Date: Saturday 31st December 2022
Company: Myself and Ann-Marie
Distance: 14.1km, Ascent: 685m
Time: 3Hrs 35Mins
After several days of walking in rain and strong winds, today we had a calm, dry day
. We
therefore set off to undertake a circuit of six Wainwrights in the North
Lakes.For this walk we parked in a small car park at Longlands which was free of charge
.
Wonderful to get free parking having parked in several National Trust car
parks on this trip. The National Trust rip-off visitors and locals alike
with over-priced car parking.Route:
From the car park, we set off walking along a grassy track which is part of the Cumbria Way.
Start of track from Longlands car park:
Track from Longlands:
After walking circa 1km along the track we ascended Longlands Fell via its north ridge.
Ascending Longlands Fell:
It didn't take long to reach the summit of our first Wainwright of the day, Longlands Fell. Despite several days of heavy rain, the going underfoot was drier than expected.
At the summit of Longlands Fell:
View from the summit of Longlands Fell:
From Longlands Fell we made our way along to Lowthwaite Fell which is 26m higher than Longlands Fell but is not a Wainwright.
At the summit of Lowthwaite Fell:
From Lowthwaite Fell we made our way across towards Brae Fell and Great Sca Fell via Broad Moss. We then followed the track contouring round towards Brae Fell.
Ascent towards Brae Fell and Great Sca Fell:
The summit of Brae Fell had the largest summit cairn of the walk.
At the summit of Brae Fell:
Ann-Marie at the summit of Brae Fell:
From Brae Fell we next headed for Great Sca Fell via Little Sca Fell.
At the summit of Little Sca Fell:
At the summit of Great Sca Fell:
View from the summit of Great Sca Fell:
The track from our third Wainright of the day, Great Sca Fell, to our fourth Wainwright, Knott, was the wettest section underfoot. As I was only wearing trail shoes, my feet got wet at this point.
Wet underfoot ascending Knott:
It was fantastic to reach Knott, our highest fell of the walk. Knott is also a Marilyn.
View towards Blencathra from the summit of Knott:
While at the summit we spoke briefly with a passing fell runner before returning back towards Great Sca Fell. At the summit of Knott, I was in two minds whether to extend the walk to also ascend Great Calva. I opted to leave it for another day combining it with an ascent of Bakestall which I managed to miss out when ascending Skiddaw.
View towards Skiddaw from the summit of Knott:
On approaching Great Sca Fell, we skirted round the summit to reach the steep track leading down towards Meal Fell and beyond to Great Cockup.
Descent towards Meal Fell:
During the steep descent I slipped and managed to jar my back which was already sore and was now painful. Ann-Marie therefore managed to get ahead of me for the first time ever
.Ascending Meal Fell:
On Meal Fell we visited the small summit cairn and the large stone shelter before descending steeply towards Great Cockup.
At the summit of Meal Fell:
Looking back towards Great Sca Fell from the stone shelter on Meal Fell:
Descent from Meal Fell towards Great Cockup:
At the summit of Great Cockup I asked Ann-Marie if she was sad to find only a small cairn instead of a Great Cock up there?
She
quickly replied advising she had walked up there with a cock. Nice!
At the summit of Great Cockup:
From Great Cockup we returned to the col, before following a generally good track back out to Longlands.
Descent from Trusmadoor:
Descent back towards Longlands:
These hills are mostly easy walking on gentle grass slopes. An enjoyable walk.