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Some 18 months ago, about halfway through my personal English Hewitt challenge I was stood atop Three Pikes over to the north of Cow Green Reservoir identifying the peaks to the south and west. It was at this point that I first realised that the distinctive summit in the far distance, Mickle Fell, and its close neighbour, Little Fell, were both inside the substantial Warcop MOD firing range, and therefore correctly subject to strict access conditions.
At that time there were still plenty of summits to keep me busy, but inevitably, as I moved into a stage where I could actually recite the twenty or so English tops which I had not yet visited, Mickle Fell started to loom large. I must admit that I was not keen to leave any of the North Pennines for my last journey as, perhaps predictably, I wanted to finish on Great End. So, it was planning time for Warcop!
As a preliminary I read several of the past walk reports, although many of these were quite old now. The best reference, though, was the direction by previous walkers to the MOD website for Warcop Range and the need to apply in good time for a permit. The access and safety details provided by the MOD indicates that there are various times when access is allowed. I won’t repeat it here as the timings may change and the website is the best source of information. I simply completed the form, applying for the northern route approach and specified a Sunday afternoon in October, receiving a reply and permit within 7 days which gave me the go-ahead.
On the day I struck lucky, the weather was cold, but the clouds were high and there was very little wind. This meant that I would be able to see my chosen route unfold as I progressed on what I expected to be a lot of pathless grass, heather and peat terrain. I had chosen to park on the edge of the fell in the large car park at the top end of Murton. I called the Guardhouse at Warcop from Appleby to confirm I would be accessing the range at 1pm as per the terms of my permit and expected to be clear by about 5 pm. As I started the ascent on the green track rising below Murton Pike, I could hear firing from the range so do take note to play this by the MOD book and don’t cross into the flagged area unofficially.
The path rises steadily, soon meeting the gravel 4x4 track, eventually taking a sharp right towards the 590m contour. At this point I followed the righthand all-terrain buggy tracks which headed across wet grass just to the left of the Warcop Range warning signs. I had the huge advantage of clear visibility so simply kept to a line which would bring take me up to the small tarn sitting between the two sections of high ground on the summit of Murton Fell. The faint track I was following went to the right of the tarn, so I struck off to the left to locate the small pile of stones which marked the official top. At this point, all the summits in the area were revealed in their isolated magnificence, including Great Dun Fell in the distant north, and Mickle Fell looking a long way to the east.
I departed the top heading eastwards down the fell, eventually managing to pick up a light track which led me down the gentle slopes, passing the range signs at 1.15 pm, soon meeting up with the path which follows Swarth Beck. There are a number of small wood and metal army installations above the beck, and an intermittent path on its southern side which navigates the edge of the beck, occasionally requiring ascent onto the slope next to the hides. This is relatively easy going along the river valley although the light tread disappears on occasions as it departs from the bank. The key point to aim for is the meeting of Swarth Beck with the more significant Maize Beck. This is quite an attractive spot with views up to my destination, Mickle Fell and also to Meldon Hill which is dominant to the north.
The next short section requires some careful attention as the route to be taken up Mickle Fell, heading south at right angles from the beck, must now be selected. There is a fence approximately at the point of the county boundary which will lead nicely up to Kings Pot, very close to the summit. I had spotted a faint track rising from Fisher Sike which appeared to be a good route to intersect higher up with the fence, so I followed the Sike briefly, then cut about 80 metres left across the heather, to pick up the faint track arrowing straight ahead. The fence soon came into view, and I joined it at around the 650m contour to follow it to Kings Pot. The last section of the climb is quite steep, and I noted that 95 minutes had now passed since I had left the top of Murton Fell and the going had been quite demanding.
There is a gate through the fence at Kings Pot with a wide track leading pleasantly over to the summit, which is apparently the smaller pile of stones rather than big cairn. Have a look to the east and you can see the top of another Hewitt, Binks Moss, about three miles away.
It had taken me 2 hours and 45 minutes to get here from the parking spot in Murton, and the obvious and permitted route back is to retrace your steps along the fence and exit the range by following the path down Scordale before crossing the elaborate footbridge at Swindale Brow to skirt the fell and exit the range just before arriving back at the car park. The final two miles of this route are on good paths, so progress is quick. This is an energy sapping five hour round trip, so allow plenty of time.
As for Little Fell, on a clear day the summit ridge looks relatively close to Mickle Fell’s west end at Kings Pot. Theoretically, there is a steady route visible on a track close to the 680m contour line which leads to the northern end of Little Fell’s ridge. The climb to the summit looks very straightforward from this watershed and avoids the deep groughs of Force Beck to the south. All of this can be seen on a clear day from Kings Pot. However, the Warcop permit only provides the walker with access to Mickle Fell.
Sitting on the fellside, just below Kings Pot, observing the terrain over to Little Fell, it did occur to me that the MOD could facilitate a circular walk continuing on from Mickle Fell to Little Fell before dropping off the top following Siss Gill to meet the path coming up Swindale Edge. Possibly some well placed posts might ensure hill baggers keep to a safe route. That is, however, easy to propose on a clear day and I rather suspect that the last thing the MOD would want is for walkers to lose a route in poor visibility and end up wandering in places they really shouldn’t be in.
There is an official annual walk up to Little Fell, usually in Spring, which is led by the people from the North Pennines National Landscape. I would recommend using the ‘contact us’ link on their website to enquire about this permissive guided walk.
I will leave the reader to guess which way I chose to finish the walk.
Finally, I would suggest that anyone considering tackling all of the high hills of England, whether they be Simms, Hewitts or Nuttalls, should research the tops around Warcop carefully. The terrain is remotely beautiful and very well maintained, but it is important to respect the strict requirements of the MOD to avoid the fairly obvious issues associated with an active firing range which operates up to six and a half days on most weeks of the year. Research your routes carefully and enjoy the splendid isolation.
