn’t what we had planned to do nor was it as long as we had intended, but you have to make the best of what the weather presents you with, and as J remarked the fells will always be there and can always be walked another day.

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Walk date – 27th August 2025

Distance – 3.8 miles

Weather – cloudy with occasional sunny spells

 

“A mainly dry start to the day, chance of an isolated shower across western ranges. Thickening cloud will bring rain, occasionally heavy, across all ranges from late morning for a few hours. Turning drier by mid-afternoon, and eventually clearer by late afternoon.”

The above was today’s Weatherline forecast and all the other forecasts were pretty much of the same ilk so with the chance of a dry spell lasting until late morning we decided to stay local, take advantage of the dry weather and content ourselves with a short countryside walk around the pretty village of Morland. The village is reasonably close to where we live so we didn’t have a long drive and, on arrival, we parked the car in front of the Mill Yard cafe. We didn’t expect to be able to do that as parking there is very limited, but we were in luck today as a notice on the gate informed everyone that the cafe was closed today. It is usually closed on Monday and Tuesday so something urgent must have cropped up for it to be closed on a Wednesday.

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Route

Morland village – Little Appleby Lane – Morland Beck footbridge – Winter House – River Lyvennet footbridge – Riverside path to next footbridge – Town Wood – Hagg Wood – Morland Hall – Morland village

The Mill Yard cafe which is not usually closed on Wednesdays but was today. The ‘Closed Today’ notice is on the left hand gate pillar. Its a popular place with both local residents and visitors and its a bit more ‘up-market’ than a ‘burger joint’. More info here – https://www.millyardcafe.co.uk/

The next building but one back up the road from the cafe is Morland House and Gardens. I only had a peek at the gardens while passing by a few years ago but they were lovely and I would guess that things haven’t changed that much. Their website is here – https://www.morlandhouse.net/

Looking across at the houses at the beginning of Water Street which we walked down at the end of today’s walk, so more about that later on.

The Crown Inn, the only pub in the village and sadly now closed and for sale. There has been talk about a village ‘buy-out’ and it being turned into a community owned pub but I haven’t seen or heard anything lately so I don’t really know what will happen to it. A local music group used to hold its practice sessions in the pub’s dining room on Tuesday evenings, as the pub didn’t serve evening meals on Monday and Tuesday nights back then, but as more people joined the group it became too small to accommodate everyone and the group had to use the hall (formerly the old village school) directly across the road instead. Happy memories but sad to see it empty and unused. More info on the village can be found  – https://morlandparishcouncil.org/in-and-around-morland/

The cafe is located beside the beck so there’s only a few paces to the old bridge across Morland beck …..

….. where I took a couple of shots, the one above is looking upstream towards Water Street …..

….. and this one looking downstream. The rear of the cafe is over on the left of the shot. I think the site of the cafe once housed a mill, hence the name of the cafe, but I can’t find any historical details about the old mill.

An interesting and unusual feature located between two of the houses in the village. The steps at the side of one house don’t lead to anything now but they would have done so in the past. There is an inscription on the stonework above the archway but even with a zoom in I can’t make out what it is. Whatever the past use of the steps and the archway was it is pleasing to see that all of it has been preserved even though it no longer serves its original purpose.

At the end of the road leading over the bridge we turned left onto Little Appleby Lane which came to an end at the signpost and where we turned right,.

