Low Fell and Fellbarrow.
Low Fell 1387' (7.33 FRCC 216), and Fellbarrow 1363'(7.32 FRCC 219)

Wainwright No's 31 & 32.
Sunday 27th April 2003.

Weather :- April showers to start with but got much brighter towards the end of the day. Quite windy at times.

Accompanied by :- John and Sarah

Total Distance :- 4.66 Miles, total height ascended 1417' by my new Anquet mapping software. By AW's Western Fells book 5.5 miles and 1650'. Slight difference Time taken 3 hours 10 minutes.

 
After spending time looking over my maps it was beginning to dawn on me that most of the walks that I wanted to do seemed to be within easy reach of us transport wise. I did not want to complete all of these easier to get to walks and be left with the more out of the way places to visit later on. With the memory of the journey back from Wasdale Head still fresh in my mind I started to get a fixation about doing some of the western fells again just so that we wouldn't be left with them all at the end (planning ahead already!) . The planning of the routes that we undertake seems to be falling into a pattern, a big one and then a little one, usually in a different part of the Lake District, to ensure that we don't get the same sort of view all the time. Sarah had been ill over the previous few weeks but was ready for a little walk to get her into the swing of things, I had had a hectic time over the easter holidays and needed a little walk to get me over the Mosedale Horseshoe and John had been in serious training since he felt a "little tired" after the Mosedale Horseshoe (there's always an odd one out!) Pouring over my maps one night a couple of fells jumped out at me! Two fells, close by and definitely far away in AW's western area! This would do for the next walk, so Low Fell and Fellbarrow beckoned us.
Bearing in mind that Sarah was having a late night seeing the "man god" (so i'm told!) that is Tom Jones in Manchester the night before, a late start was agreed, this was good because at 2.30am I was still trying to type up our last walk! Meeting up at Preston I was dismayed to see that Sarah looked as bad as I felt! Commenting on this did not get the day of to a good start! (must learn tact sometime soon!) Anyway it was straight up the M6 to Penrith, a quick look around for a butty wagon for breakfast without any joy (nobody felt like a McDonalds breakfast!)and then on to Keswick to try for a cafe! Parking up in Keswick we had a look around and tried a few places without any luck, at least Sarah managed to buy a new pair of socks in George Fishers as I browsed through the books there (must revisit and spend some money there, great selection!) John managed to chat up a young lady and got directions to a place that would suit us. Passing the Keswickian Tea Rooms without a sideways glance we soon found ourselves at a place called Rembrandt's and enjoyed a great breakfast. Sarah had never had a side salad with beans on toast before and John couldn't quite decide about the pasta and side salad he had with his breakfast paninni, my full english breakfast special had no extra pet food thought (I always seem to miss out!) Although still expensive, the waitress service and the big pot of tea made up for it! (will visit again, but only just after pay day!) The food certainly made me feel a whole lot better and Sarah was becoming to come out of her shell, she even presented us all with cadbury's creme eggs as a belated easter present (how kind is that then !) Sitting back in the car I gave Sarah the option of forgetting the planned walk and doing something even easier (got a new plan B now !) Asking about the time to get there and do the walk and traveling back she decided to go for it, if I had asked her before breakfast I think we would have spent the day walking around Keswick! So back on to the A66 and past Basenthwaite we went. I used to regularly come along this road years ago when working around the Lakes and as we drove along I said a silent hello to some of my favorite sights, The Bishop, Dodd and Skiddaw etc It was nice to be back. Leaving the A66 at Lambfoot we made our way towards the starting point that I had chosen for the walk, Thackthwaite. If this seems like a long introduction to a walk, it is, but believe me it's nowhere near as long as the journey took , as it was midday that we finally parked along the road through Thackthwaite!

