Roughton Gill Mine, Peteraw, Birk Hill and Fellside Brow
Walk date – 13th July 2026
Distance – 5.3 miles
Weather – sunny and warm, light easterly breeze
We returned to the Caldbeck Fells today to have another go at a walk that we attempted in February this year. It was disappointing not to be able to do what we had planned on that occasion so we decided to try again today. In February the water levels were high and we were unable to cross over but we thought that the recent spell of dry weather might have had an effect and hoped that we would be successful today. We were unlucky with the Dale Beck ford crossing so we couldn’t walk the path on the Brae Fell side of the beck and had to retreat back up to the main track.. We had more success crossing becks to reach the Peteraw side which we were able to climb and then descend back to Fell End via its neighbouring fells. Furthermore it was pleasing to find that five months after sending an email to the LDNPA the Hay Gill crossing can now be completed without the likelihood of getting wet feet.
Route
Fell Side – Dale Beck ford – track to disused Roughton Gill mine – Peteraw – Birk Hill – Long Grain – Short Grain – Ingray Gill – Fellside Brow – Fell Side
We started out by following the mine track just up the hill from the hamlet of Fell End. The weather is still warm and sunny but we had a light easterly breeze which kept us nicely cool but without having to resort to an extra layer. The track was dry and dusty so we had high hopes that the ford crossing might be manageable today.
At the point where the path down to the ford begins we turned off and headed down the hill. We knew that it meant a steepish climb back up to the track if the ford crossing proved to be unmanageable but the only way to find out is to go down and have a look.
Down at the ford disappointment awaited. Yes, there were some stepping stones but the large gap between the second and third stones was too great even for J’s long legs so my little short ones didn’t stand a chance. We could see wheel marks here and there in the stony bed of the beck but they appeared to be about a foot, perhaps more, under the water. This would have resulted in seriously soggy boots, plus very wet socks and feet, had we decided to cross over without using the stepping stones. J suggested removing boots and socks and wading across but the thought of bare feet on slimy, and possibly sharp edged, stones in deepish water soon put us off that idea. We’re entering the second week of the current dry spell but it will take much more dry weather than we’ve had so far for the beck level to become low enough for pedestrian traffic. The path up to Brae Fell is clear to see on the hillside opposite, the path alongside the beck itself eventually bears left from the curved path shown in the above shot, but you have to cross the beck to be able to use either of them. Back up the hill we went.
Back on the track again and approaching the U bend curve around Ingray Gill with the gill water passing below the old mine track.
A view of Brae Fell as we approach the old waterworks building.
From the mine track a look down at Dale Beck snaking its way through the valley bottom. We kept looking down at it hoping to see a possible crossing point but none appeared.
Evidence of former mining activity below us. Some sort of curved building appeared to have been down there in the past and above that is an open space which suggests a ‘dressing’ area of some kind.
We were keen to see what, if anything, had happened as a result of our email to the LDNPA back in February regarding the absence of the bridge across Hay Gill. (See our walk of 19th February 2026 for further details.) They did reply stating that they were waiting for Cumbria Council to release the cash required so naturally we had an interest in seeing if anything had been done. As we turned to corner we could see the old bridge, which had been removed by the LDNPA in April 2025, had been replaced by this new one. A much better option than the previous wooden plank …..
….. which had been placed on the flat stone jutting out into the beck and which only just reached the opposite banking. The above shot was taken looking upstream as we crossed the newly replaced bridge, followed by …..
….. this one was taken looking downstream.
The pool below the bridge which, over the years has become wider and deeper as walkers and cyclists pass over it, which presents a smiliar situation to the ford crossing in Dale Beck.
The water in the gill creates a small waterfall as it drops from the pool back into the gill and it continues on down the fellside until it ends up far below in Dale Beck.
