The Northern Fells - seven of them
Date: 28-June-2011
Map: Landranger 90
Weather: Lovely sunshine
From Peter House Farm (East of Bassenthwaite) up the Cumbria Way to Whitewater Dash Falls, and up to Little Calva. Along to Great Calva, down and over to Knott, and onto to Great Sca Fell. Down to Brae Fell, and back around to Longlands Fell and Lowthwaite Fell. Contour around to Meal Fell, and down and up to Great Cockup. Down to Orthwaite Bank and return by the road to the start : 12.8 miles as measured on memory map.
How
I needed this walk. I’d talked to work and the job I was
scheduled for was put back a few days so I took the
opportunity to blow away the cobwebs and nipped up to the
Lake District to tick
off 7 of the Northern Fells. I’m not a great
fan of the hills beyond Skiddaw and Blencathra, which was
why I still had 9 Wainwrights to tick off – I’d been putting
them off, waiting for a sunny day, and sunny it was. The
hills here have a tendency to be a little bit moist at the
best of times - I'd recommend that you walk these hills
either in the summer after a dry spell, or in the winter
after a good hard frost. I'd also recommend that you choose
a fine day for the views as without them the walk would be a
bit of a trudge. I
forgot to marinate my legs with sun cream before I set off, and they looked like tandoori chicken the next day. But it was great to be back
out on the hills again, and the forecast good weather was
with me for most of the day, even though it did cloud over at
the end – but I’d finished by then anyway. I set out from
Peter House Farm, reached by a side road off the main road,
the A591 from Keswick. Opposite the farm are a couple of
parking bays, and they have a honesty box – cost £1 to
help with restoring the fell paths. My route took me
across fields initially and around the lower slopes of the
back O'Skiddaw following the
Cumbria Way path up beneath Cockup, and Bakestall. Up
to my right were Dead Crags - presumably named after what
happens if you fall off - and Birkett Edge equally
impressive. Ahead of me the Whitewater Dash Falls were
flowing fairly full, and this was where I turned off the way before the first steep up of the day.
Up to Little Calva the route sticks close to the fence,
which is handy to grab hold of and pull yourself up, and through rough heather on a sunken stony path.
As I was ascending I took plenty of time out to look around
and there was plenty of
birdlife out today – lots of Goldfinches and Wheatears, with
the occasional buzzard and the ubiquitous crow. I decided to
‘go-light’ today, using my Osprey 4 ltr bumbag since the weather
was fine. All I carried was about 1 1/2 litres of
water, a sandwich, two energy bars, an apple, map and
compass, Satmap GPS, I-phone, a few plasters, headache
pills, lipsalve, a light merino top and my small Sony
camera. It worked a treat and at no time did I think I was
under-equipped – great for the summer months.
I was soon up on Little Calva trotting along the boggy grass, realising that in winter time this would be a sodden mass, each footfall showing plenty of water oozing up around my boots - gaitors would be a 'must wear' when it's wet. All the hills around me were well rounded – not a crag in sight, but as with most of the Wainwright fells the views were worth ithe journey to the top. From Little Calva the path took me in a curve around to the south west, and a gentle ascent up to the summit cairn - a mixture of stone and metal strips. Up on Great Calva there is a grand vista looking over towards Blencathra and the back of Skiddaw – mind you Mungrisdale Common didn’t look so grand and I still wonder why AW chose to include this as one of his 214 fells - surely he must have been joking. Skiddaw House YHA looked as isolated as ever down in the valley, but it marks the point where the Cumbria Way splits as it journeys north - right for High Pike or left for the low route . At the summit it was about turn and back down the slopes towards Little Calva before veering off to the NW dropping down to a hause before a long steady ascent up to Knott. At the summit it was surprisingly another grand vista, and as it was a bit higher a few of the bigger peaks came into view, including the Helvellyn range, and in the far distance the old Crinkle Crags and Bowfell. Turning to the north the views across the Solway Firth to Scotland were good, as were the Pennines to the east – definitely worth a walk up this unremarkable hill.
