Last updated 17:01, Tuesday, 08 July 2008

A walk around the Northern Fells with Vivienne Crow

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Lingy Hut: With Carrock Fell behind it to the right

MAP: OS Landranger 90, Penrith and Keswick; or Explorer maps OL4 and OL5.

PARKING: Small parking area at Fellside, GR NY305375

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: The nearest bus is the 73/73A (telephone 0871 200 2233).

REFRESHMENTS: Snooty Fox pub in Uldale; the Oddfellows Arms pub; the Old Smithy café and the Watermill restaurant (Priest’s Mill) in Caldbeck.

DISTANCE: 7.5 miles

TOTAL ASCENT: 2,035ft

TIME: 4-4.5 hours

GRADE: Intermediate/hard

OVERVIEW: Grassy fells and wide open spaces are the order of the day on this lovely walk on the lonely Northern Fells. It’s a reasonably long excursion, taking in several tops – Brae Fell (1,920ft), Great Sca Fell (2,131ft), Knott (2,329ft) and High Pike (2,157ft). As long as you are not walking in mist, when the featureless terrain could present navigational problems, the only difficulties you are likely to encounter are some easily bypassed damp sections and the ford at the start of the walk.

THE WALK: From the parking area, walk up the surfaced lane, through the gate at the top and then turn right along the wide track. When the wall on the right ends, you will see a new fence that is not marked on maps (see “points of interest” later). When this ends, leave the track by turning right along a barely discernible path through the grass (SW), walking with the new fence on your right.

Carefully ford Dale Beck in the valley bottom (0.6 miles from the start). It is reasonably shallow, but in wet weather you may want to take off your boots to ensure the water does not lap over the top of them. Head straight up the faint vehicle track on the other side (SW). The climb isn’t particularly steep, but it is relentless. It eases briefly about half-way up and, just before it steepens again, the track forks. Bear right here (WSW, swinging SW).

The top of Brae Fell is marked by a small shelter and a substantial cairn (1.8 miles from the start). On a good day, the views are far-reaching – to the east is the northern tip of the Pennines; the view north is dominated by the South Uplands and Criffel on the other side of the Solway Firth; the Isle of Man is visible out in the Irish Sea; and the massive bulk to the SW is Skiddaw.

From the cairn, turn left along a mostly level, grassy path (S). When it forks, bear right. The path climbs to the cairn and shelter on Little Sca Fell and then swings SE to ascend Great Sca Fell, the top of which is marked by a small cairn (2.65 miles from the start). The path continues S and then SE across boggy ground before climbing to the flat summit of Knott, the highest point on the walk (3.3 miles from the start).

From the summit cairn, turn left (E) along a wide, grassy path. About half-a-mile beyond the top of Knott, you reach a fork where you bear left (ENE) along the wider track.

As you drop into the bowl containing Miller Moss, you swing left (NE) as you join up with another path coming down from the right. You now descend through a boggy area and cross Grainsgill Beck (4.2 miles from the start) before climbing up towards Lingy Hut, which is clearly visible on the slope above.

The going underfoot is damp and muddy at first, but it becomes drier as you gain height and pass the bothy. This clear, wide track forms part of the Cumbria Way (see “points of interest” later).

About three-quarters of a mile beyond the bothy, as the track begins to level off, watch carefully for your path on to High Pike, the last summit of the day. You will see one faint, peaty path to the right of the track and a slightly wider one to the left. Turn left here (N) to climb gently to the summit furniture on High Pike (5.5 miles from the start). This includes a handy bench where you can sit and look out over the entire route.

From the bench, head over to the ruins of a shepherd’s hut now used as a shelter. Continue N, straight down the fell. You should be able to pick up a narrow path through the grass – it runs just a few feet to the right of a small depression just below the ruins.

Swinging NW as you descend, you cross straight over a wide, grassy track at the bottom of the slope and then quickly join up with another narrow path coming in from the left. The path drops down Deer Hills and through an area of mine workings, where it splits. You can take either branch; both soon reach a T-junction with a clear track (6.6 miles from the start). Turn left here.

This track ends at a T-junction. Turn right here along a fainter, grassy track. This winds it way downhill to the gravel track on which the walk started. Turn right and then go back through the gate to return to the parking area at Fellside.

POINTS OF INTEREST: The newly fenced area at the beginning of the walk will soon be planted with native trees to create an upland woodland. The fence will remain in place for about 15 years – until the trees have become established. The planting is a joint project between the Lake District National Park Authority, Wealth of Wildlife, Natural England and the Caldbeck and Uldale Commons associations. It is being funded largely by the Heritage Lottery Fund, with additional cash coming from Cumbria Vision.

The track that we follow past Lingy Hut and around the south-west flank of High Pike is part of the Cumbria Way. This 70-mile walk goes from Ulverston in the south of the county to Carlisle, passing through Coniston, Grizedale Forest, Langdale, Borrowdale and Caldbeck. It was devised by local Ramblers’ Association members in the mid-1970s.

The descent over Deer Hills reveals a number of mine workings, dating from the early Sixties.

For more walks in the Northern Fells, try Vivienne Crow’s Walk! The Lake District (North) published by Discovery Walking Guides. Available in bookshops and on Amazon.