Just around the corner from the Hay Gill bridge is this one which crosses Dale Beck leading to a footpath on the opposite side. This is not the path we would have been on if we could have crossed at the ford as that path is slightly higher up but the two paths do eventually join a little further on and the one path then leads over to the former mining area. The OS map also indicates that the path we are currently on continues on up to the mining area so there appears to be no need to cross the bridge at all. However, as we’ve always crossed the bridge we don’t know if the OS map is showing a path which may not be there any more. We’ve often looked for paths which the OS map clearly shows only to find that there is nothing to be seen on the actual piece of ground. The fell we are aiming for is Peteraw which is on the left of the above shot.
I didn’t take any more shots as we walked towards the old mine area but any of our walks to the Roughton Gill mine will have photos which show what its like across there. As we needed to get ourselves on the Peteraw side of any becks or streams we kept a lookout for a suitable crossing point and eventually found one. We thought we could see a path slightly higher up so we climbed the banking and found ourselves on a narrow, but well established path, which appeared to run quite a considerable way back down the valley. Perhaps this was the path shown on the OS map after all. We noticed a pair of walkers who seemed to be having a break after exploring the mining area, and we were to see them again later on. Roughton Gill is the deep gully on the right with lots of pathways going across the fellside to and from the mining area. At the very top is Iron Crag.
Also above the mining area is Balliway Rigg with Roughton Gill to the left of it and Silver Gill to the right. Our walk of 26th August 2019 might be useful to look at if anyone is planning to explore those two gills.
The path we were using took us higher above the long demolished mine buildings on the Peteraw side. We’ve never explored this particular area of the mine on previous visits so it was interesting to view the area from this side of the various becks which eventually flow into Dale Beck.
Roughton Gill mine used to be worked for its abundance of lead, copper and silver and the Silver Gill workings, on the right of the shot, date back to the 14th century. The mine reached the peak of production in the 19th century but bankruptcy and water ingress finally resulted in it being abandoned sometime in the 1870s. Apparently the then Carlisle Urban District Council bought the mine in 1913 to pump water into the public supply, hence the existence of the two waterworks buildings that we have seen today. The second one is sited across from us below the green slopes of Balliway Rigg. The West Cumbrian Water Board (now absorbed into United Untilities) initially managed the infrastructure, (pumping equipment and pipelines) but this was decommissioned decades ago and now Cumbria gets its water supplies, managed by United Utilities, from surface reservoirs rather than deep mine water. The old waterworks buildings, marked with W.C.W.B, still remain on site although they are locked and disused nowadays.
The path we were following gradually became nothing more than a quad bike trail over the grassy but very rough and uneven ground as it turned up the steep slope. During a ‘get your breath back’ stop I took the above shot of Peteraw. I also noticed that the two walkers who had been taking a break in the mine area were now making their way up the same quad bike track. When the quad bike track eventually began to veer away from Peteraw we turned off to our left and made our way off path over to Peteraw’s summit. The ground was grassy but very rough and uneven so we were grateful for the cooling breeze. If the easterly breeze hadn’t been included in the weather forecast last night I doubt whether we would even have attempted the climb at all.
The view from the top of Peteraw where no summit marker or any description could be found. Across the top of Balliway Rigg (C) is the top of Yard Steel behind which you can just see the top of Knott. From the top of Yard Steel you can make your way over to Great Sca Fell and Knott. Iron Crag (L) rises up and becomes part of Great Lingy Hill. Peteraw rises up to 1670′ (509m) so its on a par with Beda Fell or Hen Comb.
A view of High Pike and the vast expanse of moorland below it as we began the return leg back down from Peteraw. There are no signposts and no cairns to guide walkers so maps and compass plus the skills to use them are essential up here.
Dropping down Birk Hill and heading towards the faint path on the other side of Long Grain. The word ‘grain’ typically refers to the structure of the landscape, in this case its a dry cleft in the landscape and does not have a beck, gill or stream running through it.
As we dropped down Birk Hill towards Long Grain we saw the two walkers who we had seen following us up the Peteraw path. They obviously didn’t cut across to Peteraw as we would have seen them coming across. They must have cut across to the Long Grain path somewhere below High Pike and obviously why they are now in front of us and not behind us.
