Place Fell and The Knight

Date & start time: Thursday 12th August 2010, 11 am start.

Location of Start :Patterdale School, near Glenridding, Cumbria, Uk ( NY 394 161 )

Places visited : Rooking Quarries, Boredale Hause, Place Fell, The Knight, Birk Fell, back via Hare Shaw path to Side Farm.

Walk details : 5.25 mls, 1825 ft, 5 hrs 15 mins including lunch.

Highest point : Place Fell 2154 ft - 657 m.

Walked with : Neil, Jo, John, Ann and the dogs, Jodie, Polly, Harry and Bethan.

Weather : Sunshine and fast moving showers . . . forecasted for heavier later in the afternoon.

Today's walk took us over the the Far Eastern fells to explore an old favourite using a new route.

We didn't want to repeat the lakeside path that we walked in recent weeks

so we decided to include an extra minor summit or two shown on the map

and descend the path directly to Patterdale down the steep side of Place Fell.

Our start point was near the Church in Patterdale Village which currently seems to be undergoing some roof repairs.

Apparently the green fabric, a modern roofing felt, is waterproof and breathable . . . a bit like Gortex material for buildings !

We saw these last time and couldn't understand the idea.	This time I spotted a possible explanation.

I imagine someone is doing an experiment on bio-degradability and enjoying the hanging flowers in the mean time.

Our route took us across the valley towards Side Farm.

Some of the old Rooking Quarries can be seen on the fell side behind.

We needed to walk along the valley towards the Boredale Hause path so we turned left

and made our way up this side of the valley, visiting the old slate quarries along the way.

Lovely sunshine now but the contrasting light between the sky and the valley made the photo rather washed out.

It was really nice . . . you should have been there !

Pay attention and don't slouch when you are having your photo taken.

Come on now Jo. . . tummy in, chest out. Neil . . . smile !!!

[ Move your cursor over the photo to see if they were listening ]

Despite the short distance from the start

these two we seeking respite from the warm conditions, each in their own way.

First views are always great . . . this is Kirkstone Pass with Brothers Water just starting to show.

Likewise . . . the first views of Helvellyn and the shapely triangular peak of Catstycam.

This ascent of Boredale Hause has two paths, though I can never understand why.

Both start and end together but one takes a higher line than the other.

Jo takes the dogs down for a drink by the old sheepfold.

Place Fell here we come.

The ruin here is marked on the map as an old chapel.

The path turns all too sadly into a modern machine made motorway

the increasing steepness of which was surprising, causing John to zig-zags slightly to make life easier.

One scar replaces another. The need for erosion control was apparent

but in building the new path they might have followed the original route or tried to landscape the old path so that it faded away.

On this corner they have achieved neither.

	Don't let them ever pretend that the new path formats are there to help mobility.     Just a short way further up the route is definitely not wheelchair or buggy friendly so why build a middle section in that way ?

Further up a more subtle form of path repair . . . pitched stones.

" You said that when we get to the top of this bit we'll be at the summit . . .

and it's still a big walk . . . all the way over there "

The delightful summit of Place Fell, classic rocky top with a stone trig at the highest point.

John was saying that the tarns here were used in the BBC advert with the Tai Chi group performing their art high on the mountain.

Jo has a go . . . but there is only our cameras to capture the scene for posterity.

Neil catches the dogs and myself on the summit.

Nice weather and a sheltered spot out of the breeze for lunch.

What could be better ?

Mmmm . . . an after dinner nap.

The passing clouds were throwing interesting patterns on the fells around us.

[ Move your cursor over the photo to see a close up of Helvellyn ]

Rocks near the summit as we move off after lunch.

Behind is the Pooley Bridge end of Ullswater with Penrith in the distance.

High fair weather clouds . . . but they are moving fast across the sky today.

Our next objective is a minor summit, shown on the map as The Knight.

A bit of traditional map reading pointed at this being the one to go for.

Bethan, Harry and Heather.

I think it is going to be a good season for this colourful upland plant.

The summit of The Knight

Neil confirms our position on his electronic map.

This minor summit may seem small from where we stand

but forms the prominent triangular peak on the side of Place Fell if you stand down there and reverse this view.

A sharp descent from the apex to the base of the triangle.

From The Knight we opted to cross over and climb Birk fell

where we should get a good view down on the lake, high above Silver Point.

That will be the Hare Shaw descent route which we'll need to come back to shortly.

Shadow on us but bright sunshine on Hallin Fell.

A passing shower on the other side crosses the high fells.

[ Move your cursor over the photo to see a close up of Helvellyn again ]

Those clouds behind have changed dramatically in the quarter of an hour or so

that it has taken us to walk down from The Knight.

The forecast is staring to come true as the showers are becoming more frequent and more intense.

Our luck still holds though as this one passes over Gowbarrow and Little Mell Fell and not us.

It looks like one drop did actually make it onto the lens while we looked down on Silver Point and the Seldom Seen valley.

Click here or on the photo above for a reasonably big value, Loweswatercam 220 degree annotated panorama.

[ A rather unreal view of Ullswater brought on by the nature of the panoramic technology]

Back at the top of Hare Shaw path just before we start the main descent.

Our luck didn't last as a heavy burst of rain made us dig out the waterproofs.

The camera was being sheltered under one of the trees as we paused on our way down the slippery path.

Clear weather again as we look down on the ferry leaving the Glenridding Pier.

The lake is really sparkling as we look south into the sunshine.

Our route passed another of the slate quarries on the fell side above Rooking.

This one seems to have a deeper cave system than the one we saw this morning.

Careful manouvering over the wet boulders and tree trunks allowed me to look inside.

It is quite a big cavern and it extends on into the hill.

The entrance looks quite dramatic as I turn to leave.

Time for a promised stop . . . at the Side Farm tearooms.	Neil with 'Carrot and Banana' Cake.

Tea, chocolate, coffee and nice cakes . . . lovely !

One the way back we stopped at the Moss Crags headland before Glencoyne

and enjoyed a full view of Place Fell from the other side of the water.

We hadn't planned it yet, but the right hand corner of the panorama above

included a distant view of the Hartsop Fells and Caudale Moor

which would be our next walk.

- - - o o o - - -

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 . . . a initial idea for our next Lakeland outing.

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Previous walk - 11th August 2010 Kings How & the Bowder Stone

A previous time up here - 5th September 2006 A circular walk of Beda and Place Fells

Next walk - 14th August 2010 Gray Crag & Stoney Cove Pike