Mickle Fell
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 1:28 am
Little Fell and Mickle Fell are within the Warcop Tank ranges so it is with good reason that the this route is treated with a little caution, apparantly strange metal objects litter the ground, although I saw none. The weekend choosen was advertised by the MOD as non firing access days so I took the oppertunity of writting to the range office to request a permit for Mickle Fell and hopefully some advice for Little Fell. In the event I recieved no reply! Well the three tops were the last to complete my round of The Nuttall's, and having booked the weekend I went anyway.
The route follows a right of way from Hilton, along Hilton Beck on a track and then on a path following Swindale Beck. At Siss Gill the bridalway is left and the line follows the gill over easy slopes to Little Fell. At about 600m the snow cover was complete and any spent ordnance was covered by a deep even layer that bore my weight (for the most part). On a day when not one cloud dared to intrude on the clear blue sky I was to regret not having sunglasses, but the best line was as clear as it could be and the ground sculpted by the low but strong sun. After locating the highest point on Little Fell the broad col was crossed to Mickle Fell. In any other conditiontions I'm sure this col would leave one fairly well spattered with peat, but in the event was the most pleasant stroll. With most impressive views I walked the broad ridge of Mickle Fell and picked an easy line stepping overthe fence and following Fisher Sike, Swarth Beck and Master Sike to the top of Murton Fell just outside the limit of the danger area. From the summit SE and then NW brought me to the head of Scordale Beck and this is followed through an impressive and steep sided valley to rejoin Hilton Beck and the track back to Hilton. Scordale beck has a bridalway which is waymarked with posts at frequent intervals, redundant in the main as the valley bottom is the clear line, at one point however the path splits and the waymarks indicate 'permissive bridalway' to the right and 'bridalway' to the left, the left fork brought me to the head of a waterfall and an easy scramble to rejoin the other path; it would have been some leap for my horse!
This was among my most memorable days in the hills; its is rare to enjoy such weather and ground conditions, navigation in cloud would have been quite challenging I'm sure, and I think I am grateful to the Range Office for the lack of a reply, they would certainly have prohibited access to Little Fell.
The route follows a right of way from Hilton, along Hilton Beck on a track and then on a path following Swindale Beck. At Siss Gill the bridalway is left and the line follows the gill over easy slopes to Little Fell. At about 600m the snow cover was complete and any spent ordnance was covered by a deep even layer that bore my weight (for the most part). On a day when not one cloud dared to intrude on the clear blue sky I was to regret not having sunglasses, but the best line was as clear as it could be and the ground sculpted by the low but strong sun. After locating the highest point on Little Fell the broad col was crossed to Mickle Fell. In any other conditiontions I'm sure this col would leave one fairly well spattered with peat, but in the event was the most pleasant stroll. With most impressive views I walked the broad ridge of Mickle Fell and picked an easy line stepping overthe fence and following Fisher Sike, Swarth Beck and Master Sike to the top of Murton Fell just outside the limit of the danger area. From the summit SE and then NW brought me to the head of Scordale Beck and this is followed through an impressive and steep sided valley to rejoin Hilton Beck and the track back to Hilton. Scordale beck has a bridalway which is waymarked with posts at frequent intervals, redundant in the main as the valley bottom is the clear line, at one point however the path splits and the waymarks indicate 'permissive bridalway' to the right and 'bridalway' to the left, the left fork brought me to the head of a waterfall and an easy scramble to rejoin the other path; it would have been some leap for my horse!
This was among my most memorable days in the hills; its is rare to enjoy such weather and ground conditions, navigation in cloud would have been quite challenging I'm sure, and I think I am grateful to the Range Office for the lack of a reply, they would certainly have prohibited access to Little Fell.