Walk

Walk : Great Calva (2,265 feet)

Date : 19th April 2019

Weather : Dry, sunny and warm @ 20°C light breeze

Distance : 6 miles round trip

Time Taken : 1hour 45 mins to summit

Which part of Lakeland is this walk situated

Terrain Overview

Overview

I’ve taken a real shine to the Fells of the Northern region … friendly giants, but also the peace and solitude you find “Back o’ Skiddaw ~ Back o’ Blencathra”

is really hard to beat. It`s so surprising that this Good Friday outing was to be our first climb in 2019 after an aborted attempt to climb Mungrisedale Common

back in January. Quite a testing climb on the lungs and limbs is Great Calva from Mosedale along the Cumbria Way but no problems in route navigation, with

fantastic vistas to be experienced when on top

So, from the A66 west bound towards Keswick, take the right hand turn down the Mungrisedale / Caldbeck road that heads towards Mosedale. At a point near a

telephone kiosk an signpost points left towards Swineside. Take this turn and follow the tarmac road for as long as possible towards Grainsgill Beck Bridge and the start

of the Cumbria Way

Driving down the Mosedale Valley road for about one and a half miles

At the bridge, the road surface changes from tarmac to stone and signifies the time to find a parking space

Suitably parked, sun screen applied and ready for the off along the Cumbria Way

Setting off down the Cumbria Way that runs parallel with the River Caldew along the Mosedale Valley

A unique way to cool off a little !!

Skiddaw Little Man in the far distance from the track

Looking over the lower slopes of Mungrisedale Common towards Lonscale Fell on the left and the Skiddaw range

Looking back towards Bowscale Fell from the track

After about a mile and a half on the Cumbria Way we near the bridge at Wiley Gill and the first view of our intended destination, and from this angle, the path that

follows to fence line to Great Calva`s subsidiary summit looks extremely steep

The gate leading to the footbridge over Wiley Gill

Ignore this obvious path to the left, it is a continuation of the Cumbria Way towards Skiddaw House

Take the very faint path leading right that runs parallel with Wiley Gill towards an area of dense heather

I just deviated ever so slightly to take an above shot of the Circular Sheep Fold that Alfred Wainwright lamented over on Great Calva (3) in the Guide book …

“ … it is refreshing to come across craftsmanship of the highest standard and to be reminded of the days when the humblest servant took a pride in his work …..

The man who built them lived a hard life working for a few pence a day …. Only his work remains just an unknown labourer … but how many of us today will

be remembered by our work hundreds of years after we are gone ? – Few indeed !! – Idleness builds no monuments “

Anyway … on with the walk … follow the Gill for a couple of hundred yards or so and look out on the left for a steep sided cutting into the hill seen here on the left

A small amount of scrambling required to reach the level ground slightly further up

On reaching the higher ground the path continues to a gate in the fence

At this point put away the map or navigation device and gird the loins for some serious hard work. The fence line itself leads directly to the subsidiary summit. The true

summit can be seen to the right along the ridge line

Half way up the climb and looking back to the River Caldew and Bowscale Fell

Nearing the subsidiary summit and looking south towards what Wainwright called “The Great Central Fault” of Lakeland

Just on the approach to the summit and the slope eases somewhat as it passes over several rock outcrops

On the ridgeline now and looking across to the true summit of Great Calva

The last few hard yards for Sue as she reaches the end of the hard toil up to the top

Made it !! – Sue, Ste and a rather disgruntled looking Jones the “Bastard” on the summit

Looking south towards Skiddaw

Click here for a 360 degree panoramic view from the summit … https://youtu.be/a6Irl1Jdw7Y

The less than impressive summit cairn

Sue, me and JtB on the summit

No … sod off Jones you have got your own dinner !!!

Looking across to the rear of Blencathra and in particular .. Foule Crag – the steep scrambly bit you are rewarded with after safely negotiating Sharp Edge – also the clearly

defined “saddle” bit which was the reason for the old Victorian name of Saddleback … but we all know its … Blencathra !!! We actually stayed up on the summit for over 2

hours it was fantastic and it was with some reluctance we had to journey back down.

On the way back to the car and after a 5 hour or so slog … a stop off to cool down the old webs in the freezing cold pools of water of Grainsgill Beck and by God it was cold !!!