Long Side, Skiddaw, Little Man and Lonscale

[Rodhumphreys]

I had spent the evening after the Blencathra round in the motorhome at Troutbeck Bridge and decided to park for free on the minor road just north of Braithwaite. A better starting point from a car may well be at Millbeck or Applethwaite although the options are quite limited.

The first section from Braithwaite was a series of field paths past the sewage works and the appropriately named Bog House crossing the 2 miles of farmland to Dancing Gate. The views of the approach to the hills are superb, but it’s a bit of a frustrating start as these paths are not often used and are quite overgrown in sections, although the stiles and footbridges are all in good condition. I used the minor road from Dancing Gate towards Millbeck and launched up Carlside from the centre of the village.

This is a hill with a serious gradient which is quite demanding after a previous evening climbing Blencathra. Throughout the ascent, you are rewarded with towering views of Little Man to the right, but it is only in the very last stages that the summit of Carlside comes into view and the first Hewitt summit, Longside, can be seen. Following this long and demanding approach, the actual ridge at c700metres is an absolute pleasure with the views quickly opening out to the south and west. Longside is just a 20 minute out-and-back from Carlside with the final steep approach to the top of Skiddaw clearly visible. This was the second sharp gradient of the morning but, having never used this route to the top before, it was a good alternative to the usual climb up from Keswick.

One of the benefits of choosing a round of hill summits such as the Hewitts is that your eye is drawn towards the hills already completed and those which are still to come. It adds an interesting perspective to these expansive Lakeland views. Obviously, the panorama of high summits to the south is the main focus of attention, but hills to the north and west, including Great Calva, Knott and High Pike, which I might never have considered attempting in the past, created a new focus as I attempted to trace the route up and down for a future round from Mosedale via Carrock Fell.

Back to today’s focus on the Skiddaw Hills, the route down would first follow the diversion to take in Little Man before crossing the main path following the fence over Jenkin Hill and on to my final summit of the morning at Lonscale Fell. The paths along the fence are quite clear but less used and Lonscale is a good spot to stay for a short while to enjoy the views across to the Helvellyn ridge.

I completed the walk by retracing my steps for a short distance before following the fence down to the south on a good path which soon joins the main routs up from Keswick to Skiddaw. If I had come up in the car and parked it at Millbeck or Applethwaite I could have tacked across on the minor roads to complete the round on foot but I chose instead to drop down in to Keswick for a coffee before catching the bus back to Braithwaite where I had parked the motorhome.