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As with my last outing from Hartsop there was a sense of pushing my then fitness levels with this walk. Neither fell is particularly hard to climb, well they shouldn't be but more of that later
, it's more the distance between them. Still with the Cumbria Way being decent under foot those miles wouldn't prove too objectionable. As the last two Northern fells on round two it seemed silly to not do them both together, so decision made.
It was a bit blowy, but all in all a beautiful morning, when I set off along the Cumbria Way from Gale Road car park. To attempt to alleviate the steepness of the climb up Lonscale Fell I elected to take a diagonal line along a vague path to cut off the corner. This worked fairly well as I reached the steep pull up the flank of the hill a fair way up.
Setting off
The wretched path up Skiddaw
Derwent Water and England's highest groundOnce on the main route I steadily plodded upwards with plenty of photo stops, hard to resist the fabulous views behind me
, and on eventually to the Birkett top of Lonscale Pike. Not all Birketts are worth the bother but this is probably amongst the best, vastly superior to the main top with a view of great depth across the heart of the Northern fells. I had a few rations in the sunshine enjoying the view but not necessarily just how far away Great Clava was from my current location. I could have happily sat for longer but with places to be I visited the main top, took in the view of Derwent Water from the far cairn and headed for the Burnt Horse Ridge.
Sun and Shade
A couple of locals
Towards Helvellyn
Fence Post
Helvellyn from close to the top
Great Calva from high on Lonscale Pike
Mungrisedale Common and the back'o Blencathra
Lonscale Pike Summit
Lonscale Fell Summit
Derwent Water from Lonscale FellThe way down to the macabrely named ridge is somewhat steep but once there a very nice little route. The name is most likely a corruption of burnt hause, something to do with mass heather burning which used to occur in these parts rather than an equine tragedy. All too soon the Cumbria Way is reached and on I marched past Skiddaw house and towards Great Calva.
Towards Great Calva from Lonscale Fell
The Skiddaw Massiff
Follow the fence
Steeply down to Burnt Horse
Lumps and bumps on Burnt Horse
Along the Burnt Horse ridge
Lonscale Pike
Gateway
Skiddaw House
An infant River Caldew
Dead CragsThings had gone smoothly up till this point and I made my way to where I thought the path up through the thick heather started. In a moment of idiocy I somehow missed the obvious trod (can be seen in the photo below) and wandered off looking for what I had already found. A great deal of knee deep heather bashing and much cursing later I re-gained the path for what was now the simple climb it should have been. I had planned to traverse the summit and descend the East ridge before looping back around to the Cumbria Way but decided following a nice long rest on the sun drenched summit, filling my face, I'd just return down the path to find just where it came out. I was unimpressed to say the least when I come out at the exact point I'd left the Cumbria Way in the first place. Doh!
Cairn on Great Calva
...and again
The start of the path up Great Calva that I somehow missed All that remained was to follow Cumbria's long distance trail back to the car. This was a most pleasant route with a touch of drama as it passes high above the Glenderterra Beck on the steep slopes of Lonscale Fell. In fact if the march to Great Clava was removed this would make a very fine, perfectly formed short hill walk if time was an issue.
Sheepfold and Lonscale Pike
High above Glenderterra Beck on the Cumbria Way
Looking back along the Valley
Nearly back to the car
Whit BeckSo a second round of the Northern fells completed with just six left to complete round two. Nearly there.
