Roughton Gill Mine
Walk date – 19th February 2026 (Updated 24th Feb 2026)
Distance – 4.7 miles
Weather – dull and overcast, dry with a slight but chilly breeze
A dull, damp and slightly frustrating walk today. We had intended to walk along the valley via the path from the ford at Dale Beck and return to Fell Side over the tops via Peteraw, but things didn’t work out that way so it ended up being an out and back walk along the valley instead.
Route
Out and back to Roughton Gill Mine from Fell Side
The hamlet of Fell Side from the parking area just above Fellside farm. The parking area was empty, which wasn’t at all a surprise given the dull and gloomy weather, but as we were getting our gear together another car came up the lane. After parking it, the driver, accompanied by his two dogs, started out up the lane towards the gate at the top. Its a popular place with dog walkers so we weren’t surprised to see them. We followed them up the lane shortly afterwards.
I managed to take the above shot looking up the lane without including even the tiniest part of the dog walker’s car which was parked across from us on the opposite side of the lane. Patches of snow were still lying about but the lane was free of it and quite dry.
After we passed through the gate we turned right and headed up the track to begin our walk along the valley. This area is marked on the OS map and is labelled ‘Pit (disused)’ although its not marked on our route map. It never looked like a pit to us when we first saw it, it was just an area where quarry spoil appeared to have been dumped long ago and which was no longer used. It was unusual to see that it had been dug into and the rich brown earth revealed. J asked the dog walker, who despite setting off before we did, had by this time caught up with us. Apparently someone local has been using the soil to create a level base prior to a concrete base being created on top of it, which in turn would provide a solid base for some sheds/barns which were being planned. Meanwhile one of the two dogs took an interest in one of my legs whereupon its owner told me, by way of reassurance I presume, ‘Don’t bother about him, he’s got no ‘nuts’ and ‘rogers’ everyone he sees.’ I did wonder if the owner ever considered that walkers might not be quite so blasé, as he obviously was, about having their leg ‘rogered’ by a dog, regardless of whether it had ‘nuts’ or not. Moving swiftly on …..
….. as we continued along the track we were keeping a lookout for the path down to the ford. We had changed our minds about using it as the dog walker had mentioned that it was probably too deep to be used at present but we decided to check out where the path started for future reference. At the end of the fence line, a little further on from the gate in the shot …..
….. we noticed this grassy path going down the hill towards the ford. We also noticed another path rising up from the ford which could only be the one leading over to Brae Fell summit, the high point on the left skyline. Anyone wanting to use a lengthy alternative route up to Brae Fell would therefore need to start from Fell Side.
Approaching the U-turn as the path winds its way across Ingray Gill.
The view down to Dale Beck which snakes its way down from the mining area and eventually joins the river Caldew at Caldbeck. The ford crossing is just in view over on the right of the shot and from up here it looked as though the dog walker’s comment about it possibly being too deep to cross at present seemed to be correct.
The fells at the head of the valley, and the foggy conditions above them, looked very chilly as they gradually came into view.
The stone bridge across Hay Gill is now non-existent and this short single plank of wood was the only means of crossing it. One end of the plank had been placed on the stone and the other end, which we hoped was somewhat longer than the end resting on the stone, had been rammed into the mud on the opposite bank. It was better than getting our boots soaking wet but it was a trying experience nevertheless.
Looking up Hay Gill after we had ‘walked the plank’ which can be seen straddling the gill via the big stone below the sheepfold wall. Leaning against the shorter wall of the sheepfold was an ‘official’ notice stating that the bridge was unsafe to cross. What bridge? Only its footings remain which indicated to us that the ‘unsafe’ bridge had been deliberately removed rather than having been washed away. I turned the notice around and saw that someone had written ‘Please replace ASAP!’ An email has been sent to the LDNPA about the non-existent bridge regarding its replacement.
The footbridge in the shot spans Dale Beck a short distance to the south of the Hay Gill crossing.
The skies remain gloomy as we walk on towards the mining area.
