Brilliant three days in the Western Lakes, camping at Sykes Farm Buttermere.
I arrived mid Wednesday morning and (despite the good weather forecast) it was p****** it down!. I booked into the camp site , but decided to do my walk before setting up camp....hopefully in better weather later on in the day. This was the case and putting up the tent at 6.00PM in the dry was a much better option.
Wednesday 18th April - Starling Dodd , Great Bourne
This is the continuation of the High Stile ridge I did a few years ago. I remember running out of water that day and becoming dehydrated.... hopefully a never again now I have a water filter bottle. The route up was via Scale Force which is a spectacular waterfall between Buttermere and Cummock Water.
The steady climb up the side of the ravine was hard work, and then once on the ridge proper the wind was quite high. The descent from Great Bourne down to the Floutern pass was very steep but with the fence to one side and a grassy path it was quite straightforward. On my way back I passed Hen Comb and Mell Break ...part of tomorrow's route. It was great to get my first two fells of the week.completed.
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| Footbridge just below Scale Force |
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| Scale Force |
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| Starling Dodd(left) and Great Bourne just before I got onto the ridge |
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| Happy Meg |
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| Red Pike behind me |
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Starling Dodd Summit...very windy.
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| Starling Dodd behind me |
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| Great Bourne Summit |
Thursday 19th April Burbank Fell, Blake Fell, Gavel Fell and Hen Comb
Bacon sandwich for breakfast ...sat outside surrounded by mountains.... brilliant. The plan today was to drive the short distance to Loweswater and walk the Blake Fell Ridge returning by Mell Break. It took me a while to find the national trust car park at Maggies Bridge. For future reference it is down the track signposted High Nook Farm near the Kirkstile Inn.
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| Maggies Bridge - Burbank Fell |
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| Burbank Fell - Blake Fell |
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| Blake Fell - Gavel Fell |
As you can see from the route above I didn't do Mell Break in the end. By the time I got to the top of Hen Comb I had no energy left to desend to soggy Mosedale and then ascend Mellbreak on the flank of the fell. .....another day.
Also, I screwed up with the final bit of the walk - walking over farm fields (and a river ) to get back to Maggie's bridge. I should have swung left and followed the wall until it met the track down through the farm.
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| The track up to Holme Wood |
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| Mell Break |
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| Blake Fell |
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| Top of Burbank Fell |
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| Blake Fell Summit |
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| Gavel Fell |
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| Hen Comb Summit |
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| Mosedale |
Friday 20th April Fellbarrow and Low Fell
Deliberately chose this shorter walk for the last day so I could get on the road at a reasonable time.
Parked at the hamlet of Thackthwaite for a there and back walk of these two fells.
Just to make things more interesting, when I got to the top of Fellbarrow I left Megs lead on top of the trig pillar. Got down to the col before I realized and had to do the climb up again!!
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| Low Fell summit with Mell Break and Crummock Water in the background |
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| Fellbarrow top |
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| Way down from Fellbarrow ....I went right down to the bottom before climbing back up to retrieve Meg's lead !! |
A terrific three day walking which included 8 Western Wainwrights ...176 is the total now
