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3 Wainwrights from the West - Gavel, Blake, Burnbank Fells

3 Wainwrights from the West - Gavel, Blake, Burnbank Fells


Postby gld73 » Sun Jun 13, 2021 9:41 pm

Wainwrights included on this walk: Blake Fell, Burnbank Fell, Gavel Fell

Date walked: 12/06/2021

Time taken: 3.6

Distance: 13.3 km

Ascent: 640m

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Started from Lamplugh as it was a shorter drive for me compared to driving round to Loweswater, plus I didn't fancy my chances of getting parking anywhere popular in the Lake District given it was a weekend and the forecast was good. The forecast was so good I would have fancied doing a longer walk, but I'd picked these 3 as a handy half-day walk to do before meeting up with an old schoolfriend in the afternoon who lived nearby.

The route I ended up doing was :

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts


So got parked easily, opposite the church where there's room for a handful of cars, and went over the stile on the right of way through a field. Thought I'd be able to go straight up the hill facing the village (Owsen Fell). Alas, no ... I've got used to life in Scotland with the freedom to roam, but being back in England reminded me that I can't just see a nice hill and walk up it if the landowner refuses and there's no right of way. Signage made clear that was the case here, so I stayed on the path hoping it would take me round to Cogra Moss reservoir instead. Unfortunately not, and I ended up back on the minor road I'd driven in to Lamplugh on, so had to go along the road past the caravan park instead and head up to Felldyke, where there was a walkers car park. 45 minutes of walking and I was probably just where I should have started from in the first place!
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Parking area opposite the church

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Just a few metres from the parking layby is the stile I took. Owsen Fell is the inviting one on the left (Burnbank Fell adjoins it, hidden out of sight behind it) and Blake Fell the highest peak, on the right.

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At the next gate, there are 3 different signs making clear you are not to go up the hill here! So I followed the right of way to the right ...

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Typican Cumbrian scenes along the path (i.e. sheep) .... Murton Fell is the hill ahead

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Lamplugh Felldyke car park. Head up the track from here for the easy route to Cogra Moss!

Things got a lot more straightforward after that. From the Lamplugh Felldyke car park, it's an easy walk along a signed track up to Cogra Moss, passing by the foot of Murton Fell / Knock Murton (not a Wainwright but a nice looking hill). At the far end of the reservoir I left the main path and took a path branching off on the right up the hill which eventually reached a forestry track - went across this (just to the right) and over a gate into open grassland, then headed up left alongside the fence to Low Pen, onwards to High Pen , then down a bit to reach the worn path which runs between Gavel Fell and Blake Fell (people doing the walk from the east, the Loweswater / Maggies Bridge side, arrive at this point too) .
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Cogra Moss reservoir and Blake Fell

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From Low Pen, looking back west to Knock Murton and Cogra Moss

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Western end of Ennerdale water also visible from here

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Blake Fell from High Pen

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Gavel Fell from High Pen

I headed right first to do the there and back to Gavel Fell, then returned to the same spot and headed the other way up Blake Fell, the more impressive of today's 3 Wainwrights with it's steep cliffs and scree slopes going down to the west.
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Gavel Fell summit - looking SW to the north Ennerdale ridge (Starling Dodd?)

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Gavel Fell summit - looking west to the coast

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Blake Fell summit - view east (Grasmoor)

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Blake Fell summit - view west (Murton Fell on left)

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Looking SW, that must be Buttermere and Fleetwith Pike

Certainly from this side, Burnbank Fell looks fairly non-descript and is a surprise to rank as a Wainwright ...but it's little extra effort to tag that on to the walk, though Carling Knott off to the right looks more interesting. From there, continuing west to descend over Owsen Fell would have been nice, but as that would be going down the fell of "No access to open fell" signage, I made do with heading south west down Burnbank Fell's slopes, crossing the fence at the bottom by a gate, and joining the track taking me back to the initial right of way and the parking spot by the church (turns out this track wasn't a right of way, but there were no "No entry" signs coming from the fell!).
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Nice easy walk down to Burnbank Fell, though not one to set the heart racing..!

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Burnbank Fell summit looking back up to Blake Fell. (Just as well someone has put a cairn on it, it'd be easy to miss you were even at a summit otherwise)

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This is on the very edge of the Lake District - all gets flatter north west from here

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Looking back where I came down off the fell - got over the fence where the wooden slats are, up on the left, then through this gate and followed the track back to Lamplugh

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Church at Lamplugh in sight again, track I'm on meeting up with the proper Right of Way
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gld73
 
Posts: 899
Munros:178   Corbetts:76
Fionas:69   Donalds:12
Sub 2000:94   Hewitts:60
Wainwrights:107   Islands:13
Joined: Aug 11, 2015
Location: Inverness

Re: 3 Wainwrights from the West - Gavel, Blake, Burnbank Fel

Postby Pointless Parasite » Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:44 pm

I had exactly the same problems with rights of way when I last climbed Blake fell. It would be great it there was a direct route up Burnbank from Lamplugh, but sadly it's not possible. I think Wainrwright didn't add Knock Murton as a chapter because it was off limits at the time. Shame, because it's a nice little fell.
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Pointless Parasite
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 492
Munros:83   Corbetts:6
Fionas:5   Donalds:19+2
Sub 2000:8   Hewitts:130
Wainwrights:214   Islands:2
Joined: Apr 9, 2017
Location: Lyon

Re: 3 Wainwrights from the West - Gavel, Blake, Burnbank Fel

Postby gld73 » Thu Jun 17, 2021 12:23 pm

Yes, it did surprise me that he didn't cover Knock Murton, it's a nice wee hill.

As an aside, I've just read your report on routes up Lank Rigg - I'll make use of that next time I'm back in West Cumbria. I've done a lot of western fells (I'm from Whitehaven originally) but never got round to doing Lank Rigg yet ... maybe I just needed someone to give some suggested routes :lol:
User avatar
gld73
 
Posts: 899
Munros:178   Corbetts:76
Fionas:69   Donalds:12
Sub 2000:94   Hewitts:60
Wainwrights:107   Islands:13
Joined: Aug 11, 2015
Location: Inverness

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