Never seen a warning about squirrels before ! The start of the old lane from Thackthwaite House
There were some intriguing road warning signs around Thackthwaite, we could only presume that squirrels were about, John thought that it could possible be red squirrels and as an endangered species it would not be wise to run any over (does this mean it's ok to run over grey squirrels then?) Mmmm.. Anyway according to AW the way we wanted led up an old lane, fair dues there it was by the side of Thackthwaite House. There was even a sign post saying Low Fell. Off to a great start, we made our way up the old lane.
Further up the lane Right is the correct way forward
In places the old lane was worn down to bare rock. I am reliably informed by AW that this is slate. after ripping my boots to shreds coming down the Dore Head Screes I had decided to resurrect another pair of boots. I had last worn these boots on Blencathra and the descent of Sharp Edge, I have made comments about the rock there being the "slippiest" rock that I have ever been on. I now know that it is my boots and not the rock as my feet were slipping every time I stood on the bare rock (must repair my other boots before any sort of contact with bare rock required!) Apart from this hazard the walk up the old lane was good.
The path opens out onto the fields.... and follows the stream uphill
AW talks about the old lane been overgrown and barricaded. Now there is no impediment to progress and soon you find yourself coming out into open pasture. The new lambs gave us some laughter as we walked along the path by the side of a stream. The wind started to pick up and the words of wisdom that I had spouted to John about walking at the slowest pace seemed to have worked as he stayed with us, Sarah was really struggling to walk at anything faster than a stroll! Coupled with feeling under the weather, a late night and an early start Sarah also had toothache ! I tell you, Sarah is one hell of a committed walker, I think I would have given up and sulked back to the car if I felt like she did ! (Don't tell the others that !)
Whiteside from the path Nearing the old drove road
It was a nice change for me to walk a bit slower, Sarah was just plodding along and we enjoyed the chance to chat. The weather was starting to turn a bit and soon we had the company of some April showers. This was just not what we needed as we found ourselves leaving the shelter of the trees and reaching the open fell side!
The start of the old drove road And further along
As we started to make our way along the old drove road although the gradient was relatively easy at first I could tell that Sarah was not enjoying it. As we rounded the shoulder and the gradient started to increase the wind also started to increase. Sarah hated this as she always seems to struggle in windy conditions, but always a fighter she managed the occasional laugh as she was blown backwards! As we reached the start of the zigzags in the old drove road I took the time to show her how far we had come on the map, this seemed to cheer her up!, (or could it be because it had stopped raining?) We had noticed something lying in the grass not far away from the path. As we neared it we could make out that it was the carcass of a sheep. There was wool all over the place and I thought that it must have been taken by a fox. John started to walk over to it but soon changed his mind.
The zig zags or is it zag zigs ? A zig from a zag or is it the other way ?
As we made our way up the zigzags we met our first fellow walker of the day who was descending. As we approached her, John always the comedian, cracked one about her not wasting any time making a new hat from the wool of the carcase of the sheep. As we neared her we could she that she did not have a hat but long blond hair with lots of big curls! She must have thought that we were mad as we burst into laughter as we passed, I do apologize! Not content with this John decided that he knew her name, Baaaarbara! That was it, Sarah was cheered up and I was in pain from laughing so much!. Nice one John and again my apologies if the lady in question ever reads this, we mean no harm !
Nearing the end of the old drove road Crummock Water coming into view
So with everyone aching from the laughter and not the walk we soon crested the top of the old drove road and started to see our first summit of the day Low Fell. Crummock Water could also be seen and I think that this made everyone a lot happier, not only had it stopped raining, we had a view and the first summit of the day was in sight!
Low Fell And a bit nearer
