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HINDSCARTH (22) - DALE HEAD (23) - HIGH SPY (24) - MAIDEN MOOR (25) - CAT BELLS (26)
Scroll down to view the photographs after the report or click here We were staying at the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Keswick in our trailer tent for ten days over the August Bank Holiday period, which meant more opportunities for climbing more fells! Today, Bank Holiday Monday, I have decided to tackle a few fells in and around the Newlands Valley. It was in this valley, at "the back of the hill called Catbells", that Beatrix Potter set "The tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle (1905)". These fells will be my first from Wainwright's Book Six, "The North Western Fells", which I bought because Annette wanted to climb Catbells and Book Six just happens to contain details of the fell in question. That is my excuse for buying the book and I am sticking to it! An early start for me this morning. Up at 7.15am and, once sorted, headed off for the small car park at Chapel Bridge, which spans Newlands Beck close to Newlands Church. I called in at the small whitewashed church, which was deserted, for a closer look. It was rebuilt in 1843 and restored in 1885. Wordsworth also visited the earlier chapel in May 1826, so I was following in good company. From the church I followed the path directly opposite leading towards Low Snab farm. It was a gloriously hot day, in fact a little too hot bearing in mind the 2,000 foot of ascent ahead of me to reach the summit of Hindscarth! Once through/round the farm, the climb started. Up through the bracken and heading for the rocky ridge of Scope End, the crossing of which involved a little bit of scrambling. Quite enjoyable. From Scope End the path followed below High Crags and was easy going for about a mile winding in and out and up and down along a steep sided ridge. The final pull up to the summit was a bit of a slog, reaching a large shelter cairn first, before a short walk to the cairn at the summit of Hindscarth 2,385 feet (727 metres). The top of Hindscarth is a full half-mile in length and has quite a few rocks embedded into the ground. Good views down into Newlands Valley, of Keswick, the Skiddaw range and of Derwentwater. From Hindscarth I then followed the ridge leading over to Dale Head, which involved a walk of about 1¼ miles and a climb of around 330 feet according to AW. I must admit that the climb looked to be a lot more than 330 feet from where I was standing! As it turned out it wasn’t as bad as it looked and I managed to get a fair pace going, not that I am one for rushing my walks. I like to take in the scenery and have plenty of stops for photographs etc., not rush about with my head down! On the approach to Dale Head, having briefly left the main path, I managed to find a good vantage point offering beautiful views of Buttermere Lake, way down below. Back on track I made the final climb to the summit of Dale Head. This was the highest point of the day on my chosen walk at 2,470 feet (754 metres). The cairn is a rather splendid one, quite large and very well built. It is made up of flat stones and stands close to the edge looking down the full length of Newlands Valley. Absolutely fantastic views! Met a lone female walker who had come up from Honister Pass and who actually lived in Keswick. Lucky so and so. Also came a cross a male fell runner who looked rather knackered, which is to be expected I suppose! The weather was beginning to cool now and in fact at one point I felt a couple of raindrops on my face which, if nothing else, would cool me down. My next fell would be High Spy which I had a great view of from Dale Head. In fact I was easily able to trace out the rest of my walk over High Spy, Maiden Moor and Catbells. Again it was a relatively short walk to my next fell, 1½ miles and around 550 feet of ascent, but I now had to cross from one ridge to another via Dalehead Tarn. The path wasn’t very clear, well not to me anyway, and its possible I invented my own route down, but it was a very hard descent on my knees. I had been warned that the climb coming up from Dalehead Tarn to Dale Head was a bit of a hard slog which is why I came round the "wrong" way to try and avoid it, but it was still hard going. I could see the tarn down below and it was just a case of heading for the south side of it, as directed by AW. After what seemed like an age I had managed the descent and was now making my way towards Dalehead Tarn. It was very boggy in places and it was a job to pick my way across some decent ground. At the tarn there were two other couples who were sat having a meal break and fighting off a rather determined sheep that was obviously in greater need of their food than they were. It