High Pike from Fellside
Walk date – 4th June 2025
Distance – 6 miles
Weather – showery and cold, very strong and constant north westerly wind, occasional sunny spells
Today’s walk was up to High Pike, (the Caldbeck one), using the route from Fellside which includes a section of the Cumbria Way. This was a route we hadn’t used previously although we have walked practically every other route over the years. Today’s weather was definitely a mixed bag and we were subjected to just about everything except fog and snow with all of it accompanied by a strong and cold north westerly wind which blew incessantly. The anti-wobble gadget on the camera worked overtime today and I was amazed to discover that the shots I had taken showed no sign of being blurred or fuzzy. We only met a few well wrapped up people out walking today and greetings were quickly exchanged as we passed each other, it wasn’t the best day for standing still and having a chat. Amazingly two runners, clad in running vest and shorts, came by us at different points along our route, both of them smiling and waving a hand by way of a greeting. I really don’t know how they keep on going especially in the conditions we had today.
Route
Fellside – Croft Head – Cumbria Way route to High PIke & Hare Stones via – Little Fellside – Potts Gill – High Pike – Hare Stones – path below High Pike – Deer Hills – Fellside Brow – Fellside
The view back towards the little hamlet of Fellside from the parking area, out of shot to the left, where we had no trouble parking as only one car was already there. The driver and his three dogs disappeared up the lane behind me as we were getting ourselves ready to do the same. While we were doing so a rain shower came along so we put on our waterproof jackets which are large enough to be worn over back packs and thus easily removed when the rain has stopped.
We walked up the lane to the gate and having passed through it were met by this little group of sheep taking shelter from the rain under the trees by the wall. The ewe standing on the little hillock over on the right was giving us a proper telling off, trying to warn us off I suppose, but we took no notice of her. The path behind me leads walkers along the Dale Beck path which eventually leads over to the derelict mine below Roughton Gill at the head of the valley. We aren’t going that way today so, despite the stern warnings emanating from the ewe on the right of the shot, we head for the grassy path between the sheep and made our way over to the Cumbria Way route.
A look back from the grassy path towards Croft Head, the white house almost hidden by the trees, which stands at the top of the lane from the parking area. The noisy ewe, now on the left of the shot, has wandered off onto the lower part of Fellside Brow where we will join the Dale Beck path at the end of today’s walk. The sky is looking quite ominous although the shower has passed over so there’s no longer any pitter-pattering on our waterproofs.
Looking back towards Fellside, and the comms mast on the skyline, as we make our way over to the Cumbria Way which is just appearing over on the right of the shot. The Cumbria Way begins from the road passing through Fellside on the Caldbeck side. The dark clouds look even more threatening now.
On the Cumbria Way with another look back towards Fellside …..
….. and a look ahead at the route it follows.
Its raining again! Below us is Little Fellside where the surfaced lane comes to an end just around the bend below the house. It provides access between the farm and Fellside hamlet so from now on we will be walking over grass and former mine tracks but still collectively called the Cumbria Way. The route continues out of shot over on the right.
Potts Gill farm below us as we follow the wet grassy paths across the fields towards …..
….. the crossing at Potts Gill where an old and broken drainage pipe provides a makeshift sort of crossing point …..
….. although a sturdy plank across the gill has also been provided. The accompanying broken fence created a sort of handrail but was on the wobbly side and an overhanging gorse bush didn’t help matters either but we used it anyway since somebody had gone to the trouble of providing it.
We didn’t really need to use the plank as the water level was low enough to stride over anyway. The sun came out while we were here and turned the little clearing into a very warm little sun trap which was nice while it lasted.
Across Potts Gill now with a look back down the gill towards Potts Gill farm. The wooden sign carries the familiar yellow arrow indicating the route but it seemed somewhat redundant as the path was clear to see.
Further along from Potts Gill we came across this old structure beside the path. We couldn’t work out what it had once been, human hands had definitely constructed it but to what purpose? Well, the whole area is full of adits and mine shafts so it might once have been a mine building of one sort or another, or even a lime kiln. There are lots of farms scattered around the area too so it might even have been a former barn.
We reached a path junction, we have arrived via the path on the left, the hamlet in the distance is Nether Row so that’s the path coming up from there, off to the right is the continuation of the Cumbria Way, and the path I’m standing on leads up to the Cumbria Way which is a short cut as its avoids the bend where the Cumbria Way doubles back on itself. It was here that we met the first of two runners who was coming towards us along the Cumbria Way going off to the right. Clad in running vest and shorts he smiled and waved a greeting as he passed us and carried along on the path we had just been walking.
At the path junction we went straight across and walked up the path which the runner had just descended …..
….. and here’s the bend in the path which the aforementioned short cut path avoided. The route became a little steeper from this point on.
While we were at the bend in the path I took this view looking back down to Nether Row. We started a walk from Nether Row many years ago, in 2011, according to the diary, but I don’t have any photographs from that walk so maybe I didn’t have a camera with me on that occasion. We haven’t used the route since then, probably because the approach road to the hamlet is very narrow and parking was something of a squeeze, or it was at the time. Maybe things are different now.