Looking back at the house at the end of the lane as we turned up the footpath, this is Little Appleby. The name of the house is over on the left above the porch and with a zoom in it might be possible to read it. I kept wondering about the significance of the metal owl attached to the house name. Propped up against the right hand side of the house was an old mangle which had definitely seen better days, one of ts wooden rollers had disintegrated completely and subsequently fallen off its spindle. We used to have one of those standing outside the house in the village in Yorkshire where we lived when I was a youngster. When I was strong enough to manage it I was able to turn the wheel at the side of the mangle which in turn made the wooden rollers go round. My mother would feed the washing through the rollers and much of the water would be squeezed out of them, after putting them through the mangle they were hung out on the clothes line to dry. Next to it was an old whetstone which was a tool used to sharpen all manner of metal instruments, scissors, knives, garden shears, etc. We didn’t have one of those but there was a shop in the village which did and they would sharpen anything which needed it for a few pennies. Our village was also visited from time to time by a travelling knife sharpener. He had the whetstone attached somehow to the back wheel of his bicycle. When the bike’s rear wheel was clear of the ground he would sit backwards on the saddle, so he was facing the rear wheel, and then begin to pedal backwards. This made the rear wheel go round, which in turn would turn the whetstone and he could begin to sharpen the knives etc which the villagers had brought. I used to wonder how on earth he managed not to fall off as well as being overawed by the sparks which were flying all over the place. Being a young child at the time I never understood the mechanics of how the contraption worked but work it did and I was always being reminded to ‘mind my fingers’ by my mother after one of his visits.

A few paces into the lane we met this obstruction. A tractor, laden with four bales of straw at the front and this one at the back had been left parked in the lane. As can be seen it took up virtually all of the lane so we had to carefully squeeze ourselves through to avoid the backlash from the overhanging greenery.

Before following the path which runs below and behind them I noticed these straw bales stacked up awaiting collection. They looked wonderful as the morning sunlight landed on them and gave them all this golden glow.

Here’s the path which runs below and alongside the field where the previous shot of the straw bales was taken. It was quite a long path but quite dry and dusty.

It eventually led us to this bridge crossing Morland beck again ….

….. and from the bridge was this view looking upstream …..

….. followed by the view downstream.

Quite a sturdy bridge it was too although it did bounce just a little as the pair of us walked across it.

The path across the next field led over to this stile at the path junction. As an alternative to using the stile the path continued on the left of the shot and eventually joined up, at Winter House, with the one we followed.

Once over the stile we had a short woodland walk over to the next one …..

….. where I took a lucky shot of J as he climbed over it. It looks posed but it wasn’t, I just happened to click the shutter at the right moment.

The view back to the stile from the path across the field.

The path across the field brought us out at Winter House from where we followed the downhill path …..

….. towards the bridge across the Lyvennet river.

We had expected the usual wooden footbridge but instead we were met with a very substantial iron one with ornate metal railings.

Looking downstream from the bridge where the Lyvennet river was quietly making its way to join the river Eden …..

….. and the view upstream from the bridge.

Looking back at the bridge after we had crossed over it.

The path continues on over to Crossrigg Hall but at the junction we doubled back on ourselves to enjoy a pleasant riverside walk over to the next bridge which was to be our turn around point. The ornate railings on the bridge  continued on towards the Hall and eventually disappeared from view as they curved around alongside the path.

We dropped down to the riverbank below the bridge for a view of the bridge from below it. J inspected the mechanics of the bridge while I took a few photos.

A ‘crouching down’ view of the river as it gently and almost imperceptibly flowed along. No splendid waterfalls pouring over steep rock faces just water serenely making its way to its next destination. The riverside rocks have been flattened and worn smooth by the water flowing over them down the years. We watched a leaf fall into the river and it floated slowly along on the surface of the silent river until it disappeared from view. A moment of calm in a chaotic world and very pleasant it was too.

The moment of calm was interrupted when J called me over to view one of the bridge supports, especially the size of the bolts used in its construction which were enormous. The bridge workers must have had an enormous spanner to tighten those huge things.

A bench with a view along the riverbank.

As we were walking beside the river I was hoping that a view of Crossrigg Hall would eventually appear and it did. This site has more details about it – https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101357502-crossrigg-hall-bolton

We only had a short riverside stroll before reaching the next bridge which was to be our turn around point.

The bridge across the Lyvennet from the slightly sunnier side. I crossed the previous bridges with no qualms whatsoever but these V-shaped bridges give me the heeby-jeebies and after asking J not to set foot on it until I was across it and standing on the opposite bank I walked quickly across. I know its quite silly but there’s just something about this type of bridge that I really don’t like.

The path from the bridge leads up a small hill and to the Public Right of Way route through Town Wood and on through Hagg Wood. Towards the end of the latter wood we noticed …..

