High Rigg
Walk date – 11th December 2024
Distance – 5.1 miles
Weather – some sun, plenty of cloud, little wind, cold
We had a bit of luck today. The weather forecast seemed to suggest that the west of the county would have the better weather and a greater chance of sunshine than the northern and eastern parts but deciding just where the west ends and the east begins, in weather terms at least, is somewhat tricky. A similar forecast last week, this time with a poor forecast for the north and a better one for the south split, saw us driving for an hour and a half down to Grasmere to take a walk in that area while leaving the Eden valley behind with its frosty but sunny morning. We knew we were likely to be out of luck on that occasion when we reached the A591 at St John’s and saw the gloomy conditions ahead of us. From the top of Dunmail Raise we could see none of the fell tops so we knew it wasn’t just an inversion. However, we carried on to Grasmere with conditions worsening, and by the time we reached Grasmere the cloud was completely down and we could barely see the road never mind the surrounding fells. As there was little chance of taking a walk in all the clag we turned around and drove all the way back only to find, when we turned onto the A66 again, exactly the same sunny conditions we had left behind earlier. Much cursing of weather forecasters ensued. Not wanting to have a repeat performance we decided to see what conditions were like around High Rigg, with the possibility of the short drive to Keswick and going a little further west around to Sale Fell as a plan B. As we got nearer to Keswick we could see brighter skies ahead although the top of Blencathra was smothered by a thick blanket of cloud. We turned down to the A591, parked up fairly easily on the off road parking below High Rigg and decided to go for it. It was a cold and frosty morning but St John’s in the Vale at least had the benefit of sunshine as it was sandwiched between the cloud blanket on the Helvellyn range and the cloud blankets covering the fells to the west.
Route
Off road parking (A591) – Wren Crag – Long Band – Cowrake Head – Yew Crag – Moss Crag – High Rigg summit – St John’s in the Vale – Low Bridge End farm – Off road parking (A591)
A close up of Castle Rock from the climb up to Wren Crag. Rocks and stones along the way were rimed with ice so putting on our spikes before we began today’s walk turned out to be a good decision.
Castle Rock again, now with Little Dodd (St John’s Common) right behind it. Behind Little Dodd, to the left, we could just see the misty top of Great Dodd. On the way up we were passed by a fell runner who came up behind us. He yelled ‘Hiya’ at the top of his voice making the pair of us almost jump out of our skins because it was so loud and, as we didn’t hear him coming up behind us, so unexpected.
Looking across the frozen fields of St John’s in the Vale to Raven Crag, which we visited on our previous walk. Its not quite as cold today as it was on that occasion but I still needed my two pairs of gloves.
A view of Wren Crag from the first of High Rigg’s many humps and bumps.
Looking along St John’s in the Vale towards Great Howe at the foot of Thirlmere.
Two lonely Scots Pines standing atop Wren Crag and …..
….. another view of them as we reached the top. There used to be a lot more but over the years numerous gales and storms have put paid to the ones at the very top. There are several still standing lower down but even these have been decimated considerably, the lower slopes are littered with their decaying remains.
From the top of Wren Crag the view across Shoulthwaite Moss, where the sunny patch is, to Bleaberry Fell and High Seat.
Also from Wren Crag the view across to Clough Head, with its patch of sunlight, and over to Calfhow Pike, the little pimple over to the right.
From Wren Crag the view over to Long Band where I took this shot looking across the ridge towards the Skiddaw group of fells. We had the sunlight to our backs and every so often gaps in the clouds would appear allowing the sun to shine through. Whenever that happened today the quality of the light turned into something rather special.
Another look back over the frosty fields to Great Howe and Raven Crag. The western edge of Thirlmere is just visible between the two of them.
From Wren Crag we reach the point at which we drop down to the gap in the wall after which a short scramble leads us up to Long Band
We pass by one of High Rigg’s many un-named tarns as we begin the walk across Long Band.
Looking across Long Band when we were blessed with another burst of sunlight.
However, Blencathra’s various tops remained under a thick band of cloud which hung around all the time we were out so we never saw the top of it and neither did any sunlight manage to penetrate it.
Approaching the stile crossing below Cowrake Head during an extended sunny spell …..
