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Rampsgill Head and Kidsty Pike Date & start time: Saturday 15th May 2010, 11.45 am start. Location of Start : Hartsop village car park, Patterdale, Cumbria, Uk ( NY 410 130 ) Places visited : Hayeswater, Rest Dodd, The Knott, Kidsty Pike, High Raise, Rasmpsgill Head, and return via Hayeswater again. Walk details : 7.75 mls, 2800 ft, 6 hrs 5 mins including lunch. Highest point : High Raise 2634 ft - 802 m. Walked with : Jo, John, Ann and the dogs, Jodie, Amber, Polly, Harry and Bethan. Weather : Sunshine and partial high cloud, excellent visibility but a very cold breeze on the tops.
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Sunshine and clear visibility today found us on the Far Eastern Fells for a change. Accompanied by Jo and John, we take the steep climb up from Hartsop Village past Hayeswater towards Kidsty Pike. Normally it pays to get to the small car park early . . . we didn't . . . but luckily we did manage to catch the last space in the car park. The next car in had to turn around and park further away ! Jo locks her car and we are on the way. The sheep sheds and enclosures alongside the track are reminiscent of the Australian outback . . . but on a rather smaller scale. I can't pass on the opportunity to photograph the old mine at Hartsop as we walk up the valley. The set of short walls behind the nearer tree supported a water shute, feeding a large water wheel down by the river. The mine addit was in fact directly opposite (by the green tree) and the power created by the wheel was used within the mine. Ann and Jo start the climb on the deceptively steep track as we leave the Patterdale valley far behind. Jo pointing to the steep climb ahead. The rounded fell in the far distance is The Knott, our second objective of the day. Harry thinks it's a warm day and wants to swim for sticks if we have any to throw. At the head of the Water Board road is Hayeswater Reservoir. At water level from the spillway, this is the view of the steep sides of the fell known as High Street. There is a bridge to cross but the water level is low and I chose a different option. Move your cursor over the photo to enjoy the action The steep climb continues as we leave Hayeswater behind. As we gained height the view opened out and we had our first sighting of the Helvellyn Range and the triangular Catstycam. A brief respite from the climb as we reached the level ground and then it's up again towards Rest Dodd. Hayeswater can be seen below against the backdrop of Gray Crag and Thornthwaite Crag. The wall extends from here all the way to the top of The Knott, which we hope to climb next. Click here or on the photo above for a wider annotated panorama. Jo and I walk the last few yards to the first summit of the day . . . Rest Dodd From here there is a wonderful view North to Ullswater and the Pennines, way into the distance. A quick snack after the big climb as we seek shelter from the cool breeze by dropping down slightly from the summit. Retracing our steps, we can see our route ahead. The Knott is just to the right of the vertical stone then we would swing left towards Rampsgill Head from where we would be a short distance from the two other peaks of Kidsty Pike and High Raise.
There's not a very extensive pool on the coll but it was big enough to provide a foreground for this view back to Rest Dodd. The top of the long climb up the wall finds us on The Knott where there is a surprisingly large mound of stones as a summit cairn. The High Street ridge can be seen heading south from here with the old Roman Road just visible climbing up the right hand edge. From the top of The Knott there's a good view of Rampsgill Crags and High Raise. A definite swooshing sound became gradually louder and we looked skyward to see a sleek glider flying past. It flew along the ridge of High Street and then circled round and returned high above us, taking advantage of the updrafts and thermals from the ridges. We head over the top of our ridge and get a first view of Riggindale and Haweswater far below. These first views of familiar places are always a delight. The last of the climbing done, we reward ourselves with the rest of the sandwich box. John must have finished his so Polly looks around to see if anything else is on offer. Meanwhile we take a leisurely look round too . . . these are the crags of shapely Kidsy Pike. They are very evident when viewed from the M6 motorway, which passes across the Shap Fells in the background of this photo.
Further to the right . . . Harter Fell, Rough Crag, Mardale Ill Bell and High Street. In fact you can view the whole panorama in one go if you would like. Click here or on the photo above for a wider annotated panorama. After our lunch stop, in the shelter of the stones opposite we're on our way again, heading across to Kidsty Pike . . . . . . which lies just a short way around the fell side. Hands in pockets to protect them from the cold breeze The dogs and I stand on Kidsty summit and look down on Haweswater below. The tree covered promontory is known as the Rigg. Riggindale Valley, Sellside and Mardale Common are enjoying some good sunshine at present. As we turn to leave I heard the unmistakable sounds of the RAF Rescue helicopter which flew in low just the other side of Rough Crag and dipped out of sight somewhere near Blea Water. I watched for a short while to see whether it was a rescue or a practice, but didn't stay for too long as the others had already left. Where were they . . . spot the small dots off to the left.
Don't panic, I'd caught up with them well before we reached here, the summit of High Raise. Along the way Harry found a yellow ball to play with, but we soon realised it belonged to the guy behind and his dog so it was duly returned to the rightful owner. From the highest point on our walk we had a great view all round. Click here or on the photo above for a full 360 degree annotated panorama from High Raise. Another summit climbed, we went over to the edge of the crags to appreciate the view. I took the photos . . . John added music by virtue of his air guitar ! Well worth the short walk over towards Bannerdale and Ramps Gill Jo enjoyed the views too, this time looking more westerly in direction. Our fifth Wainwright summit of the day . . . Rampsgill Head itself. Can I balance the camera on a rock and get everyone to look at the camera at the same time ? The answer, even including the five dogs, seems to be yes ! [ Perhaps they were just looking to see if the wind would blow the camera off before the self timer worked ] It's downhill all the way now as we regain the Rest Dodd path. Below us the surface of Hayeswater shimmers in the afternoon sun. As we walked down we passed this group of folk climbing fully laden up the track, ready for a night on the fells. I hope they had a reasonable time, the forecast for overnight rain would not have encouraged me camp this high up. The now familiar sight of Hayeswater grows larger as we take a slightly different path down from the Knott. The low afternoon sunshine makes the glacial drumlins stand out quite well on the far shoreline. Back at the reservoir, Ann stops by the railings to look at the lake. The source of the Hayeswater Gill as it gushes out of the pipe from the reservoir. The true source is of course high on Thornthwaite Crags, but this permanent flow ensures at least a minimum supply of water flows down the valley. The two girls pose for a photo . . . as Harry and Bethan share a track side vantage point. Jo found a stick this time so Harry could enjoy his second swim of the day in this lovely rock pool. No doubt one of the most photographed barns in this part of the world. Last time we passed it was being used and the whole of the yard was a muddy quagmire.
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Technical note: Pictures taken with either Ann's Canon 75 or my Canon G10 digital camera. Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder. This site best viewed with . . . Fish and Chips at the White Lion . . . Top Pub ! © RmH.2010 # Email me here # or leave me a Guest Book Entry Previous walk - 12th May 2010 Round Buttermere (Lake) A previous time up here - 2nd July 2005 The Alternative Great Roman Walk Next walk - 18th May 2010 Rannerdale and the Bluebells
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