We walked up the slope from the bend and came to what we took to be a wall at first glance. When we got closer we could see that it wasn’t but as metal posts had been inserted at intervals along the top we decided that they must have formed a fence to prevent sheep falling over the edge of it. We carried on up to …..
….. a clearing where we could see that what we thought was a fell side turned out to be a very large spoil heap which had been flattened along its top. Another sunny spell came along while we were there and lasted just long enough to warm us through before disappearing again. The cold wind had really begun to batter us now that we had gained more height.
No, its not the hunchback of High Pike its just J wearing his waterproof over his back pack and battling the strong wind as we make our way across the open moorland. As you can see the path is a long one and there’s very little by way of shelter.
Looking back at Hesket Newmarket from the path we’re following. By now it was difficult to decide which element was having a greater effect on us. The strong wind which blew incessantly, with our faces rattled by our hoods which were pulled ever tighter as the wind strengthened, or the upward path which just seemed to get longer and longer as it presented us with another and even steeper fellside. The path below crossing the one we are on is where we met the second runner, also in running vest and shorts, who also waved a greeting in our direction before continuing on his way towards the left of the shot.
Hesket Newmarket fades into the distance as, at long last, we reach the last part of the climb just below the summit of High Pike …..
….. where several paths converge to form the wide one leading up to the summit. We have arrived via the one on the left (as you look at the photo) and, as usual, what is obvious on the ground is not shown on the OS maps.
We approach the ‘furniture’ on the summit of High Pike hoping that the wind shelter will be available as today it has its back to the wind. As we staggered towards the empty shelter the full force of the wind hit us and on reaching it we sank down into it, grateful for the respite. We could hear it howling above our heads as we got our breath back and attempted to put ourselves back together again.
After a couple of minutes I felt ready to brave the wind again for a few summit shots, the one above is of Carrock Fell directly opposite us …..
….. Bonscale Pike with its tarn just visible in the corrie below …..
….. Blencathra and Mungrisedale Common …..
….. on the skyline from L to R are Lonscale Fell, Jenkin Hill, Skiddaw Lesser and Little Man followed by the great bulk of Skiddaw. While we were in the shelter a couple arrived from the same direction as we had and another couple were approaching from the Carrock Fell side so, no doubt, as we were already occupying the only available shelter we wouldn’t have been very popular with either couple today. Having assessed the situation both couples kept on walking.
Having got ourselves back together again we began to make our way down from High Pike and as we did so I noticed that Bowscale Tarn was showing up better than it was in the previous photo so I took another shot of it.
Descending High Pike and making our way over to the path towards Hare Stones.
A look ahead along the waterlogged path once we’d reached it …..
….. with another look over to Carrock Fell …..
….. and a view of High Pike from Hare Stones which we hadn’t intended to visit but we missed the path we did want to follow so we ended up here instead.
We retraced our steps back along the watery path and found the path which we had missed earlier so along it we went, grateful for the occasional relief from the wind afforded by the various hollows as the path rose and fell between them.
Brae Fell, on the right, rising up to Little Sca Fell and Great Sca Fell from the descent path below and around High Pike.
Over on the left is Birk Hill with the peat hags of Birk Moss below it, over on the right are the scarred sides of Deer Hills with a couple of becks between them which eventually combine and become Hay Gill. As we were now heading back to Fellside we were full in the teeth of the northwesterly wind which, according to J’s Kestrel meter, was blowing at an average speed of 27 mph, sometimes more, sometimes a little less.
A look over at Knott on the skyline with Iron Crag, showing signs of wear and tear, just below it. Iron Crag stands at the head of the valley through which the Dale Beck path runs and below Iron Crag are the remains of the Roughton Gill minerals mine.
A closer look at the scarred fell sides of Deer Hills as we descend.
Crossing Deer Hills during a sunny spell although some of the clouds above us are looking somewhat menacing.
A look back at our descent route as we reach a path junction. We arrived at this point via the path over on the right of the shot although it might need a zoom in to see it clearly.
Dropping down Deer Hill now where we saw this strange arrangement of stones below us which seemed to appear as a capital I or an elongated H depending on how they were viewed …..
….. and another one just a little lower down from the previous one which appeared to take the form of an elongated Y. Even when we were close to both of them we couldn’t determine what they were for or what they were supposed to represent.
We did know what this was though as its a fenced off mine shaft and there are lots of these scattered around all sides of High Pike and its neighbours.
We’re descending Fellside Brow now and the rooftops of Fellside have come into view …..
….. and at the end of it is the Dale Beck path where we turn right …..
….. to end today’s walk at the same point at which we began it. The noisy sheep is nowhere around just the one ewe and her two lambs quietly grazing in much the same spot as they were this morning. Once through the gate there is just a short walk down the lane before we are back at the car. We had just seated ourselves in the comfy and wind free interior when the dark clouds began dumping their contents and the rain poured down again. As it had just turned 1 p.m. we took our lunch break in the car rather than drive home for an hour and then have something to eat. It was very satisfying to be able to tuck into hot coffee and sandwiches while listening to the rain bouncing off the roof of the car while appreciating that for once today we weren’t getting wet through and/or blown to pieces.