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Weather forecast was generally poor for this weekend but I spied a glimmer of hope that the fells in the far north may be OK hiding in the shelter of the mighty Skiddaw. An early drive over saw me arriving during a grey but dry dawn with the number of fell tops out being most promising. I parked at the small area near to Over Water and set off with Hughie in the direction of the fells.
Over Water and the other Latrigg by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Plenty tops out, an encouraging start! by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Following a wander along the quiet road we set off up through the fields in the direction of Orthwaite bank, fortunately the field I picked had a gate at the back and it felt good, in a slightly masochistic way, to make my way up the fairly steep bank to the first top of the day with my legs and lungs complaining as they always do following a break from fell walking.
Orthwaite Bank offers a nice view of Skiddaw's dark recesses which are unsuspected from the more normal view from the South with Whitewater Dash standing out clearly against the dark fellside . Quickly moving on we then made a beeline for the first Cockup of the day (the little one) before following the steady gradient up to the Greater one. The weather has so far been unfeasibly good with some sunshine breaking over the higher fells to the south allowing me to make the most of the views unfamiliar with those who only visit Lakeland's Honey pots.
Sun Breaking over Skiddaw from Orthwaite Bank by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Bassenthwaite from Little Cockup by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Across to Longlands Fell by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Western top of Great Cockup by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Skiddaw from Great Cockup by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Great Cockup Summit by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
We descended down to the brilliantly named Trusmadoor and decided to have breakfast sat on a crag next to the beck. This is a fine spot, very secluded and peacefully and following the welcome refueling it was back up towards Meal Fell. I really like Meal Fell, it sits largely surrounded by higher fells but has the feel of a little fort especially when in the summit shelter.
Frozen Fell Gill by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Trusmadoor by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Burntod Gill by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Bit of sunshine on the way up Meal Fell by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Looking back to Trunmadoor by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
On the way to Meal Fell summit by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
View from Summit Shelter on Meal Fell by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Hughie by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Meal Fell left behind it was a steady pull up to the high point of the day, Great Sca Fell. This is a dreary uninspiring top no matter what the weather so we moved on quickly past Little Sca Fell (a far better top in truth) and onto the grassy highway to Brae Fell. It was now I saw the first other walker of the day conturing across the top of Charleton Gill with what looked like a massive pack. Turns out once I reached the summit cairn the massive pack contained a small child who was happily munching crisps sat on the summit cairn while his mum took a rest.
Looking back to Meal Fell by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Frozen Fell Gill by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
View to the North by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
The Dreary Summit of Great Sca Fell by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Little Sca Fell's sunken shelter by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Weather massing over Skiddaw by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Brae Fell Cairn by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
The weather was slowly greying over with the blue skies increasingly moving north, certainly Skiddaw's gallant efforts at holding the clouds back seemed now to be a lost cause as I made my way to the last few tops of the day. Arriving at Longlands Fell I decided to just eat my rations in the car and took a direct route down the fellside, a short road walk later I was in the car watching a few drops of rain on the windshield.
Ridges by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Simple by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Longlands Fell Summit by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Hughie on the last top of the Day by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
The Loner by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Autumnal colours in the Lales by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Larches by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
Chappelhouse Reservoir by
Anthony Young, on Flickr
I was planning to perhaps tack on another little'un, perhaps Great Mel Fell so I drove to the A591 and down to the A66. The scene the other side of the Skiddaw massiff was grim and whereas I could have trudged up another brown/green lump in the rain I decided such a ruthless tick wasn't worth it and drove home. Still great to be back on the fells and also to get such a fine weather window.