The Old Coach Road
Walk Date – 2nd January 2026
Distance – 6.5 miles
Weather – sunny start, clouding over later, north westerly wind, bitterly cold
Today’s good forecast, dry and sunny all day, had a sting in its tail, very strong winds at height. This was nothing new, strong northerly or easterly winds have been prevalent for a couple of weeks now, but it did mean that once again we had to choose a low level walk if we were to avoid a battle with the elements. We’ve had quite enough of those kind of walks over the years, so we opted for a walk along the old coach road for an ‘out and back’ walk as far as the old derelict railway goods wagon. The minute we got out of the car at High Row the wind chill wrapped itself around us and our eyes and noses immediately began to water, the nose blowing/eye wiping began and we hadn’t even started our walk. Two runners (from Carlisle we were informed) got out of the car which had followed us into the car park and just before they set off the chap informed J that they were going to run/jog up to Great Dodd. We started out just after they did and as we walked along the track up to Groove Beck I noticed Great Dodd’s snow covered top. I wondered if they would reach the summit or call it a day when they reached Randerside. Not having any such aim we set off through the gate and along the track with the wind in our faces. Good thing we had already put on our micro-spikes since the track, which is always full of puddles, was full of completely frozen ones instead.
Route
Out (to old railway goods wagon) and back from High Row parking area
It might need a zoom in to see it but just behind the brown vegetation on the skyline where the land begins to rise is the snow covered top of Great Dodd where the two runners just mentioned were heading. We had just started out from the gate and already the frozen solid puddles were appearing. With the wind in our faces jacket hoods were pulled tightly against it and we hoped that once we had changed direction as the path from Groove Beck went around to the left we would gain some respite from it.
More frozen puddles as we walked up the slope to the ford crossing Groove Beck. The two runners are already well on their way over on the left while two other walkers are also making their way up the same path. The female runner was wearing a red jacket and her partner in dark blue/black was some distance ahead of her, the walkers were wearing black clothing and a zoom in will be needed to see them all.
J opted for the bridge crossing rather than the ford a little higher up.
Looking upstream from the bridge as I crossed over.
We followed the track around from Groove Beck but the hoped for lack of wind didn’t materialise and remained in our faces all the way along. Here’s the view we had of Great Mell Fell as we walked along.
Eventually Little Mell Fell also came into view so here’s a shot of both of them. It was good to have sunshine and blue sky above us again but with plenty of cloud around and the sun being so low in the sky at present shadowy views were unavoidable today.
A sunny Clough Head ahead of us as we round the bend in the track beside the tree plantation.
Looking across Threlkeld Common towards Lonscale Fell and the snowy tops of Skiddaw Little Man and the south top of Skiddaw. I had hoped for closer shots as we got nearer to them but by that time the Skiddaw plateau was hidden by cloud so this was the clearest shot we had of it today.
Not as clear a shot of Blencathra as I would have liked. Despite the northerly wind, which usually brings greater air clarity, there still seemed to be some haze hanging around. Some of last night’s snow has also landed on Blencathra although mostly on its northern side.
To the right of Blencathra are some of its neighbours, the long low fell beneath the skyline is Souther Fell and on the skyline are Bannerdale Crags, Bowscale Fell and Carrock Fell. They too looked quite hazy today.
Not looking at all hazy were these icicles lining the frozen ditch beside the track. Even though I know its only water draining into the ditch from the slopes above which has frozen I still find them quite fascinating to look at.
A short signpost pointing out the path to Highgate Close which on our route map is marked by a line of red dashes. There is indeed a place called Highgateclose on the OS map, but not shown on our route map, which eventually leads towards Wallthwaite and on to the A66. The path runs between Sandbeds Moss, Barbaryrigg Moss and Whitesike Moss so its probably a bit on the soggy side, but we’ve never walked across it so we don’t have any further information on it.
We’re still walking into the wind and are now in the shadow of Wolf Crags which only adds to the already below freezing temperature. Just as well we’re wrapped up like suet puddings. Up ahead Clough Head is still bathed in sunshine.
Another hazy view of Blencathra. The sheet of cloud above it seemed to be coming our way, unfortunately.
Clough Head was still in sunlight and as we got closer its subsidiary peak of White Pike began to be more prominent. White Pike is to the right of Clough Head summit and both peaks can be climbed from this track.
The cloud covering the Skiddaw plateau that I mentioned earlier although Skiddaw Little Man and Lonscale Fell remained in the clear.
I tried again a little further on but the cloud cap still persisted in hanging around the plateau. Disappointing but not unusual as the Skiddaw plateau is often covered by cloud.
We’re much closer to Clough Head at this point and White Pike has become clearer against the skyline. We’re also quite close to Mariel Bridge but we have a couple of hurdles to deal with before we get to it.
