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Sub 2k Marilyns: Hard Knott.
Date: 13/09/2021.
Distance: 2.5km.
Ascent: 180m.
Time: 30 minutes.
Weather: Grey and breezy.
Part of a 45 mile cycle.
We realised this year that Jackie wasn't going to be able to do as much in our Lakes week as 2020, so I had a couple of other plans up my sleeve. A somewhat grey and claggy day out of peak holiday season seemed to be the best bet I would have to cycle over the Hardknott pass, so I came up with a route that would take it in for this afternoon. It also included the Wrynose Pass (which I had mostly managed to cycle over in about 1996) and the Corney Fell road which is sometimes used a as a shortcut into West Cumbria...not to mention a couple of other steep hills that were less obvious when looking at the route. For good measure I decided to nip up Hard Knott itself, giving me an excuse to write up the day here!
Cycling map The first non-obvious hill was up to Blea Tarn from Langdale - in fact it was perfectly obvious as Jackie and I had cycled up it the previous day on a short circuit of the Langdales. It is a real bugger but over fast, so a nice little precursor/reminder of the struggles to come...
Blea Tarn After a quick descent, the Wrynose Pass follows very promptly. There was a bugger of a steep bit lower down, followed by the going getting gradually steeper and steeper after the Wrynose Bridge. I think in my previous effort 25 years earlier I was off and pushing by this point. Not today though! Passing vehicles was surprisingly easy - although the road is narrow, there are plentiful passing places and everyone is driving so slowly anyway that planning passing points is easy. I was pleased as the amount of traffic is one of the reasons I had been unsure if this would be a good idea.
East down Wrynose Harter Fell and Hardknott Pass from Wrynose Then it was straight down the far side - steep enough to destroy my brakes for a few minutes, then much more enjoyable. All too soon I was at the foot of the main challenge of the day - the Hardknott.
Starting up the Hardknott Pass The worst bit of the Hardknott on this side is the first short up - this is probably what gives the headline gradient of 30% on the signposts. I thought I'd have to get off and push, but a couple of zigzags got me through it, fortunately when no-one was driving in either direction. After that it was still brutal but my legs were more accepting of this sort of thing by now (being the 3rd steep road of the day) and I was up quicker than expected. All this in a little over an hour - the distances are miniscule around here but you are barely ever on a nice flat bit of road, or even a pleasant gentle slope. Again I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of problems I had with cars - it was easy to spot whether I could make it to the next passing place or not and wait accordingly. I only had to make a couple of stops to let people past (which were gladly taken I should add).
Raven Crag Now was the time to decide whether to include Hard Knott itself. As it was so soon in the day I still felt fresh so I started up it without hesitation, leaving my bike in some bracken. I had intended to do this with Jackie last year after we had been up Harter Fell but she ran out of energy. Fortunately it isn't much of a climb and there is an obvious path weaving between outcrops.
Harter Fell and Black Coombe from the summit of Hard Knott (the hill) The wilds of the top of Eskdale Not a great day for views but it was nice to look into upper Eskdale even if I couldn't see much - this feels like the wildest part of the Lakes to me.
Duddon Valley Then it was back to the bike for the descent of the western side of Hardknott. This was brutal most of the way down and my brakes screeched for 10 minutes solid
. One day I might try cycling up this way but only when I feel the need to punish myself for something!
West down Eskdale from the top of the Hardknott Pass A nice flat 10 miles or so followed in the quiet western valleys of the Lakes. I've only been over this way once before and that was years ago. I really could have done with more of this in the ride.
Western terminus of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway After popping out on the A595 for a short spell, it was time for the Corney Fell climb. This would actually be the biggest single ascent of the day (from sea level up to over 400m) but the road was much wider and less steep. I'd heard of this referred to as the West Cumbria bypass before as you can cut out a big loop of the A595, and here I was hitting it at home time. There was definitely more traffic than the Lakeland passes but the width and forward visibility meant that it wasn't a problem. Lots of people heading home after working at Sellafield (visible in the distance) I think.
Sellafield in the distance Final climb up Corney Fell I felt a few spots of rain at the summit of the pass and the views were hinted at rather than spectacular, but the descent down the Duddon Bridge side was welcome - mostly fast as I didn't have to jam my brakes on the entire way.
Looking back down the Corney Fell road to the west coast of Cumbria Duddon Valley from the descent to Duddon Bridge After a short flat section on the A595 again, even this main road went up a bugger of a hill to reach Broughton-in-Furness. The direct way to Coniston from here was on the hilly A593 but I naively turned off it to take an even hillier back road onto Broughton Moor. This was a real sting in the tail but it was also really nice.
Dunnerdale Fells and Caw from the back road to Torver Fortunately the road onward from Torver was much more even, and as it began to get dark I rolled into Coniston. I was only 5 or 6 miles from home here but was lured by the chance of a quick pint before the final hill.
Well earned pint at the Crown Inn, Coniston The hill past Yew Tree Tarn was actually rather tame after all that had come before it and being after 7pm the traffic was light. I was destroyed when I finally rolled back into Langdale, but also pleased that I had managed the route. As it turned out, traffic was the least of my concerns - it hadn't been a problem anywhere. Energy and the state of my brakes were probably more of an issue!