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Troutbeck Tongue sounds like an unappetising specialite du pays or a disease of sheep. Happily it is an entertaining, rocky little hill in the unfrequented amphitheatre of rough ground at the head of the Troutbeck valley.
We parked down the road from the Queen's Head in Troutbeck
and headed up the valley towards the Tongue. We stopped at Ings Bridge for a chilly lunch, the trees showing no sign of spring.
We carried on past Troutbeck Hall Farm and were seen off the premises by some noisily indignant but harmless farm dogs. The map offers no clue to the route here but just before the farm track and the cut off footpath meet, a quad bike track heads off up through the fields. It leads steeply upwards to a gate in the wall and a rocky outcrop with mossy trees underneath.
The path winds on up a knobbly rocky ridge, over a stile in the fence and a fine pastoral view down the Troutbeck valley to Windermere emerges.
As we approached the top, the scenery became more rugged and from the summit some dramatic light and shade brought out the ruggedness of the landscape. All it needed was a stag in the foreground.
Then we headed down the narrow path along the long side of the ridge;
Near the end of the ridge, another quad bike track looped back down to Hagg Beck and we headed back down the valley.
Enjoyed this one far more than I expected to.