….. Morland Hall. It seems to operate as a wedding venue and conference centre nowadays and I haven’t been able to find out much about its history although this commercial architect site does contain a few details – https://www.crosbygrangerarchitects.co.uk/projects/morland-hall/

More memories sprang to mind as we walked across the open fields again. The aroma of recently cut straw and the crackle of the remaining stalks beneath our feet brought them all back although when I was a youngster the straw bales were shaped into rectangles rather than circles.

A group of contented cows in amongst the thistles. The one standing began to follow us after J greeted it but called it a day when we went through the gate on the far side. It must have decided we were farm hands bringing some goodies for them ‘cos humans equals food, right? Wrong!

Towards the end of the woodland we came across this large, brick built structure although we couldn’t identify what its purpose had been. It is marked on our route map and appears just below the words ‘Morland Hall’ so maybe it had some connection with the Hall. Whatever it once was it was quite a large structure. Update 29th August 2025 – have just been reading that this ruined structure used to be Morland Hall’s walled kitchen garden which explains its size. It is ideally situated on a gentle slope facing south and was intended to provide fresh produce for the residents of Morland Hall. When the Hall was abandoned in 1945 the Hall and the kitchen garden were left to fall into disrepair and nature quickly took over. Although the Hall has been rebuilt and brought back into use the former kitchen garden has been left to nature. Consequently, it has been taken over by a number of very substantial trees, overgrown bushes, long grass and a variety of ground covering weeds.

The rooftops of the houses in Morland village are back in view together with the spire of St Lawrence Church as we make our way down the field and back onto …..

….. Little Appleby Lane where, at the end of the lane, we turned right and walked back towards …..

….. the bridge, the Crown Inn and the Mill Yard Cafe. After we had stowed our belongings in the car we turned onto Water Street …..

….. and walked down to the ford across Morland beck where a couple of ducks were having a paddle.

Close to the ford crossing is the pedestrian bridge and beyond that …..

….. the beck is diverted into this narrow channel which runs alongside the road. The above photo is of an old sluice gate which would have been lowered when the beck was running high and would have prevented the street being flooded. Would this old sluice gate still work the way it was once meant to, I wondered. Probably not since the wood was very old and weathered and perhaps would not slide easily up and down in the grooves of the two vertical posts on either side of the channel. The water in the channel is returned to the main beck a little lower down closer to the pub. On the grass behind the sluice gate is an information board but it was a bit too large to take a shot of and the writing was rather faded anyway so I didn’t take a photo of it.

This is what the beck would normally flow over if it hadn’t been diverted into the channel along Water Street. Its a series of flat topped rocks. below the footbridge and just before the bed of the beck. The stones and rocks in the bed of the beck were dry and bleached and we have never seen any water flowing down it all the time we’ve been living in Cumbria.

From Water Street I made the short walk up the hill and down to the topiary ‘squirrel’ which stands in the grounds of St Lawrence Church while J made his way back to the car to drive it round to the top of the road to pick me up. Yet again I have managed to include the boot end of someone’s car going down the road, duh!

From the ‘squirrel’ I nipped into the churchyard for this shot of the church. A chap, sitting atop a motor mower, was cutting the grass and the scent of freshly mown grass filled the air which seemed to be a fitting end to today’s countryside walk. The sky had more or less fully clouded over, the blue skies were heading off towards the North Pennines over in the east, and the breeze was getting stronger, so it was time to make my way back up to the car where J was waiting for me. We returned home, got changed, made a cuppa and had just settled down for the afternoon when J looked out of the window and told me that it was raining! Not bad timing I thought, and for once the weather forecast was right!