Once we were on the path on the far side of Long Grain we only walked a short distance before we crossed over to the Short Grain path. Here’s a shot of Short Grain, at the bottom of the shot, joining Long Grain which is going from left to right across the middle of the shot. No beck in either of them as is customary for Grains, be they long or short ones.
A rather better shot which shows Short Grain joining Long Grain from the left hand side of the shot. On the skyline is Great Lingy Hill going from the scarred Iron Crag over to Hare Stones and eventually High Pike.
As we dropped down towards Ingray Gill and its deeply scarred fellside we noticed that the couple of walkers, who were already on the Long Grain path as we descended Birk Hill, had turned left and were using the Ingray Gill route back to Fell Side. We thought that they would have left Fell Side hamlet by the time we reached it and thought no more of it.
Meanwhile, from our descent across Deer Hills we were beginning to see the various paths leading up to Felside Brow.
J veered off the path we were on and headed off towards a path which we could see cutting through the bracken covering the short rise from the gill. From there we could pick up the path leading over to Felside Brow. On the skyline is Low Pike which eventually leads to High Pike.
Looking along the scarred fellside above Ingray Gill towards the Solway Firth in the far distance. Unfortunately, although we could see the shape of some mountains, the hazy conditions meant that we couldn’t clearly identify it but Criffel will be in there somewhere.
Thanks to J taking an off path route we cut off the long walk down to Ingray Gill and are about to cross the gill. Over on the right skyline and in front of the patch of white cloud was a small arrangement of fencing which acted as a marker for the descent route down Ingray Gill. We noticed that the two walkers mentioned earlier had turned off to their left which made us certain that they’d be back at Fell Side before we were. We still had to cross the gill, get up to Felside Brow and then walk back to Fell Side hamlet,
After crossing the gill I took this shot looking down into it where a group of sheep were enjoying the shady conditions down there and, no doubt, helping themselves to a cooling drink.
Once we had reached the top of the climb I took a look back up the gill towards …..
….. High Pike, thinking back to all the times we’ve walked up there together, all the various routes we’ve taken to get there and the weather conditions we’ve either enjoyed or endured. Its simply an expanse of open grassland with no rock features, neither is it awash with points of interest, and it has several long and seemingly never-ending grassy routes to its summit. I have no idea why we keep returning to it.
We had a short break for something to eat when we reached Felside Brow and this was the view we had from it. Ths skyline view is of Brae Fell (R) going over to Little Sca Fell, Great Sca Fell and finally Knott over on the left.
After our short break we made the ten minute walk back down to the track coming up from Fell Side hamlet which we started out on earlier. The haze across the Solway hadn’t improved and we still couldn’t make out anything very much ……
….. so we carried on down the hill where the rooftops of Fell Side were beginning to appear …..
….. almost back on the track where the path we are on comes to an end. In the wall beside the track was …..
….. the lichen covered stone indicating the route to the Roughton Gill Mine and the Caldbeck Fells. Now why didn’t I think to take a shot of it when we started out instead of taking the shot right at the end of today’s walk. We still had a few more steps to go, down the track, through the gate and onto the tarmac lane and as we did so J recognised the car the two walkers we saw earlier had got out of as they started their walk. The two of them had not returned to their car and we wondered why, having been ahead of us for quite a while and the two of us stopping to have a bite to eat, they should have been long gone before we arrived back. However just as J started up the car we saw them opening the gate at the top of the lane. So all’s well that ends well, perhaps they decided to stop and have something to eat and took longer than anticipated. The steep nature of the route down Ingray Gill might also have played a part in their late arrival. No need to call out Mountain Rescue then and with that matter settled we drove back to the Eden Valley and home. A good walk and one we haven’t done before, so thank goodness for the light breeze which kept us cool when climbing but without the need to add another layer when we weren’t.