Central Fells, frozen bogs and Raven Crag was shut!
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:04 amSo here was the plan! . The thinking going something like, 'its frozen ground, weather could be worse, definitely not doing this walk later in the year, five Wainwrights', no objections from mates'. Left Bury about 7.15am with Jeremy, no Mick (bad knee!) and into Blackburn to pick up Jim and Lassie (dog not wife!). Arrived Armboth Car park (United Utilities maintained) about 9.15 only to find it was shut! Health and Safety rules ok! it was a bit icy. So parked at the gates and kitted up. Armboth Fell was the first objective. The venerable AW describes this hill thus, 'the flat desolate top is little better than a quagmire, a tangle of swamp and heather and mosses, as is much of the surrounding territory. It can be said of very few fells that they are really not worth climbing; Armboth Fell is one of the few.(Central Fells 1958). but as we set off I thought 'it can't be that bad'!
.It was!
It quickly became apparent that the path upward was in fact a frozen stream and it became increasingly difficult to walk up it with any speed as the ice required some dainty footwork to avoid the embarrassing fall. Halfway up the view backwards revealed an inversion and gave just a faint hope that the weather would be kind.
. It didn't happen and as I struggled up even with the poles (Yes that's me!) my camera went skittering down the ice and one of the batteries flew over the deer fence and into the forest! Its still there, a Varta AA. As the forest finished we continued up the Watenlath path for a bit then did a left towards Armboth Fell it was as AW described in 1958
except the quagmire was frozen.
The going was better than expected mainly due to the frozen ground, a theme that would repeated many times on this walk.
and we got there in the end, the summit cairn being of such stature it can only have been a reflection of the few who disregarded the advice and went there!
. HIgh Tove was next AW says 'It is hard to imagine anyone that anybody feels any affection at all for HighTove apart perhaps for the sheep the sheep'(Central Fells 1958). Fifty-four years later nothing much has changed.
. We met a couple on top who had come up from Watenlath and chatted, then followed to fence to High Seat the highpoint of the day.
The path was wet but mainly frozen; had it not been so, then wellies would have been more appropriate footwear. However we reached the top and found three others who'd come up from Bleaberry Fell having lunch. We stopped too, fed our faces, met the couple from High Tove again and chatted away. We were discussing the merits of a Garmin E-trex when another walker appeared at the summit cairn. I noticed he had a really fancy bit of Garmin kit and as I was telling of the customer service experience I'd had (broken glass front replaced for £30!) He joined in the conversation. He explained that he relied totally on Garmin stuff as he had had an accident and suffered brain damage, he was registered blind and had been told when he was discharged from hospital it wasn't safe for him to walk on the street. He promptly demonstrated this by having a mild epileptic episode where he appeared to pass out for about a minute whilst standing upright, supported by Jim and the guy from the couple. As he recovered he thanked Jim and the guy saying he usually contrived to fall backwards onto his rucksack, keeping himself safe. He then regaled us with a tale of escorting a group of people off Helvellyn in poor weather, and their comments when he pulled his white stick from his pack and continued into Glenridding. The blind leading the blind literally! When we expressed our admiration and dismay he just shrugged and said 'don't worry this is normal for me!' This is him, if you meet him on the hill give him our best!
Whether it was the meeting or something I'd put in the coffee I'm not sure, but as you can see from the map we went seriously off course for a bit and tramped through many a frozen bog before reaching Bleaberry Fell. It has amazing views allegedly, but not today for us.
We took a bearing for the point nearest to Raven Crag only to discover we had seriously underestimated the height of Iron Crag
so we contoured round till we reached the point where the forest track met the fence then followed it round to the path for Raven Crag, our last Wainwright of the day. Horrors! it was shut!
.
Yes, we did take off our packs and see if we could find a way through, but there were a lot of fallen trees, it must have been one hell of a windy day! It'll keep till next time and we wandered down the path to the road and back to the car. A welcome pint in the Travellers Rest, Grasmere by the roaring fire, a sample of their sticky toffee pudding sponge ( freshly baked and free!) and then the drive home.
AW was right and still is, the hills are dire, you'd need a wetsuit if it had been raining for more than a week, but now they're done and duly ticked.
.
- Lassie leads the way
It quickly became apparent that the path upward was in fact a frozen stream and it became increasingly difficult to walk up it with any speed as the ice required some dainty footwork to avoid the embarrassing fall. Halfway up the view backwards revealed an inversion and gave just a faint hope that the weather would be kind.
- Inversion
- Towards Armboth Fell
The going was better than expected mainly due to the frozen ground, a theme that would repeated many times on this walk.
- On the way
- The summit!
- That's it in the distance
- Me and Jim on Top
- Following the fence 1
- Following the fence 2, the summit in sight
The path was wet but mainly frozen; had it not been so, then wellies would have been more appropriate footwear. However we reached the top and found three others who'd come up from Bleaberry Fell having lunch. We stopped too, fed our faces, met the couple from High Tove again and chatted away. We were discussing the merits of a Garmin E-trex when another walker appeared at the summit cairn. I noticed he had a really fancy bit of Garmin kit and as I was telling of the customer service experience I'd had (broken glass front replaced for £30!) He joined in the conversation. He explained that he relied totally on Garmin stuff as he had had an accident and suffered brain damage, he was registered blind and had been told when he was discharged from hospital it wasn't safe for him to walk on the street. He promptly demonstrated this by having a mild epileptic episode where he appeared to pass out for about a minute whilst standing upright, supported by Jim and the guy from the couple. As he recovered he thanked Jim and the guy saying he usually contrived to fall backwards onto his rucksack, keeping himself safe. He then regaled us with a tale of escorting a group of people off Helvellyn in poor weather, and their comments when he pulled his white stick from his pack and continued into Glenridding. The blind leading the blind literally! When we expressed our admiration and dismay he just shrugged and said 'don't worry this is normal for me!' This is him, if you meet him on the hill give him our best!
- An amazing guy!
Whether it was the meeting or something I'd put in the coffee I'm not sure, but as you can see from the map we went seriously off course for a bit and tramped through many a frozen bog before reaching Bleaberry Fell. It has amazing views allegedly, but not today for us.
- Bleaberry Fell
We took a bearing for the point nearest to Raven Crag only to discover we had seriously underestimated the height of Iron Crag
- That's it in the distance
- Shut!
- This is why.
Yes, we did take off our packs and see if we could find a way through, but there were a lot of fallen trees, it must have been one hell of a windy day! It'll keep till next time and we wandered down the path to the road and back to the car. A welcome pint in the Travellers Rest, Grasmere by the roaring fire, a sample of their sticky toffee pudding sponge ( freshly baked and free!) and then the drive home.
AW was right and still is, the hills are dire, you'd need a wetsuit if it had been raining for more than a week, but now they're done and duly ticked.
- Manchester's drinking water!
May well leave it till it's frozen like yourselves.
If AW says its dire you should believe him - this is a man who loved the hills even in the pouring rain 
maybe these should be saved until they are under a few feet of snow 
Did it last September in a dry spell