Here’s the first hurdle, a deeply rutted and frozen solid wall of tyre marks. The track we are walking is a ‘BOAT’ which translates as a Byway Open (to) All Traffic, just in case you were thinking it looks nothing like a boat, and is often used by ‘off-roaders’ in 4 wheel drive vehicles, or motor cyclists on lightweight trail motor bikes. The heavier 4 wheel drive cars have created the churned up mess that you see in the photo but it was less of a problem today because it was frozen solid. When its not as cold as it is today you can imagine what it becomes when its not frozen.
The next hurdle was easier to deal with since it wasn’t as deep or as churned up as the previous one.
The view of Clough Head and White Pike from Mariel Bridge. Still sunny over there but we are still in the shade, formed this time by the shadow of Great Dodd.
From the bridge we walked on, in sunlight now, until we reached the dilapidated old railway goods wagon. Its been used to store many things over the years but now that the poor old thing has lost its wooden sides and is open to the elements it seems to have lost even its storage usefulness and is now quietly decaying.
A view of the old goods wagon together with the even older Mell Fells in the distance.
More or less opposite the goods wagon is this gate where the path up to White Pike and on up to Clough Head begins. Its a steep climb but its all across grass so nothing to be concerned about if walkers decide to use it. We might have done so today had it not been for the strong wind.
We walked on a few paces further until we were almost at the top of Hausewell Brown for another look towards Skiddaw but it still had the cloud cap over it. Even so there was a certain drama in the shot with its sunshine and shadow and the cloud activity above which is why I chose it for our ‘top of the page’ picture for today’s walk. I just wish I could include the wind strength in that description too but you’ll just have to imagine that.
While we were on Hausewell Brow, where the trackside grasses were bending in the wind, I took the above shot of Blencathra. I guess anyone on the summit over there just at that moment would have been feeling mighty cold when that cloud drifted over the very top of it.
We re-traced our steps back to the goods wagon, now in cloud shadow, and began our return journey.
Being in the shadow of Great Dodd and then Wolf Crags the puddles in the track will remain frozen for the time being as the forecast for the coming days remains on the ‘freezing’ side of the thermometer.
Even with our spikes on we didn’t risk it and walked to the side of this particularly lengthy stretch of frozen water. After all, you never can tell how deep the thing actually is.
Back at Mariel Bridge where the cloud has completely taken over and the sun has gone somewhere else for the time being. At least we now have the wind behind us so that’s a plus!
Mosedale Beck from Mariel Bridge although neither of us entertained the idea of a picnic or a paddle. We have done so in the past but not today, well its not quite the weather for it, is it? We deal with the churned and iced up hurdles beyond the bridge and make our way back to …..
….. Wolf Crags at the northeastern end of Great Dodd. Wolf Crags stand at 1700’/519m and the summit of Great Dodd is at 2844’/857m so there is roughly a difference in height of approx. 1100’/335m between the two of them. Were these crags once the home of packs of wolves which once roamed around this area before they were hunted down and became extinct as a native species. The name of the crags had to come from somewhere so I suppose its a good a theory as any other.
Looking back from Mothersike Brow just to show that the track going between High Row and St John’s in the Vale isn’t totally flat which a less than careful reading of the map might lead one initially to think. There are some lengths of level walking but these are interspersed with sections where the path has to follow the contours of the land and avoid the marshy bits. Imagine a coach and horses, or a farm wagon and horse travelling across here in years past and what an uncomfortable journey it must have been in those days.
Walking the Barbary Rigg section of the path where we can’t blame Wolf Crags for the shade. The clouds have joined forces and are now blocking the sunlight.
Behind us the Skiddaw massif, Lonscale Fell and Blencathra still have the sunshine though but the cloud above Skiddaw has increased …..
….. and the shadow of Great Dodd behind us is now landing on the lower sections of Blencathra.
Great Mell Fell has re-appeared so we’re now on the home straight and heading for the tree plantation in the distance.
Back at the bridge across Groove Beck where I wait for J to catch up with me so I took a couple of photos while I was waiting …..
….. here’s the ford across the path which we didn’t cross over on our outward leg. As its running water it wasn’t frozen but the outer ends of it were …..
….. and the view looking down at the pool, which the waterfall drops into, and the bridge …..
….. and the last photo I took was of the signpost pointing the way to the path over to Randerside and Great Dodd. The sign had a mileage of 2.5 miles up to Great Dodd from this point. Now, would that be ‘country miles’ or the actual distance I wondered? J had caught up with me by now and we walked back to the parking area at High Row. The car the two runners had arrived in was gone, so I’ll never know whether they made it up to the summit of Great Dodd, and two more had taken its place. Walkers were still setting off through the gate by the parking area as we warmed ourselves up with a couple of cups of hot coffee before heading for home. We’ve had a freezing cold and quite windy walk with which to begin our new 2026 Walks Diary page and the forecast seems to indicate more of the same in the days to come. Ah well, at least we’ve got longer hours of daylight to look forward to, we’ve already gained 10 mins and 20 secs since the winter solstice on 21st December 2025 so its not all bad. If you’re going outdoors, wrap up warmly, folks!