A view of Peteraw on the opposite side of the beck.
The view ahead of us as we walked along to the mine. Peteraw on the extreme left, Iron Crag in the centre flanked by Great Lingy Hill on its left and Balliway Rigg on its right, with the slopes of Yard Steel on the extreme right.
A look down at a full and fast flowing Dale Beck from the track.
The mining area begins to come into view and …..
….. a closer view of it.
Sandwiched between Iron Crag and Balliway Rigg is Roughton Gill down which tumbles a series of waterfalls. However the gill is as rough as its name suggests so they are difficult to view.
Across the skyline are Great Lingy Hill (R) and Hare Stones (L). The flatter area towards the bottom of the shot contains many spoil heaps and the stones and rocks contained within them still contain traces of the minerals which were once mined here, although as the site has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), visitors are not supposed to take anything away from the site.
Before continuing on up to the mine I took a couple of shots to show Iron Crag and …..
….. Balliway Rigg in greater detail. In the above view of Balliway Rigg the gill below it is named Silver Gill and we walked up there a few years ago. Have a look at our walk of 26th August 2019 when we walked this particular area.
When we arrived at the usual crossing of Dale Beck we were dismayed to discover that it was impassable as a very large and deep pool of water had collected in the dip in the footpath. I took a shot looking back down the valley while we had a Mars Bar break and decided what to do.
During our break we decided to continue up Roughton Gill and try to find somewhere else to cross but it was a non-starter. We ended up immediately below the old boarded up building and still hadn’t found anywhere which offered the slightest chance of getting across. The sides of Roughton Gill were getting steeper and rougher so we called it a day at this point and made our way back down the gill.
As for our planned return via Peteraw and across the various tops that was a non-starter too since we needed to cross the same gill to reach the Peteraw path and came face to face with the same problems, too wide to leap across, and sides too steep for a safe landing anyway, stones which might have offered at least something to place a foot on were iced over, not to mention a full and fast flowing beck etc etc.
A look back at Iron Crag as we made our way back down the valley.
At least the walk back kept company with Dale Beck for most of the way back down the valley …..
….. with a few landslips on the lower slopes of Peteraw along the way.
The bridge below Hay Knott is back in view so …..
….. another ‘walk the plank’ moment was imminent. The pool across the path would have been up to my knees and J’s boot tops would have been below the waterline so we had no choice but to use the plank.
A better view of the ford crossing where the absence of patches of shingle here and there along the beckside and the white water tells us all we need to know about the water level in the beck.
Back at Ingray Gill and …..
…… a look to the left shows the gentle climb back up the slope back towards Fell Side.
Another view of the path leading over to the summit of Brae Fell. Only five days have gone by since we were up there on the summit and in that short space of time most of the snow has gone. Hardly surprising then that there were problems crossing the various beck and gills on today’s walk. Just as a matter of interest the path we walked down from Brae Fell summit is not indicated on any map we’ve seen, only this one and the one back down to Charleton Gill are marked on the OS maps. Wonder why the one back down to the Cumbria Way and Green Head has been omitted?
The dark shadow of the former spoil dump site is back in view and …..
….. almost without realising it we are back at Fell Side and about to turn down to the gate and the lane beyond where our car is parked. Someone had been busy recently cutting ‘bricks’ of snow with which to build a snow shelter on the side of the hill on the right, and quite a decent job they had made of it too. It makes a change from the usual wonky snowmen that you see scattered around the fells after a snowfall.
Update – 24th February 2026
Further to our email re the missing bridge to LDNPA we received an email today informing us that the former bridge was removed by them in April 2025 as it was unsafe, so they were aware of the problem. The email went on to say – ‘Unfortunately, for a number of reasons — not least a pause in bridge funding from Cumberland Council last year — we have not been able to get a replacement organised as soon as we would have liked. However, it is top of the list for replacement in this year, subject to budgetary approval from Cumberland Council.’
So we’ll just have to wait and see if Cumberland Council loosens the purse strings if that’s the main reason.