Wansfell

Date: 25-Oct-2010

Map: Landranger 90

Weather: Perfect

 

From the road near Troutbeck up Nanny Lane, across pasture to the summit.Walk north west and then back down to Nanny Lane : a gentle 4.2 miles as measured on memory map.

 I walked over in Longsleddale before this walk and it was such a lovely day that I extended it. I drove over to Troutbeck after lunch to walk up to Wansfell - another one of my lone Wainwrights to tick off. I'm gradually picking off these solo hills and enjoy it, as you always have to make the effort to get up there, and nearly always rewarded with fine views. I managed to park just above Troutbeck quite close to Nanny Lane, a quieter route up to Wansfell but still popular. The one from Ambleside is much busier, but because it was the school holidays there were a lot of people out and about enjoying the fine weather. Into the afternoon sun it was steadily up Nanny Lane - a walled thoroughfare presumably to make it easier to get the sheep down from 'The Hundreds'. Blue skies dominated and behind me were good views to the western side of the Kentmere horseshoe. It's an easy ascent, with occasionally steeper parts, but mostly well trodden with the odd bit of rock here and there. Along the flank of the hillside are neatly walled fields as far as the eye can see, and across the valley lies Sallows and Sour Howes sloping gently down to the Windermere.

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looking down to Troutbeck

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Sour Howes is across the valley

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the view over to the left side of the Kentmere Horseshoe - Yoke, Froswick, Ill Bell

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off the nanny lane and up towards Wansfell

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the summit of Wansfell looking towards the Langdale Pikes, and Scafells

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the view down over Windermere

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Red Screes and High Hartsopp Dodd

A way up the lane the path to the left is obvious, and I could see it snaking across the rough pasture as it winds it's way up to the summit of Wansfell. As I got higher Windermere came into view, strongly lit by the sunshine, and further away was now hazy - I couldn't see as far as this morning. I soon got up to the summit as it's only 2 miles from the road, and up on top it's a well trodden area indicating it's popularity to many who stay in Ambleside over the weekend. I took some time to enjoy the grand vista from up here, with especially good views up to Caudale Moor, Kentmere, and Red Screes. Further around Ambleside sits in a bowl of hills backed by views to the Langdale Pikes and the Scafells beyond. There was a long stream of visitors plugging their way up the hillside path from Ambleside - a long plod for some, but rewarding. Instead of walking back down to the lane I headed off to the north west, alongside a long snaking wall the Romans would have been proud of. It went up and over everything in it's way, a bit like the drystone walls of Kentmere. The ups and downs reminded me a bit of the Hadrians Wall walk, but on a smaller scale and the views are a lot different. I had a tough time of it with my shadow in the pictures, as the sun was a lot lower now. I said a lot more hello's and then the crowds faded away for a nice spell of solitude with these views to enjoy. The cloud started to roll in from the west, casting the big hills beyond Grasmere into shadow. I reached a marker cairn on a small knoll which took me at 90deg down the hill, and back down to Nanny Lane. I wandered slowly down to close the loop and rejoin the lane where I had left it. A very pleasant walk in the evening sun back to the car ensued, and a relaxing drive home - good old Alf - I'm enjoying his lone Wainwrights.

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the tourist path up from Ambleside

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an almost roman wall goes over all it meets

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another shot of Ambleside

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very photogenic is that wall

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the great wall of Wansfell

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I turned at 90deg here back down to the lane

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Nanny Lane once more

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lovely late afternoon sun again

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autumn colours down in the valley

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almost back down to Troutbeck

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