It was forecasted and it turned out to be a beautiful day,
dry sunny and clear.
After a busy morning I had the opportunity of two hours or
so this afternoon to take Dougal for a longer walk.
I thought of climbing Hen Comb, then I thought to reverse the
route and climb from the back for a change would be good
and somewhere along the walk Floutern Cop entered the equation,
hence the longer distance and time taken.
The red phone box, my target of Hen Comb plus the lovely rays
of sunshine, which played havoc with the camera settings !
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Passing
Wainwright's Negative Signpost next to The Kirkstile
Inn. |
Church (or Kirk) Bridge. |
Here the name of the river seems to change from
Dubbs Beck flowing in from the right, to Park Beck flowing out
of the bridge, under the other side .
The river that drains Loweswater, White Oak
Moss and Mosedale have all met up
and now flow across into Crummock Water under
a new name.
Harry's Pool . . . you won't find the name on
any map, but you may find the return path that we'll use at
the end of the afternoon.
We've walked half the length of Mosedale so
far and have reached the path junction close to the Mosedale
Holly.
Left is the low level route around Mellbreak,
sharp left the direct, steep ascent of Mellbreak, but we'll
go off to the right following the Ennerdale bridleway.
Looking back at the complete western side of
Mellbreak from the rather damp bridleway path.
Click here
or on the photo above for a larger
version of this photo
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The steel
bridge across Mosedale Beck and the track onward. |
It looks like the beck
heads off into the bog (moss) of Mosedale at this point.
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We've followed the bridleway path, which was
rather indistinct in places, but we reach a gate and off to
one side, this old sheepfold.
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The beck
I thought would fade to nothing, in fact has its source
in Floutern Tarn. |
It is supplemented by
Red Gill which flows of the side of Gale Fell. |
It is not clear in the photo but in the darker
folds of the Red Gill stream, the soil has been eroded and the
exposed red, iron-rich earth, which gives the stream its name.
Iron Ore was very important on the western slopes
of the Cumbrian fells, from Knock Murton all the way across
to Cleater Moor and Rowrah.
Cleator in fact had a major iron works in its
day and the West Cumbrian steel and shipbuilding trades were
based on this resource.
The final eastern trace of the iron vein lies
under Gale Fell near Scale Force, but it was never a commercial
proposition to mine ain this area.
Our climb became steadily steeper, the sheep
more and more amazed to see people
and finally Dougal and I crest the rise and
reach the outflow of Floutern Tarn.
Dougal, a real water dog, loves to swim and
it was hard work to get a shot of the lake without the ripples
spreading over the whole photo.
Floutern Cop on the other side of the tarn is
looking inviting in the sunshine!
Looking east across to what is now quite a distant
Robinson Fell, with hardly a ripple on the water.
I've been tempted to swim here on previous occasions,
especially where the water shelves a little more deeply close
by the rock,
but after testing the water temperature following
Dougal's slight swim, all ideas of a dip were out of the question.
The air was warm but the altitude was high enough
and the shade deep enough, to keep the water at a very cool
temperature.
That's not ripples or frost on the water but
water weed, a long stringy grass of some sort, growing in the
shallower margins of the lake.
The reason for the low temperatures is partly
due to the lack of sun, as the lake is hidden under the northern
crags of Great Borne.
Back out into the sunshine and another surprisingly
steep climb on the direct ascent of Floutern Cop.
No matter, a quick stop for the photo allowed
me to catch my breath and the top was soon reached.
Here the rounded, darker fell on the left is
Dent but my eye was caught by the view of the Isle of Man, some
fifty miles out into the Irish Sea.
Looking west from the top of the fell, the moorland
looking autumnal in the sunshine.
Click
here or on the photo above for a larger
version of this photo
Looking east at my route ahead as I start my
descent towards Hen Comb.
It looks a long way home and I'd told Loes I'd
phone her from the top of Hen Comb about now . . . time to get
a move on !
Don't you rush, take your time and click
here or on the photo above for a larger
version of this photo
A new fence surround Hen Comb, but fortunately the powers that
be have also provided a good stile and even a dog gate.
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- - - o o o - - -
As I've had to drop down from Floutern Cop,
it's the best part of 140m or 450 ft to climb back
up to the top of Hen Comb
to be sure of that desired phone signal.
The way is clear but the route is steep
and in my excitement I clean forgot to take a summit
photo.
You'll have to be happy with this.
- - - o o o - - -
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Just off the top and on the way down now, the
weather was so good another panoramic photo was called for.
Click
here or on the photo above for a larger
version of this photo
Th new hen Comb fence has a gate on this side
of the fell, which is much more convenient than having to straddle
the old wire.
A peat bog pool on the ridge of Hen Comb has
lost it's wire however. It was erected to stop the sheep falling
in the bog.
Perhaps the illusion of a fence keeps them away
from the danger nowadays.
For those intent on bagging all the 541 "Birkett
Fells", Little Dodd is a nice one to visit.
Not only do you get a point . . . but you get
a nice view as well.
From Dodd you can see Loweswater once again.
Below me are the scars of the White Oak Lead
Mine ( in the shade) and across the Solway plain is the sun
kissed Scottish peak of Criffell.
The reverse of my earlier photo as I once again
approach the crossing of Mosedale Beck at Harry's Pool.
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The stepping
stones are very poor now but the water level is low. |
The late afternoon sun
on the fields between myself and home. |
Dougal and I are back to Church Bridge once
again, this time near the end of the walk.
Hold your curser over the picture if you can
to see how things have changed in the last few hours *
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Previous
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10th October 2024 - History
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Fell and Floutern
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October 2024 - Life
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