was quite comical to watch. I found a rock near to the waters edge and settled down for a bite to eat. The sheep looked at me but decided, for some reason, not to pester me. Good choice sheep! Dalehead Tarn was a very peaceful and quiet place well away from the hustle and bustle of modern day life. Quite a contrast and one that I enjoy on my solo walks, and is often referred to as "mountain silence". As much as I would have enjoyed staying longer it was time to make a move. High Spy was the start of the climb that took me onto a separate ridge. It didn’t look too bad a climb but in fact turned out to be a bit of a slog, but eventually I reached the summit cairn 2,143 feet (653 metres), which was another good-sized one and very well built. The views of the surrounding fells were again quite spectacular and Bassenthwaite Lake was also visible. On the western flank of High Spy were the very steep Eel Crags dropping down into Newlands Valley, apparently well known to the rock climbing fraternity. From here it was a fairly level and pleasant walk towards Maiden Moor, or it should have been! It was still a warm day, warm enough for short sleeves anyway, when all of a sudden I was caught in a hailstorm! It started off fairly light and at first and I thought it was just a spot of rain, but soon the hail stones got bigger and were coming down much harder and were actually beginning to hurt! It was amazing. One minute beautiful warm weather, then the next, hail stones. Waterproofs on, I made my way along the ridge arriving at High Spy North Top 2,080 feet (634 metres) close to Blea Crag. The views from here over Derwentwater were fantastic so it was worth the effort of getting to it. High Spy North Top isn’t a Wainwright but is well worth visiting because of the fantastic viewpoint. From here I made my way along the ridge heading for the summit of Maiden Moor. AW points out that the true summit could be anywhere within a 20-yard radius (15 to 20 metres). I found a small pile of rocks at a point close to the edge looking over into Newlands Valley, and decided this was as good a place as any for the summit 1,887 feet (575 metres). The weather had brightened again and was now sunny and warm, so off came the waterproofs while at the same time receiving some odd looks from walkers coming towards me, obviously unaware of the downpour that I had just come through. I now made my way along a decent path descending ever more steeply towards Hause Gate and Catbells, whose familiar shape was now in sight. The descent probably felt worse than it actually was because my knees were, by now, really playing-up. I actually stopped to take a couple of painkillers before continuing. It wasn’t long before I reached Hause Gate and it was now only a short stroll to my final fell of the day, Catbells. There was a little craggy bit to climb before the final clamber onto the rocky and uneven summit 1,481 feet (451 metres). This fell is a very popular and busy one and with good reason. At only 1,481 feet, the views are really worthy of a much higher fell. Its enough to almost make you feel guilty for being rewarded with such a fantastic view for a climb of relatively little effort! Bassenthwaite Lake is visible, and of course Derwentwater, which looked as beautiful as ever. I even managed to glimpse a rainbow spanning Keswick with the Skiddaw range as a fine backdrop. Fantastic! The fells of Hindscarth and Robinson were particularly prominent at the head of Newlands valley, and it was an easy task to visually retrace my route across the fell tops from this excellent vantage point. Heading back towards Hause Gate I was caught in the second hail storm of the day not long after leaving the sunny summit of Catbells! At Hause Gate I followed the path off to my right heading down between Yewthwaite Comb and Brunt Crag, and passing the old disused mine workings which are scattered around the fell side, as the rain and hail continued to fall. In fact, at one point I passed a mini waterfall off to my left but whether this would be here in drier conditions is another matter. Nice to see all the same. The descent at one point became rather steep and consisted of loose slate, probably the remains of all the mining activity that went on in this area. This soon gave way to an easier going path which eventually lead me to a road close to Little Town. From here it was a short stroll along the road to the small car park at Chapel Bridge, and the end of another fabulous walk in my beloved Lake District. It had been a long day; a full seven hours from start to finish, but a very enjoyable one even taking into account the freak hailstorms! Another five Wainwright’s bagged and already looking forward to the next batch.
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