….. which never reached Lonscale Fell (L), Great Calva (C) or Blease Fell (R). Meanwhile we were approaching the soggy area around the larger tarn below Mart Crag. We noticed the runner, who startled us earlier, rounding the tarn and making his way back towards us. We got the same greeting in the same loud voice, although we weren’t startled this time having already seen him approaching. So far he’s the only person we’ve seen on High Rigg.
Still enjoying the sunshine when we reached the tarn with Mart Crag over on the left. Thanks to the frosty ground and our spikes we were able to pass by it without too much trouble.
The sunny spell lit up Bram Crag on the western slopes of Clough Head. The house in the fields below it is also called Bram Crag. Perhaps you couldn’t really name it anything else given its proximity to the crag.
In the shadow of Yew Crag we made our way from the tarn down to the stile crossing below a sunny Moss Crag, the craggy rounded hump over to the right of the shot,
A look back towards the stile crossing showing our route so far. The tarn we have just passed is located in the flatter area to the left of Mart Crag (R) and we then approached the stile crossing via the path to the left. We did see two other walkers as we walked down but after they crossed the stile they turned right and followed the downward path so we didn’t have the opportunity to exchange a quick word. A total of three people so far today.
After the steepish climb from the stile alongside Moss Crag we arrive at the next soggy area, another un-named tarn alongside the wall. There was too much water around today to use the crossing by the wall so it was a case of finding the lowest wet point to get across. A reasonable crossing today thanks to the frosty conditions.
A look back at the tarn area after we crossed it with dry boots, more or less. not counting a few splashes.
From the tarn its just a case of following the path towards the rounded hump of High Rigg’s summit which can be seen in the distance.
A look across to Bass Lake and some of the north western fells as we cross over.
The path over to the summit of High Rigg complete with yet another pool of water. It can’t be called a tarn as its not much bigger than an average puddle.
From the top of High Rigg a look over some of its many humps and bumps below us. High Rigg may not be all that high but it comes in handy for a ‘stretch the legs’ type of walk when many other fells have their heads in the cloud.
The view towards Bass Lake from High Rigg’s summit cairn. We had a coffee break here and it made a nice change to be able to sit in calm conditions rather than visiting a summit and then scrabbling around trying to find some shelter from the wind. We were eventually joined by two solo walkers, a man who was wearing wellies and a female accompanied by a dog, taking the head count up to five.
The view from the coffee break stop along St John’s in the Vale. The Helvellyn group remained in cloud all the time we were out today …..
….. and so did Blencathra. More cloud came our way too while we were having our coffee break and we didn’t get any more sunshine during the walk back.
Making our way back down with Tewit Tarn below us in the distance.
The St John’s church’s youth centre appears below us as we take the direct steep route up and down High Rigg. Here we met two more solo walkers, one who looked as though he was wishing he hadn’t chosen this route and was accompanied by his dog, the other had two dogs who seemed to enjoy rushing around and doing as they pleased despite his commands. He eventually managed to get hold of them and slip leads on them both. These two chaps took today’s head count to seven, a busy day for High Rigg then!
Passing St John’s church on the way down the hill before branching off along …..
….. the public footpath below the slopes of High Rigg. I have taken a shot of this derelict barn every time we’ve walked along here and for some reason I always take another. Why this particular view always catches my attention I have no idea but there’s just something about it which always results in a photo of it.
The tea room and garden at Low Bridge farm. Its always self-service with an honesty box and there’s usually a boiler full of hot water to make tea/coffee with a selection of the usual snacks. It looked somewhat damp today but its a nice place to stop for a cuppa in the summer.
Castle Rock appears again just around the bend from the farm so there isn’t much further to go at this point.
The path alongside St John’s Beck comes to an end at this point and walkers are diverted up the path on the right of the shot and into the woodland area where, after a few more minutes, they will eventually emerge …..
….. at the gate beside the A591 where we turn left and walk the short distance back to the parking area. Things have turned very gloomy now we’re under a blanket of cloud but the longish spells of sunshine we had during the first part of our walk were more than welcome, and the calm conditions after days of strong winds and storms put the icing on the cake. Not a long walk today but a good ‘leg stretcher’ nevetheless. Not so good today though as the heavy cloud has returned and the forecast for the next few days is threatening us with more strong winds so when we’ll be able to get out again is in the lap of the weather gods at the moment.