Meikle Bin

24 March 2014

Participants: Neil and Ben
Where: Meikle Bin, 570m/1,870', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 57, NS 667822

It had been frosty overnight and the sky remained clear, so I had to get out. In this year of grey and cloudy skies, you have to take advantage of a good day when it comes along. Driving into Glasgow yesterday, I had noticed that there had been a considerable new dump of snow on the hills which would obviously have been very soft and laborious to walk through. So I quickly forgot any idea of driving to find a new Marilyn and went instead to re-visit one of the nearest to me and which was snow free- Meikle Bin in the Campsie Fells. Driving along by the Carron Valley reservoir, it was clear that I was in for a good day.....

 

 

 The tracks had been repaired by removing the top surface so although the surface was hard on the way in to the hill, by the time that I was returning it had turned quite muddy- just right for a white coated spaniel. Ben hadn't been out on the hill for a while and was racing about. He is a strong dog now and there is no way that I would manage him on the lead when he is in full excitement mode. Fortunately there is no need for a lead on Meikle Bin. This is the hill from near the start of the walk.....

 

 

The forestry folk had erected new signage since I was last here.....

 

 

There were glimpses of the surrounding hills as I got higher, this is looking to Stronend.....

 

 

And the short bit between the forest road and the open hill has now been made into a proper, drained path. It used to be a real wet area previously.....

 

 

It is further that it looks from the end of the forest to the summit but the angle is gentle.....

 

 

and we were soon there. What a great view today of the snow covered highland hills. In the next photo you can see from the Luss hills round to Ben Chonzie in Perthshire.....

 

 

 

 

This is looking down on the Carron valley reservoir.....

 

 

and this is looking south to the central belt.....

 

 

There were quite a few folk- and dogs- about. However, there was a cold wind blowing at the top so we dropped back down to the forest where the FC have considerately erected a bench and table for folk to sit at and have their cup of tea.

Blake Fell

12 March.

Participants: Just me
Where: Blake Fell, 573m/1,879', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 89, NY 110197

Day 3 of my short trip to the Lakes dawned bright and sunny although there was more of a haze than previously. Today's hill was on the other side of Loweswater from Low Fell and approached from the village of Lamplugh. About a mile past the village there was a small Forestry Commission car park, Feldyke, and this was the start point. Shortly after leaving the car I got my first view of the hill. My route was up to the right hand of the two notches and then following the skyline.....

In less than a mile I reached a small reservoir, Cogra Moss, a strange name for a piece of water.....

My route ran along the track on the south side of the water before taking to a narrow path that went steeply up the hillside at the side of the trees to emerge on the hillside at the foot of Low Pen. There had been a lot of felling in this area and the route of the path from below was not obvious. However, it leaves the track just where the lake ends and once on it, the route is clear. Out of the trees, there was now a fence to follow all the way to the summit and to ease things even further, a good path had also developed. I got a fine view of the steep west slopes of Blake Fell from up here.....

It was a good ridge walk, rather like being in the Southern Uplands, say, around Ettrick and there was a good view down to Cogra Moss.....

A gentle walk over High Pen and a steeper pull up Blake Fell saw me at the shelter on top.....

The view towards High Stile etc. was definitely hazy today; Crummock Water can just be seen in the middle distance in this photo.....

There were a few other folk about and it obviously receives a fair number of visitors. After loafing about at the top, I returned by the same route; I could have continued over the summit and down the other side of the hill but a lot of this route was in the forest. I reckon that the car to car walk was about 6 miles with about 400m of ascent and I took a leisurely 4 hours. Here is another photo that I took of Blake Fell and Cogra Moss from almost back at the car.....

Low Fell

11 March 2014

Participants: Just me
Where: Low Fell, 423m/1,388', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 89, NY 137226

I woke up to a stunner of a day! I was getting the Lake District at it's best. I drove south from Cockermouth and took the side road through a place called Mockerin heading for Loweswater. Just before dropping down to the lake I stopped to take this picture of the fells that I was heading for with the bulk of Grassmoor beyond.....

There was plenty of roadside parking at the end of the track to the farm of Askill which I followed for less than a mile before taking to the hillside of Darling Fell. It was already warm and I was down to shirt sleeves before I'd gone very far. This was the view that I got when I reached the top of Darling Fell; Low Fell is ahead with Whiteside and Grassmoor in the background.....

Grassmoor looks really steep from this side, I did it from the other side over Grisedale Pike which is quite a gradual ascent.

 

It was just empty moorland to the north- well, apart from numerous sheep- and with a distant view of Skiddaw.....

The cairn on Darling Fell was a couple of hundred yards beyond the highest point, presumably because that is the better view point. Crummock Water is the lake in the distance with Buttermere showing just beyond it.....

What was less welcome was a view of a hundred metre drop and re-ascent to Low Fell! But it was worth the effort, Low Fell was another stunning viewpoint overlooking the length of Crummock Water with the High Stile range to it's right.....

I was now very much closer to Grassmoor.....

I sat for quite a while at the cairn, it was a day to linger.....

There were a few other people about, all seeming to have started from the north, over Fellbarrow and across the plateau. And that was the way that I started back, over to Sourfoot Fell and then angling back across the moor to join the track that I had left earlier in the day. This is a view back at Low Fell from the moor.....

Back at the car, I continued along Loweswater and followed the road through Lorton Vale back to Cockermouth, stopping at Scale bridge to take this last photo of Low Fell.....

The walk was about 4 miles with about 400m of ascent and took a leisurely 3 hours.

Watch Hill, Setmurthy Common

10 March 2014

Participants: Just me
Where: Watch Hill, Setmurthy Common, 254m/833', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 89, NY 158318

At long last! A high pressure area had moved in- long time since we've seen one of them. The sky was blue, the sun was shining. The downside- I was terribly unfit. So it was some sub-2ks for me and there were some on the fringes of the Lake District that I had still to do that fitted the bill. But that meant that there was another downside- I couldn't take Ben as the Lake District Fells are full of sheep and I would have had to have kept him on his lead just in case. And neither of us would have liked that.

And the first hill on my list- Watch Hill- was really easy- just a small swelling in the landscape.....

I was heading for Cockermouth and Watch Hill is on the fringes of that town. It looked from the map as if there was a choice of routes up but I decided to approach it from the north-east near Iselgate bridge walking up through the forest and the across the fields. There was room for a few cars at the start of the track. After about a mile of forest walking I reached the fields and headed up to the ridge. It was then just a gentle stroll over short grass; this is looking to the summit.....

and this is looking back.....

The main view was to Skiddaw.....

The summit wasn't marked but is supposed to be just inside the field very close to the forest edge. I thought that there might be a higher point just into the forest so I had a look but it was dense in there so I couldn't be sure. Rather than go back down the same way, I carried on from the summit over a style into the trees and down a rough path to meet another forest road which I followed back to meet the one that I had come up on. It had been a pleasant, short walk- about 3 miles taking about 1 hour 30 minutes.