~Sweep of N.West Fells~
6th March 2010
I left home at 05:30 and met David Hall at 07:30 at the car park close to Darling How farm. We had a plan to climb all the seven NW fells north of Whinlatter Pass. David had produced a route plan that looked a little like child's scribble at playtime, but it would cover the seven summits in an efficient manner and we would need plenty of time to cover the 15 or so miles. How did we get on.....
Sign Language
Scroll down for photos and a description of the walk
Sale Fell towards Binsey
Hang on! How come they're on Sale Fell first? Well, little did we know but Whinlatter Forest was to be home to the 35th Malcolm Wilson Rally and the tracks were closed. So, we took David's car to the other side of Sale Fell and left mine in place, thus we would have a quite different walk with a two car plan.
Sale Fell Summit
My first time on this fell, three more summits would be visited for the first time. Observant viewers will spot Skiddaw in the background.
Skiddaw ~ a closer look
Towards Chapel Wood
Our route takes us down this track and through Chapel Wood, past Kelswick and Eskin and then on to the flank of Ling Fell.
David and The Snowdrops
You will have to visit David's website to see if he got the photo he was looking for.
Ascent of Ling Fell
This grassy track is named on the OS map as a corpse road, so that's probably what it is, but we didn't see any.
Ling Fell Summit
New top No.2 for me. The skyscape is improving with sunny intervals breaking through. From here we cut across a corner of Wythop Moss and skirted the flank of Broom Fell and aimed for Lord's Seat.
Grisedale Pike
Lord's Seat Summit
Barf and Skiddaw
We decided to head for Barf for lunch. I like Barf, just mention it and a smile comes to my face. Who thought of that wonderful name?
Our First "Hello"
Four hours in and we greet another walker, with a strange hat. He reached us at the summit with his GPS in hand and I asked him if it was the top and he said "Yes, but it's 20 metres away" and he went off to look for it. From here we headed for Broom Fell, this time skirting the flank of Lord's Seat.
Broom Fell Summit
New top No.3 for me and just in case you are wondering if I was really on this walk:
Me on top of Broom Fell
This photo causes me to wonder and my OS map does likewise; am I at the top of this fell? What's that raised bit behind me?
Graystones from Broom Fell
The path descends to Widow Hause and then up alongside the plantation before heading to the top.
Graystones Summit
Fell top No.6 of the day, fourth new one for me. Not the most exciting mountain summit, but well-named.
Ladyside Pike
The Higher North-West Fells
The start of the very steep descent down to Scawgill Brdige. We would cut through the forest and follow the track around Aiken Beck and back to my car.
Walkers: David Hall and Me.
Time taken: 6hrs 20mins over a distance of approx 12 miles (that's a bit of a guess, I'm waiting for David's data) OK David, 11.6 miles, not a bad guess from me based mainly on leg weariness and the knowledge that the whole round would have been 15 miles.
Route: The road north of Sale Fell, Sale Fell, Ling Fell, Wythop Moss, Lord's Seat, Barf, Broom Fell, Graystones, Aiken Beck, Darling How Farm car park.
Weather and conditions: Generally overcast, sunny intervals later on.
Greetings Count: Low: Barf -man and one other couple, not bad for 6hrs 20 mins.
Richard's Refreshment Review: Sadly, nothing to report. We went our separate ways and I drove home for tea.
I'm writing this report straight after tea, I've been up for 16hrs and feeling a little jaded. It was a really good walk on mainly new territory for me, David was suffering a little with a virus or something like that. We talked about mountains and website stuff and I'm confident he'll soon get to grips with the intricate nature of website design and presentation.
Comments can be passed to me via the contact link at the foot of the "About Me" page.
All photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2010 ©
Take me back to the start ....