Saturday 30th May. Grike – Lank Rigg

My first venture to the far west of Lakeland. There was a little voice in my head saying that these are only small fells and it will be an easy and possibly unspectacular walk. Shame on me !! As usual, this beautiful, small corner of the Cumbria 

Top of Grike

Lank Rigg from Grike

came up with the goods. A great days walking, with varied views and plenty of challenges.

My first challenge was finding the starting place which I can now say is the minor road just outside Ennerdale Bridge signposted Gosforth, with the parking spot near the forestry commission footpath. I then couldn’t find the correct footpath which should take me through the forest to the slopes of Grike. It turns out the signpost was non existent – different from the walk outline I had downloaded. With some playing around with my Garmin I located the path and set off.

Ennerdale Water from the top of Crag Fell

Pillar 

The path taook me up the slopes of Grike to the summit and then across a boggy depression of the joining ridge to Crag fell with stunning views across ennerdale water and the Pillar range.

The downloaded instructions from the Walk the Lakes site were brilliant from then on. I could see the trig point on the summit of Lank Rigg on the skyline and it looked a long way off !!. The path took me to the depression between Crag Fell and Whoap (pronounced Warp) with is a parallel ridge separating Crag Fell and Lank Rigg.

Lank Rigg - from the bottom !

Whoap Beck Valley

Top of Lank Rigg

View South from the top of Lank Rigg

Climbing up through the cleared forestry land I was soon at the top of Whoap, looking at the climb to Lank Rigg. This was a steady slog (last bit steep) to the top. Short drink and photo break, and then I set off on the return leg which took me don to the dip between Lank Rigg and Whoap . Left turn there and down the  beautiful (wet and boggy in places) Whoap Beck valley. This also include a couple of fords which left me with soaking feet. Eventually the path met the road , maybe 0.5 – 1 mile above my parking place.

Another three Wainwrights – A brilliant days walking.

OS OL 4.  

9 miles

Saturday 23rd May Robin Hoods Bay – Ravenscar

Family weekend away at Robin Hoods Bay. Did this walk with Anne along part of the Cleveland Way.

Just after here the path drops down to Boggle Hole

I love this woman

Headland at Robin Hoods Bay

Highest zoom - can;t see any seals !

From Robin Hoods Bay old town the cliff path is an easy (well relatively !!)  stepped climb to the top. The well defined path then meanders its way along the cliff top, dropping down to the beach at Boggle Hole and the climbing back again. This drop and climb was then repeated near Stoupe Bank. From there it is steady climb across lovely countryside to Ravenscar, with the track taking us through the ruins of the Alum Mines. Unfortunately for Anne , all th ups and downs put strain on her recovering sprained ankle , so by the time we got to Ravenscar she was using the walking poles and was in some pain. We stopped for a late lunch at the tea rooms and because they were so inept (forgot our order) , we had sat for qite some time which meant Anne’s ankle had a good rest.

Robin Hoods Bay From Ravenscar

We retraced our steps back to the dip in the cliff path at Stoup Bank , and from there strolled back along the beach all the way back to Robin Hoods bay which was perfect for a sore ankle.

A brilliant and varied walk, with outstanding views all the way.

About 8 miles OS OL27 North York Moors 

1st May 2015 Ullock Pike Ridge

Next chapter in my Wainwright adventure.

A clear, war day  with a little breeze. Perfect.

This was a medium sized walk but as usual I had the aches and sores for a couple of days after !! Also, this was the first trip to the lakes with my new panasonic bridge camera.

After an early start and a good drive I arrived at the Mirehouses car park on the east side of Bassenthwaite Lake, This is also the starting point to walk up to the Osprey viewing point on the side of Dodd.

Between the two buildings I crossed the footbridge an took a left onto a waymarked footpath through the woods. I kept following the yellow waymarks until they stopped and the path continued through Rabbit Warren before meeting the path coming up from Ravenstone Hotel. Turn right here and the path climbs steeply up to a gate and then onto the open fellside. After a decent climb the path meets the ridge line. Turn right here and Ullock Pike summit can be clearly seen in the distance.

Ullock Pike

Bassenthwaite Lake

Top of Ullock Pike

Long Side Edge from Ullock Pike

From here navigation was straightforward. Ullock Pike - Longside Edge, Carl Side. At Carl Side tarn I surveyed the possibility of climbing Skiddaw and Skidaw Little Man. I reckoned this would add around 4 miles to the day including a steep up and down of Skiddaw. I decided against that. Skiddaw Little Man would have to be bagged on another day.

Skiddaw Little Man

Dodd from Longside Edge

Newlands Valley

The path down Carl Side to Long Doors col was a straightforward zig zag but typically Lake District rough, bumpy and rocky in places. 

Top of Longside Edge with Skiddaw in the background

Bassenthwaite from top of Dodd

Dodd Summit

From Long Doors I took the excellent track through Dodd Wood to the summit of Dodd. Although this was the lowest summit of the day it offered the best views along Bassenthwaite,  Newlands valley, and Derwent Water.

