Sussex Scrapbook
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Nature walks throughout the year
Saturday 28th March 2009
Cat Bells (451m) & High Spy (653m) from Grange.
The Lake District, Cumbria, England
8 miles
This walk is much
easier than the
Scafell ascent
as there is no scrambling to be done, but parts of the ascent from Grange are
very steep. The truly gobsmacking views from all parts of this fell are due to
it being surrounded by far higher fells, with the huge, deep valleys of Newlands
on one side and Borrowdale on the other. The peaks of Skiddaw, Helvellyn and
Scafell Pike are all visible from this walk and today they were all capped in
snow.
The path from Grange (The Allerdale Ramble) is fairly easy going and crosses
many gills and rills before going up very sharply to the top. From there, the
promontory of Cat Bells is out by itself and still further up. You come back on
yourself from there and very sharply go up to Maiden Moor. By leaving the main
path and taking the route right, along the ridge edge, you get the best view out across
Newlands Valley to the Derwent Fells. It's very hard to make any headway along
this part of the walk as you are just bowled over by the stunning views on all sides.
Part of the Allerdale Ramble up from
Grange.
Derwent Water with Skiddaw and Helvellyn in the
distance
Cat Bells sticking out by itself, seen from up towards
Maiden Moor
The Derwent Fells
with Newlands Beck running along the bottom
The cairn at High Spy
Spiky rocks and a superb panoramic view at
High Spy including
Dale head just across the valley
When Dale tarn comes into view we started looking for the
turning East alongside High Scawdel and down through the mines
The path East, down into Honister slate mines
The steep path follows rough steps made from the waste
slate that's in huge heaps on the mountain side.
The waste in this valley is now used to make and repair paths throughout the
Lake District in what's known as the
Fix the
fells project.
It all feels very much like a location in Lord of the
Rings
There are mine entrances everywhere, but no one but a
fool would go down them without proper equipment and training.
Was that distant drumming I heard then?......
We hopped, skipped and slid, down and down until we met
the stream
At the bottom we crossed the stream and headed North
through the Borrowdale Valley.
The water has come directly from the Scafell massif and so we may
have even seen it yesterday...?
We touch on the Cumbria Way only for a mile or so...
......under overhanging crags like Castle Crag
..... and mossy woods perched on the sheer inclines.
A dry-stone sheep fold reminds us we're back in
civilisation
The Herdwick sheep are everywhere around here, but we
didn't see any on Scafell Pike!
Finally our stream meets up with the River Derwent,
which we follow back to Grange, once again on the Allerdale Ramble.