I was working in Carlisle until 1pm on Friday and as there was a good forecast for the day I had the chance to make some more inroads into the North Pennines. As it happened I ended up doing far more than I imagined and ticking off my five remaining “back of Cross Fell” Hewitts as well as four additional Nuttall summits.
It was just after 2pm when I left Garrigill and to make at least one of the hills easy I decided to use the road to gain height up Flinty Fell before I branched off through the trees to the summit area.
- Heading up the road towards Flinty Fell
- Branching off through the trees
- Cairn on Flinty Fell (although there is obvious higher ground nearby)
From Flinty I took a pretty direct route towards Perry’s Dam and up to Dead Stones – where I could see the summit cairn on the horizon. As last week the ground was pretty dry although totally pathless and rough but soon enough I had reached the huge summit cairn and impressive looking nearby shelter.
- Cairn on Dead Stones
The walk over to Burnhope Seat from here was one of the roughest sections of the walk with several peat hags to negotiate. Thankfully these were drier than perhaps usual but I still had to cross over the fence to use some very useful wooden pallets to cross the worst bits of bog.
As I gained height the ground improved again and I diverted off towards the right to find the highest point and then the small cairn and finally heading back towards the ridgeline to the Trig Point. We are talking a matter of 1metre difference here so I think it’s safe to say anybody who has reached the Trig (factoring in their own height) has reached the summit!
More hags and wet stuff followed as I headed over to the Nuttall of Harwood Common which thankfully wasn’t too far away. From here there was a rough descent to the B6277 near Crookburn Bridge.
- Peat Hag Section between Dead Stones and Burnhope Seat
- Very helpful!
- This Cairn is near the highest point on Burnhope Seat
- Trig Point on Burnhope Seat
- Harwood Common (Redgleam) Summit Cairn
Easier walking followed as I took the lovely green bridleway towards Cow Green reservoir before heading to the left up pathless rough slopes to locate the highest point on Viewing Hill.
- Bridleway to Cow Green Reservoir (Viewing Hill to the left)
- Cairn on Viewing Hill
Bellbeaver Rigg looked a long way from here but was actually attained quicker than I thought it would be after crossing the Crook Burn and taking a pretty direct, pathless route towards the summit. Once again there was a large area of hags to negotiate on the plateau (thank goodness for a dry period) before I reached the twin summit cairns.
- Bellbeaver Rigg ahead
- More peat hags!
- First cairn on Bellbeaver Rigg looking to Burnhope Seat and Harwood Common
- Second and higher cairn on Bellbeaver Rigg looking to Round Hill
Heading down from Bellbeaver I reached the good South Tyne Trail and it was decision time. An easy 4 mile walk back to Garrigill or a commitment of more rough land to take on Round Hill and maybe more? There was still plenty of daylight left, the skies were still bright and my legs still had a bit more in them so it was up by the Calvert Burn (initially on a mine track and then by the fence line) till I reached the cairn on Round Hill.
- Heading up Round Hill
- Round Hill summit with Great and Little Dunn Fell and Cross Fell in view
From Round Hill there was more rough walking and a steep descent to Cross Gill but surprisingly I could see a good track ahead. This didn’t look like it was going right to the top of Long Man Hill but seemed to be going close enough and after miles of pathless walking it was a God send and it helped me quickly gain the Nuttall.
- Long Man Hill ahead with the good track clearly in view
- Long Man Hill
After descending to the Pennine Way the final hill of the day – Bullman Hills - looked miles away and totally insignificant in its surroundings and I must admit it was an effort to motivate myself to head over there. In the end the thought of coming back to do it alone seemed stupid so it was once again into the rough.
This involved a rough descent to Cash Burn and a pathless heather bash to the first summit (and highest) of the Bullman Hills. Unfortunately (and ridiculously) this isn’t the Nuttall top so another short descent and ascent was needed to gain this proving yet again in my mind that the Hewitt classification is far superior to the Nuttall one....but when in Rome.
- Bullman Hills ahead. The smaller one to the left is the Nuttall. This would be the last picture of the day as my camera decided to give up the ghost at this point!
I was tired now and the re-ascent back to the Pennine Way was hard but I knew when I got there that I had an easy enough three miles or so back to Garrigill and so it proved. I was glad to make the car after what had been a long afternoon in the heat over much rough and pathless terrain.
A long walk but very rewarding and one for people who like their hills quiet - I never saw a soul for 20+ miles!
