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" Wythop Mill and Sale Fell " Date & start time: Wednesday 18 th March 2015, 3.50 pm start. Location of Start : Roadside near Wythop Church, Cumbria, Uk ( NY 192 302 ) Places visited : Wythop Village, the Mill and Sale Fell afterwards. Walk details : 2.1 mls, 725 feet of ascent, 1 hour 15 mins. Highest point : Sale Fell, 1177ft - 359m Walked with : Ann and our dogs, Harry and Dylan. Weather : Sunshine and blue skies but rather hazy. |
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Fine weather, chance for a walk, several emails and a previous meeting all fall into place today. We decide on a walk on Sale Fell but call in to Wythop Village before we do to visit the old School, the Mill and the Church. On the way to Wythop . . . St Bartholomew's Church, Embleton, the other church in the valley. The old School at Wythop, place of learning for one of our New Zealand Loweswatercam viewers in her youth. The school has now closed and has been converted into a village resource as an independent hostel and local meeting room. It is on the top road above the village and backs onto Ling Fell, a lovely position with fine views. We have conversed by email in recent days . . .
As it happens I met the new owners of Wythop Mill in the shop in recent months so we took the opportunity to call in and say hello, and see how the old mill looks now. The bridge and bridge cottages at Wythop Mill. The forecourt of the mill complex with another of Lakeland's red phone boxes. The large house is Stables Cottage and the smaller is Sty Cottage, both available for self catering stays. The mill has been converted as a fine dwelling and we were welcomed inside. Through the glass next to the dining table is the inner gearing of the waterwheel.
The side room . . . I think this was the entrance to the old tearooms when we visited in the 1980's. In recent rains the wheel suddenly sprung into life as the mill pond above filled with water. There was no-one more surprised than the new owners as it didn't say anything about that in the estate agents information. With all the basics in place and still working they are now considering getting it back in good working order and possibly generating electricity for the house and for the national grid. Next thing you know they might even open a tearoom . . . only joking ! If you look over the wall from the road bridge you can see the sluice gate for the old mill pond.
Anyone any ideas as the best way to dig that lot out and re-instate the mill pond ? Do email me with ideas and I'll pass them on.
Many thanks to the new owners of Wythop Mill for the look around and we wish them the best in their (relatively) new home. - - - o o o - - - Distracted again as we pass the new St Margaret's Church . . . dating from 1806 when the old church at the back of the fell was closed.
A diagonal view of the church with Sale Fell behind. - - - o o o - - - With the dogs in the car perhaps we had better go for a walk ! We parked just along from the church and headed up towards the fell through the large gate. The good track climbs up behind the church through a stand of gorse bushes. Up to the small memorial seat at the viewpoint. Out of sight to the left is the church but ahead is Bass lake and the rounded outline of Binsey. A left turn sets us on course for a clockwise perambulation around the fell. Above us a small quarry which was possibly dug to provide stone for the church buildings ? Below, zoomed in 'cos it was further away, the Pheasant Inn - Bassenthwaite. Above and beyond . . . The houses of Dubwath. Grand suburban-looking homes which may have been developed as a result of the railway which would have ran across the picture had not Mr Beeching closed it in favour of widening the A66 roadway. The full picture . . . from the fell fence, over the Dubwath Silver Meadows Nature Reserve, north into the haze. They have been felling a crop of trees from the Wythop Woods and now the secondary summit of Lothwaite heights is open to view.
Right again, leaving the wall and heading directly for the summit of Sale Fell. Behind, the snow capped summit of Skiddaw rises like a new moon over the landscape of yellow winter grasses and bracken. Zooming in . . . the darker intermediate summits of Ullock Pike, Longside Edge and Carlside are clearer now. White stones of quarts off to the side from the summit of our fell. Ann heads straight for the top. Time to relax and enjoy the view . . . what you can see of it on this rather hazy day. Still, to sit and relax on any summit is always a pleasure on a nice day, whatever the view. Onward and clockwise, the low sun somewhat burning the colour from the photo. Dylan leads, Harry follows . . . and I walk between, my jacket round my waist as it is now too warm to wear. " Monarch of the Glen " Down to earth with slightly more reasonable aspirations . . . he's just after an extra dog treat. More gorse bushes as we start our descent towards the church.
The east window of St. Margaret's as we near the end of our walk. This building always intrigues me. It stands a couple of hundred yards away round the corner from the church. It is taller than it is wide and bears the plaque of the Wythop Sunday School. The architectural design is simple but no clues as to the layout inside. Perhaps our New Zealand friend could throw some light on the matter ?
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Technical note: Pictures taken with either Ann's Canon Sureshot SX220, or my Nikon P520 digital camera. Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder. This site best viewed with . . . secondary reasons to chose a nice walk. Go to Top . . . © RmH . . . Email me here Previous walk - 10th March 2015 - Double Measure - double Pleasure A previous time up here - 8th March 2008 A blowy Sale Fell after the rain Next walk - 18th March 2015 - 3D Maps in a Digital Age
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