I followed the forest road back to the car park to finish yet another excellent day in Lakeland.

OS OL 4 NW Lakes. Around 6.5 miles

19th April Millers Dale , Tideswell Dale

Excellent walk with Richard. It makes a nice change to do a walk with little climbing involved.

We started opposite the church in the centre of Litton.Heading east along the main road, we took the first road right and then after a couple of hundred yards found the clearly marked footpath which took us over some gently undulating hills to the top edge of Cressbrook Dale. From there we took the path down to the valley floor and then followed the path to the Weir at Cressbrook Mill,

Beautiful scenery all the way from there along the splendidly named Water-Cum_Jolly-Dale, Millers Dale and Tideswell Dale for the final bit of the walk which was a short stroll along the road back into Litton.

OS OL24 White Peak. Around 5,5 miles

22nd March 2015 The Helvellyn range

First Big walk of 2015, and what a brilliant one. Weather cool, clear and sunny with virtually no breeze. Perfect conditions.

The start was the car park at Glenridding . As I had got up at 'stupid o clock' I was the second vehicle in the car park. Navigation was fairly straightforward ( apart from one slight malfunction !!!) I headed up  Greenside road which eventually became a typical Lakeland stony path, and towards the end I missed the turnoff to the zig zag pony track  and ended up in Brown Cove with Helvellyn Lower Man , and Catstycam towering above me, I stopped for a break and could see a small ant climbing the bank to the North East of me …..that was where I needed to be. I headed off and joined the track about a third of the way up. This was probably the steepest part of the walk.

Heading up Greenside Road

Catstycam coming into view

Eventually I arrived at the top of the track and that left a short climb to the summit of Whiteside across patches of hard snow. The view across to Helvellyn was brilliant with clouds of snow blowing off the edge.  The temperature had dropped at this point so I had to start adding layers.

Brown Cove cul de sac. Helvellyn in the centre

With perfect visibility, navigation was straightforward from here. Up to Raise, and on the way down to Sticks Pass summit there was a band of hard snow across the path – the only option was to slide down on my back side ….fortunately no mishaps when I hit the ground at the end !! On the way up to Stybarrow Dodd I was hit with a wave of tiredness and for a short while I was contemplating turning off and heading back. After a short break I convinced myself to complete the remaining Dodds -Watsons Dodd and  Great Dodd. What was I thinking !! -this was glorious high level walking over easy paths.....I had already done the hard bit,

Whiteside

Whiteside Summit - First Wainwright of the day

Back to Stybarrow Dodd and then back down via Sticks pass. The path down was very un-even and stony in places, and that did some damage to my left ankle which left it very sore and painful to put any weight on the day after. I stopped for some lunch opposite the ski slope on the North side of Raise - amazing - I hadn't realized that folk  could be skiing in England in March !!
One final option was Sheffield Pike , as Sticks Pass reached the old mine workings but I was too knackered for another climb. Eventually I arrived back at Glenridding , battered, tired but happy.

Top of Raise

What a poser

Top of Stybarrow Dodd

Top of Great Dodd

Raise from Sticks Pass

Raise from Whiteside

Another marvelous day in this beautiful part of the World.

13 Miles OS OL5

26th February 2015 High Rigg and Raven Crag

A great start to my Wainwright 214 challenge for 2015. Two separate ‘baby’ Wainwrights but as usual with the Lakes nothing is too easy.

For High Rigg I parked at a layby off the A591 just opposite the turnoff to the top end of Thirlmere. 50 yards on the main road to cross the river bridge and take the footpath on the right and then immediately take the left hand fork which climbs up to Wren Cragg which is the southern end of the High Rigg high ground. There is a decent path (soggy in places) which follows a loose ridge line towards High Rigg. The path goes over some of the craggy outcrops and around the side of others (Wren Crag, Mart Crag, Yew Crag Moss Crag)

Top of High Rigg

Blencathra

 This is a great walk with views of the Central Fells to the left , the Helvellyn range to the right , and Blencathra and Skidaw ahead. Looking back Raven Crag towers above the north end of Thirlmere.  As I still had Raven Crag to do, I decided to return via the high ground rather than drop down off the north end and return via the valley. It was also an excuse to enjoy the great views a second time around.

Once back to the car it was a short drive (1.5 miles) to the car park at the top of Thirlmere. Time for a bite of lunch and a change of socks and boots (feet were soaking after High Rigg).  About a 100 yards north of the car park the footpath starts on the left. This is the only sign post to Raven Crag. A steep climb through the woods brings you to a forest road. Follow this road to the base of Raven Crag and then bend away from the crag until another footpath to the left (no signpost – but it is opposite a gate to the right of the path). Path again climbs steeply up to a clearing and another well defined path that would take you to Castle Crag Fort. Take the left hand path which again climbs steeply to the summit of Raven Crag. This is a well built path with steps on the really steep bits.

Foot of Raven Crag

Raven Crag summit

Summit of Raven Crag gives fabulous view across Thirlmere. Descent is the same route back.

A brilliant start to 2015. OS OL 5 about 8 miles in total