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Walk date – 20th August 2025

Distance – 5 miles

Weather – Some sunny spells, mostly cloudy, chilly north easterly wind

 

Just a short walk today and not too far from home as we had to be back early enough to deliver my car to the garage in readiness for its MOT tomorrow. We drove over to Ravenstonedale and parked up on the Adamthwaite farm access road which goes across the moorland from the top of Ravenstonedale village to the farm where it comes to an end. One of the perks of walking in the Howgills is that parking doesn’t usually present much of a problem and things were no different today. There wasn’t a soul around  when we arrived and parked off road just below the bridge across Gais Gill and we only saw about half a dozen people during the time we were out. Despite the forecast on various websites, we didn’t get wall to wall sunshine although they did correctly forecast the speed and chilliness of the north easterly wind. By ‘eck, it wasn’t half parky when the sun was eventually hidden by the cloud cover as we descended Green Bell, Knoutberry and Knott. We were walking straight into into the brisk and chilly north easterly and I was wishing I had remembered to pack my gloves!

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Route

Off road parking on Adamthwaite farm access lane – Gais Gill – Spengill Head – Stockless – Randygill Top – Stockless – Green Bell – Knoutberry – Knott – Adamthwaite farm access lane

We began today’s walk by descending into Gais Gill via a narrow path over to the right of the above shot and following the gill until it turned south westward. At that point we would leave the gill and walk over to the main path below Knoutberry and Green Bell. The gill is quite wide and stony at this point and today only contained a trickle of water. The hill on the right of the photo is Knott, one of the lower Howgills.

Gill walking in the Howgills has the added ‘extra’ of having some very steep sides to negotiate when the gill narrows and forces its way down through them. From time to time it became impossible to walk beside the gill and every so often we had to climb a little higher in order to make any progress.

We came across this attractive little waterfall in the gill but in order to make any further progress we had no choice but to scale the almost vertical hill sides surrounding it. There was no alternative other than to scramble, using  our hands and feet, up and over the shaded hillside on the right, slide carefully down the other side of it (on our fifth point of contact) and cross over to the sunny side of the gill beside the waterfall. J did not enjoy this part of the walk at all!

Safely on the other side beside the waterfall and on fairly level ground. All we have to do now is another short scramble to get above the waterfall and we’ll be on our way again. The gill had to be crossed a couple of times when the sides of it became too steep and where there was an inviting flat section on the opposite side but there were no more tricky/difficult places to grapple with. Nevertheless, progress along the gill was slow as we kept meeting patches of tall, rough grass and bracken, and we were using old sheep trods through it all when we could find them.

Eventually though we reached the point where the gill began to turn south west, Green Bell was in view and, with a couple of walkers already on the path we were planning to aim for, we were able to make our way straight across to it. If you zoom in and locate a black dot on the flat land below Green Bell you can see the walkers referred to. There were two of them but at the time of taking the shot one was in front of the other.

The two walkers had reached Spengill Head as we made our way up to it. We saw them again when we reached the same place and by that time they were making their way over to Randygill Top. We didn’t see them again after that.

Making our way up the path to Spengill Head.

During a sunny spell as we were making our way up I took a look back along the sunlit valley towards Knott. Behind Knott are the fells and moors along the sides of the Mallerstang valley.

A shot of Green Bell and Knoutberry from Spengill Head followed by …..

….. a shot of Knoutberry and Knott.

From Spengill Head but in the opposite direction is the deeply gullied eastern face of Yarlside, the hill just below it is Kensgriff.

We made our way up to the path between Green Bell and Randygill Top and decided we had enough time to make the walk over to Randygill Top so we took a left turn at the path junction and made our way over to it.

A view of Randygill Top above Stockless as we made our way over to the Stockless path.

On reaching the Stockless path we made our way over towards Randygill Top. On the way across is this view of what is known as Leathgill Bridge. Its not a bridge in the accepted sense of the word as it is a connecting col between the very steep sides of Randygill Top and Hooksey. Immediately behind Leathgill Bridge is West Fell and behind that is Simon’s Seat.

A longer view of the prevous shot.

We plod on towards the summit of Randygill Top with Yarlside just peeping up over on the left.

The view of Green Bell behind Stockless as we get closer to the summit of Randygill Top.

Nothing grand marks the summit of Randygill Top, just a pile of rocks but the views of the Howgills make up for it. Instantly recognisable is the gullied face of Yarlside then comes – L to R – Great Dummacks, Calders, Bram Rigg and finally the u-shaped curve of The Calf, the highest point of the Howgills standing at 2217 feet or 676 metres.