As we got nearer to Low Fell it was slightly disconcerting to note that the path started to descend, eventually we could see that after this drop was quite a steep (for this walk!) ascent up to Low Fell. We were near Watching Crag now and at the mention of Crags, John and I went off to investigate! We could only find the odd outcrop of rock and no crags, but we were treated to a great panorama over Lorton Vale towards the Whiteside and Grasmoor range!
Panorama towards Whiteside, Grasmoor and Crummock Water from Watching Crag
Giving up the job of crag finding we made our way back to Sarah and continued the descent and then the ascent to Low Fell. Passing yet another stile on the steep ascent we passed another fell walker on his way down. The stiles around here are quite different from others in the Lake district, each one has a small trap that lifts up to allow dogs through! Testimony to the fact that these fells are still in use as working pastures, something that AW commented upon in his description of Low Fell.
The steep pull up from Watching Gill The summit of Low Fell in the distance
With the steep but short ascent out of the way the summit of Low Fell was now clearly in view. We made our way over to it, all the time enjoying the views that opened up as we neared the top. Crummock Water and Mellbreak seemed to catch my eye the most. At the limit of visibility today we could make out Haystacks. Pointing this out to the others and trying to give them some sense of where they were I pointed to Whiteside and Grasmoor, "Behind those hills are Ard Crags and Knott Rigg " Sarah immediately replied "Well that explains the wind then!" Now that she had mentioned it I did notice that it was very windy up here today, but surely not as bad as our visits to Ard Crags and Knott Rigg?
The summit cairn of Low Fell The terrible trio at Low Fell summit
Taking the usual summit photos we decided not to continue along the ridge to the lower summit, as we would be walking directly into the very strong wind. With Sarah struggling it was not worth pushing on just for the view that we would have, shame really, but I think the right decision.
360 degree panorama from Low Fell
From the top of Low Fell the view across to the Whiteside and Grasmoor range looked very good, the summits were hidden by the cloud. There was plenty of scree for John to cast envious eyes over after the last walk and his descent of the Dore Head Screes ! Crummock Water looked very cold and I found my eyes drawn towards Mellbreak. It looked a very intimidating climb up to the summit, something to look forwards to!
Crummock Water and Mellbreak The wind having fun with Sarah!
Reversing direction we left the summit and returned back towards Watching Crag. I took one last look at Mellbreak, for some reason Mellbreak fascinated me (I sense another trip up here soon!) The wind started to pick up again and tried to blow Sarah away, what is it with Sarah and the wind? At least it brought some laughter from her!
Leaving Low Fell for Fellbarrow Watching Crag
With the wind now at our backs we made quick progress back to the depression above Watching Crag. Here, at last out of the wind it was time for lunch. Whilst John and I tucked into our lunch, Sarah, who had meticulously made and packed everything she needed the night before just had a drink. Not feeling hungry at all, she was the one who was attacked by a bee the size of a jumbo jet! This bee kept trying to attack her as we sat there, maybe it was just going to be one of those days for Sarah (yup!)
The path from the old drove road towards Smithy Fell Smithy Fell and Fellbarrow behind
Having enough of bee attacks we set off still retracing our steps as far as a stile next to an old stone wall enclosure. From here we picked our way along a path of sorts that led over Smithy Fell towards Fellbarrow. I could not make my mind up whether this was a path or just a sheep track. As it neared the wall it definitely was a lot more distinct. Nearing the top of Smithy Fell we came across a collection (how many sheep do you need to make a flock?) of sheep sheltering behind the wall. They promptly ran away at the sight of us, but not to worry we would meet later on!
Looking towards the zigzags in the old drove road Fellbarrow from Smithy Fell
As we reached the top of Smithy Fell we were able to plainly see the old drove road and the zigzags across the fell side. It is not often that one of those green dotted lines that represent a path on the OS 1:25000 maps actually bears any resemblance to something on the ground. Go on and check the map. Compare this path with the alleged path to the west of Crinkle Crags (Three Tarns to Pianet Knott) near Lingove Beck for example (still brings back painful memories!) and you will soon see what I mean!
Leaving Smithy Fell for Fellbarrow The path up to Fellbarrow

