Walk :
Date : 23rd April
2021
Weather : Dry, fine sunshine and a cool breeze
Distance : 6.5
miles round trip
Time Taken : 2 hours to
first summit (Tarn Crag)
Which
part of Lakeland is this walk situated
Terrain Overview
Overview
Another
April week of fine weather and a chance to seize the day to knock off two more Wainwrights in the Far Eastern region. These two fells
must rank as maybe the most remote (in terms
of access) of all the listed fells in Book Two. My website charts the progress
of my personal journey
in completion of the 214, and before
undertaking a walk I do my research etc etc. On this occasion
I winged it thinking that the Mardale Head starting
point would be the easiest route …. I was wrong and I freely admit it.
Should anyone who reads this description and is thinking of trying it then
fine – but prepare yourself for some major
losses of hard earned altitude. AW quite rightly details the walk to the fells
from Sadgill
Journeying to Mardale Head and a shot of the Rigg
and the spiny ridge route to High Street
The car park at Mardale Head – the starting point for this walk
From the southern
end of the car park take the Gatescarth pass
Looking back to Haweswater from the pass
The well engineered
track follows the line of Gatesgarth Beck between the
shoulders of Harter Fell on the right and Branstree
on the left
Looking back
towards High Street and the ridge leading to it
The path climbs
steadily to the col at
At the top of
the col and the signpost marks the path to the
Staying on the
path we head towards Longsleddale and start to lose
height (dramatically)
Almost at the
bottom of the drop and we decide cut losses and follow the very sketchy track
across some very boggy ground. The Idea being to
aim for the slope rising to the right where
we will pick up a fence line that heads almost direct to the summit
Almost there now
The boundary
fence right leading up to Tarn Crag, left eventually leading up to Branstree
Just a case of
following the fence line through the peat bogs
Looking back
towards the
Surely the most
remote of all houses anywhere ??
Towards the
uppermost point of the fence, look out for an obvious path through the grass
that leads towards the summit of Tarn Crag
And there it is –
the summit cairn on Tarn Crag. A comfortable spot for lunch
Click here for a
360 degree view from the summit of Tarn Crag … https://youtu.be/yPl3Bzeiq5I
A
cairn on a cairn.
Spud waits patiently for his dinner
Come on Mum …. Hurry
up !!!
About a hundred
yards to the west lies the Survey Post built by
Manchester Corporation during the construction of the Longsleddale
tunnel
conveying the Haweswater
Aqueduct
After lunch we
set off for Grey Crag. The fence line previously followed serves as the best
route across the boggy ground. The cairn visible
in the centre of the shot is Harrop Pike, the summit of Grey Crag is to the right of the
fence line
Approaching the summit
of Grey Crag
The cairn on the
summit of Grey Crag
Click here for a
360 degree view from the summit of Grey Crag … https://youtu.be/AX74OYfTwnU
Looking East
towards the Howgills and
Looking south
towards Windermere
Heading back
along the way I though someone had dropped a mint humbug on the ground but
closer inspection turned out to be this fella ???
Returning to the
The
Back over on the
Mardale side as the sun starts top drop behind High
Street
Nearly back down
at the Car Park
A last look at
the imposing North face of Harter Crag
Dad … can you
tell me why you didn’t do these fells from Sadgill ??? – Are you unable
to follow the advice given by Wainwright ???
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