The skyline view to the south west, from L to R, is of The Calf,  Bush Howe and Fell Head …..

….. back to Yarlside again for a close up …..

….. followed by a closer look at the u-shaped The Calf …..

….. and a closer look at the Bush Howe and Fell Head skyline …..

….. turning due west we have a view of Simon’s Seat across the middle foreground plus the added bonus of the Coniston Fells and the Crinkle Crags/Bowfell/Scafell Pike groupings facing each other across the U shaped gap on the distant and hazy skyline …..

….. turning to the northern side we see Hooksey in partial sunshine on the left and Green Bell in the shade on the right …..

….. and finally and in recognition of our home county we can see on the centre skyline Whernside (L) and Ingleborough (R) in distant Yorkshire.

We retrace our outward steps and begin the journey back down over Stockless towards Green Bell. We are now facing north east, exactly the same direction as the wind is coming from so its eyes and nose wiping time again.

Down off Stockless now and heading for the path leading up to the summit of Green Bell whose trig column has now come into view.

The view back to Randygill Top from Green Bell summit. The walker making his way over to Randygill Top has just been talking to …..

….. these two, one of whom was eating a banana and the other one tucking into a bag of crisps. We hung around for a few minutes waiting for them to depart but when it became obvious that they weren’t about to do so I decided to hell with waiting around in the cold wind and took a shot of the trig column and them and their belongings. If they don’t like the thought of themselves appearing in somebody’s smart phone photo album or on somebody’s website then they shouldn’t hang around trig columns, cairns or anything else that is to be found on a fell summit.

We began the descent of Green Bell, Knoutberry and Knott with the chilly north easterly wind blowing straight towards us which wasn’t at all helpful during our steep descent from Green Bell.

Towards the bottom of the Green Bell path is this old sheepfold which is gradually being encroached upon by several patches of tall green grasses, in a few years time it probably won’t be visible at all. This is a close up view …..

….. and here is the longer view of it that we had.

A look back at the steep descent from Green Bell where we noticed that the two young men who had been eating their snacks at the trig column were also making their descent. We didn’t see them again after this sighting.

The pile of stones marking the summit of Knoutberry which I took a quick shot of before making our way over to Knott. We are both feeling quite cold now and my hands are numb.

Dropping down to Knott with Gais Gill to the right of it.

A longer shot of Knott and Gais Gill but all that concerns us at the moment is dropping down to a lower height and getting some protection from the cold wind.

We are climbing up Knott now having just stopped in a little hollow below to have a drink of hot coffee and to put our wind-proofs on. I took a look back and noticed that our route today was in view so I took this shot of it – Gais Gill over on the left, Spengill Head at the top of the valley, then comes Randygill Top, Green Bell and Knoutberry. Its not often possible to view all of the route we have taken so its very satisfying when it happens.

I didn’t bother with a shot of the pile of stones marking the summit of Knott although it was just a little further back behind me in a clump of long and reedy grasses. If you want to know what it looks like and where to find it take a look at photo number 5 from our walk of 3rd August 2021. Below us are the limestone pavements below Wild Boar Fell which are known as the Stennerskeugh Clouds, see our walk of 21st March 2020 for more info on them.

Here we are back at the bridge crossing Gais Gill where our car is parked just out of shot on the right. The chap out walking his dog came by as we were packing our things away and had a quick word with J, but I was too busy putting my gear away to even notice him in my haste to get into the car and back into a warmer environment because I was quite cold by this time. Anyway, viewers will no doubt be relieved to know that we were back home in good time to get changed, have a cup of coffee and deliver the car to the garage. The garage rang this morning (Thursday) to say that the car had passed its MOT and that it was ready for collection so after doing the weekly grocery shop and before I started this walk report J drove me over to the garage where I picked it up and it is now sitting on the driveway and back where it belongs. Phew, that’s over and done with for the next twelve months. However the stress meter can’t be completely dialled back as the car insurance is also due soon and that certainly won’t be cheap as chips. There’s always something just over the horizon, isn’t there?

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