Next up was all downhill to the third tick of the day – Great Sca Fell – now this one is way up there on the list of ‘Why pick this one’ – just below Mungrisdale Common. It’s just a pile of stones on the way downhill to Brae Fell, number four. The summit of Brae Fell again is unremarkable, but the views are now uninterrupted to the north. Wainwrights northernmost summit Binsey was prominent above Over Water and Scotland was that bit nearer, as were all the wind farms, and the giant telecomms masts – Carlisle didn’t look so far away either. One advantage of the boggy ground was that it put a spring in my step and was a good shock absorber for the knees. Once again it was about turn and I contoured around to take me over towards Longlands Fell – number five. Not much different views here, but Skiddaw and Binsey were now closer and the perspective altered once more. There was a wasp’s nest up on the summit so I didn’t hang about, and walked south up over Lowthwaite Fell. I had a good look at the terrain ahead and tried to work a route over to Meal Fell without loosing too much height as what goes down must come up. I managed OK, but my little legs were a little weary, and the small ascent seemed massive to me by then. But in reality it wasn’t long before I was up on Meal Fell, where I had my lunch – it’s got a good wind shelter and Skiddaw is a bit nearer again. The views to the other hills I’d walked were not interesting at all – just round blobs with lots of grass. Number six done, all that was left was an annoying little drop down to Trusmadoor before ascending once more up to Great Cockup. What a name for a hill – I lingered a while here as I preferred it to Little Cockup. Skiddaw as a bit closer still, as was Binsey – I’ve spent a lot of the day looking over to the Skiddaw Massif – it’s impressive though, and very moody with the passing clouds casting dark shadows around it’s slopes. After Great Cockup it was all downhill, passing Little Cockup and further down a steep slope to the farm near Near Horsemoor Hills, followed by about a mile down the lane back to Peter Farm House. I missed the big camera today and would have had some good snaps but the compact was OK and turned out a couple of reasonable shots, even though they do get a bit over-processed in camera.
A great day for me as I needed it to clear my head – you can’t beat a good walk.
looking north back up the Cumbria Way with Dead Crags up to the left, and Binsey in the distance
the view back to Bakestall from the climb up to Little Calva
looking north to the Solway Firth which is hard to spot because of the haze
the summit of Little Calva with Great Calva to come
the path up to Great Calva - very boggy when it's been wet
the view from Great Calva to Blencathra and the mighty Mungrisdale Common
looking over to Knott - the next wainwright and the highest of the day
the view south from Great Calva over to Lonscale Fell
and over to the back O'Skiddaw
the summit of Knott looking over to Carrock Fell
the view north down to a few more fells
Brae Fell and a great swarm of wasps
the view north to Binsey
the Scottish Hills in the distance
next was around the contours to Longlands Fell and Lowthwaite Fell
Lowthwaite and Longlands Fells
across the valley is Meal Fell, the Cockups and Skiddaw in the distance
Longlands Fell summit looking over to Over Water and Binsey
and to the NE I could see the Cheviots beyond the high telecomms masts
looking back up to the not so great Great Sca Fell
from the top of Lowthwaite Fell looking back to Longlands Fell
on my way across the contours to Meal Fell below Great Sca Fell
Meal Fell across the valley with Skiddaw big in the background
Skiddaw from the top of Meal Fell
looking back to Longlands Fell and Brae Fell
steeply down to Trusmadoor between Meal Fell and Great Cockup
looking north up the River Ellen to Binsey
Great Cockup on the right
Skiddaw from the slopes of Great Cockup
looking back up to Meal Fell, high above Tusmadoor
Skiddaw from the approach to Great Cockup
the view back to the rounded hills I'd walked earlier
the magnificent summit of Great Cockup
the view over to the NW with Bassenthwaite, the Loweswater Fells and Binsey
Skiddaw with the Derwent Fells distant
on my way down to Orthwaite Bank
the buildings at Horsemoor Hills and a great view of the Edge up to Carl Side, Skiddaw
