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PICTURES AND TRIP REPORTS FROM MY WALKS IN THE ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT
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E-mail - karl@karlswalks.co.uk |
With the fine weather continuing it would be criminal not to get out for a walk and a camp in one of my most favourite area of the Lakes. Most of this walk retraced my steps from earlier this year, I wanted to get the views that I'd been denied then by the low cloud and I wanted to try and find the correct path over Rawfold Bank without the hindrance of the infernal bracken !
Arriving at Hallthwaites just after nine I quickly booted up and locked the car and walked down through the village and then back up through the lovely Gibson Park. Knott Hill is catching the morning sun.
After crossing the road I made my way to the track leading up to Greystone House. The path that I'm heading for can be clearly seen on the hillside behind the house.
This view over to the coast is one that I didn't have in June.
And as I gained height and rounded a corner I was treated to a stunning view over to the Scafell group, Harter Fell and Bowfell.
Not to mention the Dunnerdale and Coniston fells.
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On my previous visit I hadn't climbed Barrow as there were no views but today I couldn't wait to get to the top to see what there was to see. This is from not quite the top and I'm looking over Swinside to White and Black Combe.
From the top the views were as good as I'd hoped. Directly below is Penn then to the left is The Pike and further to the left is Hesk Fell. In the middle distance behind Penn is Green Crag and beyond that are the snow dusted tops of Scafell, Scafell Pike and Ill Crag. To the right of The Pike is Kirk Fell and to the left is Yewbarrow and Pillar.
I next wanted to see if there is a path to the Corney Fell road through the trees below. I waited a few minutes to let this gang of young fellows pass.
There was a path just where it said on the map that there would be, there is no gate or stile just some hard to see through stones in the wall. In summer the start of it would probably be very hard to find as the bracken was very thick even when dead so I would imagine it would be awful to try and get through when the bracken is fully grown. Once into the plantation the path wasn't too hard to follow and before long I could hear traffic on the road.
The final few yards down to the road were a bit rough though. If I where to come this way again I would walk off the western side of Barrow and meet the road further up
Once out of the jungle I walked down through Beckfoot to a path new to me which follows the River Duddon up stream towards Ulpha.
It's a nice path but I was glad when I reached the end of the trees and had a view again, in this case The Pike.
Caw and Dow Crag are the fells ahead seen from the road down to Ulpha Bridge.
It's back up again on the path past the house at Birks which if you follow it all the way brings you out at Kiln Bank Cross. Beautiful Dunnerdale below with (from the right) The PIke, Whitfell and the knobbly tops of the Buckbarrow fells above
Today I wasn't going to Kiln Bank Cross I left the main track for a narrower path following Hollow Moss Beck heading towards Tarn Hill. Stickle Pike looks a bit more rugged from this side ( I did actually climb up from this side the first time I visited Stickle Pike )
That's Stickle Pike sticking up behind one of the tarns on Tarn Hill.
I didn't like the look of the weather to the north. Harter Fell looks very dark.
But in a few minutes the sun returned and is shining on the largest of the tarns.
The same tarn from the other side.
My next stop would be Great Stickle which is a few minutes walk through the hollows and over the knolls.
Looking down to the fields that I'll be walking through once I've finished the very steep descent from Great Stickle.
Little Stickle looks great in the afternoon sunshine.
I passed through the farm at Pickthall Ground and then lost quite a bit of height on the road past Croglinhurst before climbing back up Bleansley Bank.
The view back down Bleansley Bank. The path makes a dog leg up the hill before reaching a wall with more through steps which give access to Rawfold Bank where I decided it was time to stop for the day..
All set up on Rawfold Bank. I'm not sure what the pole behind me is for unless it's a TV aerial for the houses in the valley like there are on Brock Barrow above Seathwaite but they look more like rooftop TV aerials rather than just a single pole. There was an old shed a few yards from the pole so I don't know if that had anything to do with it
Looking out to the Duddon Estuary.
Although the picture doesn't capture it the moon was very large and incredibly bright all night, you could have easily walked without an headtorch.
The end of a superb day.
And the start of another chilly but perfect day.
Today felt quite a bit colder and my fingers were nearly falling off when packing away the tent. Although freezing cold there was no frost at all and the tent was bone dry
Lovely morning glow on the higher Dunnerdale fells.
Barrow and the trees I'd walked through yesterday are similarly coloured seen from the field path down to Rawfold Bridge over the Duddon.
In the woods just before Beckfoot there is a bench so I sat for a minute looking back to Rawfold Bank.
From Beckfoot I walked up the Corney Fell road to the junction of Fell road which I was to follow back towards my car but I couldn't resist one last look at the views to the high fells so decided to climb the little hill of Lath Rigg which is ahead.
This is actually a view in the other direction looking over Knott Hill to the coast.
Now that's the view of the highest ground in England. Pike House is the white building nestled below The Pike.
And that's the view over Penn to the Dunnerdale and Coniston fells Definitely worth the ten minute climb to the top of Lath Rigg..
In planning my walk I had originally planned to go down to Fenwick and the Swinside but planning doesn't always relate to how you feel on the day and as that was going away from my car I took the easy way down Fell road.
Looking back up Fell road.
And finally crossing Black Beck again with just the short uphill walk to my car left to do.
Previous walk -- Two days on the central fells