Routes in the Northern Fells–Part 4 of many

This is a route that is equally great for running or a big family day out. There are several variations, in some of them you don’t reach the summit of any mountains but is a real opportunity to get in amongst some of the favourites (Skiddaw, Blencthra and others).
Obviously I do not provide any guarantee for the accuracy or current safety of these routes. They are simply a record of my own endeavours and if you decide to adopt them you do so at your own risk.

LaTrigg CAR PARK, Cumbrian way to Skiddaw House and back

On a clear day, there are some amazing views to be had of Kesiwick, a rarely seen rear view of Blencathra and of course the scree slopes of the mighty Skiddaw. I will provide two variations on the basic route which affect distance and especially ascent.
I first trialled this route (variation 1) as a family walk with my 6 year old son and 2 year old daughter (in a back carrier) – the distance made this over-ambitious.
The basic route and all variations are ideal for fell running beginners.

Basic Route

Statistics

• Distance: 11.2km
• Ascent: 233m
• Summits: 0
• Difficulty: Easy
• Comments: Large sections of this are walkable by all ages (my 2 year old daughter enjoyed some of the Cumbrian Way around the base of Lonscale Fell).

Route

• Park in the Latrigg Car Park (NY281254)
• Follow the path to Skiddaw until it forks (NY283256), take the right fork continuing on the Cumbrian Way.
• It is a very clear path from here until Skiddaw house (NY287292). This is a great place to stop for lunch as there are several walls where shelter can be gained.
• Here you can choose Variation 2 (see below), or head back along the same path enjoying beautiful views down the valley towards Keswick.
• At a prominent sheepfold (not on the OS Map, NY292280), you can choose Variation 1 (see below).

Variation 1 – Threlkeld Extension

Statistics

• Distance: 13.5km
• Ascent: 383m
• Summits: 1
• Difficulty: Easy
• Comments: This was too ambitious for my 6 year old son to walk and he was exhausted by the end.

Route

• Take the left path from NY292280 and follow the clear path which crosses Sinen Gill and Roughten Gill.
• It is a very clear path from here until the Threlkeld Car Park (NY303256).
• Take the path on the right through the wall down to the Blencathra Field Centre.
• Go through the Centre and follow the signs for ‘Derwentfolds’, following straight on at the cross roads (NY299255).
• Turn left when you get to ‘Derwentfolds’ and follow the path down to a small road.
• Turn right (North-West) to a four-way split in the paths (NY296252). Take the middle option which, after a short drag up towards the Latrigg Summit, follows the wall of a forest on your right.
• Follow the path as it turns NNE around the far corner of the forest (NY284252) – you can take a short detour over the summit of Latrigg to gain your one summit!
• The path leads back to the Latrigg Car Park.

Variation 2 – Loop over Sale How and Skiddaw Little Man

Statistics

• Distance: 12km
• Ascent: 550m
• Summits: 2
• Difficulty: Medium
• Comments: This is a great route in good weather, but Sale How can get very boggy and the route over Skiddaw Little Man is deceptively high (810m at the joining of the Sale How and the Skiddaw ‘motorway’).

Route

• From the northern corner of Skiddaw House (NY287292), follow the obvious path SW towards the summit of Sale How. This path crosses a peat bog and is usually very wet (even in the best of conditions).
• Continue beyond the short plateau and reach the summit of Sale How (NY276286).
• Head W following a less prominent path until you reach the Skiddaw ‘motorway’ (NY266284). This is your ‘high’ point of the route at ~810m.
• Turn left and follow the obvious path SSE – take a short detour over Skiddaw Little Man (NY267278) to bag your second Wainwright!
• Continue over Jenkin Hill and down the steep zig-zag path back to the Latrigg Car Park.

Snowdon: A journey

Having been surprised on my birthday in January with a fantastic GoPro Hero camera I’ve been avidly collecting lots of footage. Trial and error finally got me some great clips of a family day out up the Llanberis Path on Snowdon in February.

Some amateur editing and a fantastic soundtrack of Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave) has resulted in my first lengthy post to YouTube: http://youtu.be/nSxkeGatVuQ

Enjoy and please feedback any comments positive or negative!

Routes in the Northern Fells–Part 3 of many

In my first post I mentioned that I nearly completed a challenge to run all of the Northern Fells of the Lake District by the end of 2012. The relatively unimposing Meal Fell still eludes me. Here are some brief descriptions of the routes I followed with some helpful tips. For the most part they are around 10km with varying ascent apart from the Old Crown Round which I would highly recommend as a whistle stop tour of the Northern Fells.

Obviously I do not provide any guarantee for the accuracy or current safety of these routes. They are simply a record of my own endeavours and if you decide to adopt them you do so at your own risk.

Ullock Pike, Long Side & Carl Side

I foolishly picked a windy day for this run. The route is fantastic and the views even better but the wind has a habit of howling down both the Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite sides of the ridge. In my opinion this is one of the best short runs in the Northern Lakes.

The route is a straight up and back to Carl Side however it is possible to carry on around the ridge to pick up Skiddaw and end up back where you started. This adds considerable ascent and distance but is a worthwhile challenge if you’re feeling strong at the half way point.

Statistics

• Distance: 9km
• Ascent: 600m
• Summits: 3
• Difficulty: Medium-Hard
• Comments: Picking your way through the farm land in the first few hundred metres is annoying and the route below seems involved. However you are aiming for the visible ridge which appears to run S and the jagged summit of Ullock Pike.

Route

• From the A591 towards Keswick take the sharp left towards Peter House Farm at High Side (NY234305) and park in the first layby on the right (NY236310). 
• From the road take the track heading ENE.
• Take the first perpendicular right (NY237311).
• Follow the path as it turns sharply to the left due ENE (NY238308),
• The path is always gently ascending at this point and you can follow it round and through the gap in the wall due S (NY241307).
• Continue along the obvious path to Ling How (NY240299)
• Now the real ascent begins and you will climb nearly 300m over the next 1km.
• The OS map does not do this patch justice and what appears to be a gently curving patch around ‘The Edge’ is actually a rocky path which snakes its way up the ridge to Ullock Pike (NY245286).
• Even when Skiddaw is engulfed in cloud you get a fabulous view of Bassenthwaite Lake.
• Beyond Ullock Pike there is a brief reprieve in ascent until you start the relatively easy climb up to Long Side (NY248284).
• Cross the saddle to Carl Side Tarn (NY256282).
• A gentle push SW up to the final summit of Carl Side (NY254280).
• Retrace your steps back to the car taking care on the descent after Ullock Pike which seems even steeper on the way down!

More to come…

Techy Geek Corner

I am still trying to work out a decent way of getting OS Map extracts on here without having to pay large sums of money for Memory Map or the like. If anyone has any ideas, please tweet me @mcinsley83.