Anyway, from Smithy Fell the way forward to Fellbarrow was plain to see. As we crossed a broken stile Sarah suddenly looked up at the path and commented on how steep it looked! Had she not been looking at it all the time from Smithy Fell? Why did it come as such as a surprise to her? (all will be revealed later!) It was quite a steep pull up to the top, but like everything else on this walk it did not last for long ! I made the mistake of commenting to John how well he had managed to stay with us on this walk. He then made exaggerated movements and comments about how hard it had been for him to walk this slow! I thought to myself that it had been a great walk at this pace, I should have paid more attention to what John was doing as I missed the glint in his eye that signaled mischief ! The next thing I knew he was rugby tackling me and I was flat on the floor! Unluckily for John he had managed to entangle himself with the walking poles strapped to my rucksack! He then had to spend an awkward minute or two trying to un impale himself! Quite funny really (I guess it was one of those that you needed to be there, sort of things!)

Fellbarrow summit The terrible trio at Fellbarrow summit
After leaving the summit of Low Fell Sarah had cheered up a lot, upon reaching the summit of Fellbarrow I think she was enjoying herself once more! (I told you to trust me!) whilst I took the usual photos John and Sarah sat and enjoyed the sunshine that had now appeared.
360 degree panorama from Fellbarrow summit
The summit of Fellbarrow is definitely one of those what you see is what you get sort of places. It is nothing more than a grassy hill really, but as one of the most northwestern fells you do get the feeling of being at the end of the Lake District. To the south there are fantastic views of fells, to the north the coastal plain and Cockermouth. Today it was just possible to make out some high ground to the north over the Solway Firth.
Cockermouth Leaving Fellbarrow
With the sun out we enjoyed a slow coffee break, having a laugh and a chat. This was what it is all about for me. Everyone was in high spirits now, the weather had improved, we had "bagged" another two summits without that much effort, and Sarah was beginning to feel better after popping a few painkillers! The others even started to reminisce about previous walks. I still have along way to go with them though, as I was asked questions like "Ste, which was that one that was really up and down a lot?" I looked at them in complete bafflement, "You know, the one with the snow and we found that radio", "Helvellyn" I replied "Yeah, that's the one!" (See what I mean, a long way to go!) Like I said, this is what it is all about for me, a nice walk and some good company, having a laugh (at them!) and a chat!
The broken stile between Fellbarrow and Smithy Fell Making our way along a sheep track to the old drove road
Somewhat reluctantly we left the summit of Fellbarrow and retraced our path back down to the broken stile. From here we wanted to walk across the fell side and pick up the old drove road again. Again there seemed to be no paths but we found a sheep track that led towards the zigzags. It was here that we met up with the sheep (still not sure if there were enough to make a flock!) that we disturbed earlier. Unfortunately for them we wanted to walk past them, again caused them to run off! (hard work being a sheep you know!) . Eventually we passed the sheep carcase that we had seen before. The smell was quite bad, and although it had not been deceased very long something had enjoyed a hearty meal from it, I still think that it was a fox, but John has other ideas.
Crummock Water in view again Back down the path
Once back on the old drove road we made good time and as we rounded the corner, Crummock Water again came into view. The path by the side of the stream that headed straight down to Thackthwaite was very enjoyable. The stream, the trees and the open pastures made for a really nice end to a walk. Walking along we started to make plans for the next walk, plans for a forthcoming trip to a Camping Barn in Kentmere and so on.
Lambs playing in the fields Look out for low branches !
We had to stop and enjoy the sight of the new lambs playing in the fields, this is great fun, watching the lambs jump in the air and run around the field trying to find new playmates!, after all it is spring. As mentioned before I had my doubts about whether Sarah was actually watching where she was going. This was confirmed by a rather load "thud", Sarah had managed to bang her head against a tree branch that overhung the path! With all the painkillers that she had taken I don't thing this hurt too much! None the less she felt it was about time that this web site had an accident book! At first I thought she must have been on a course at work on Health and Safety! I soon realized that she meant something along the lines of the "Injury's" page of her fellah's web site, Mountain Bike Madness . I thought about this for a while but soon concluded that as it would be mainly be about me and never about John, and with only occasional references to Sarah and the others it would not be any good ! As such it could prove quite embarrassing to me, and not of much use to the others !
Back onto the old lane Cowslips along the old lane
Walking back down the old lane I stopped to take a picture of some pretty flowers that were blooming. Not being a botanist sort of person, I think that they were cowslips. John agreed, so I included a picture of them, I thought they were quite pretty! With the sun out we really enjoyed the end of this walk. Just over 3 hours after leaving the car we arrived back full of the joys of spring, it was certainly just what the doctor had ordered, 3 hours, 2 peaks and 1 sore head! Even the journey back down the M6 was not bad. We took the opportunity to bypass the roadwork's on the motorway, as the Highways Agency have not listened to a word I have said and still insist on carrying on with these blasted roadwork's (You will understand if I keep this detour a secret as I don't want everyone using it, it would be as bad as the M6 itself then!) Planning the next walk seemed to be a bit of a problem due to various commitment in the lowlands! It might be over a month before the terrible trio can be reunited. A visit to another location for some non Wainwright fells is in order now I think, watch this space!