The local Mockerkin Mob, village walking group is out again
and the weather has come up trumps, considering that the walk
was planned two weeks ago.
An 'A' walk up Lad Hows to the summit of Grasmoor is planned
and at over 2,750 feet high, it should give us great views today.
After the weeks of poor weather recently, the tables turned
yesterday and a great day is in prospect for the walk today.
Parking at Cinderdale car park at the foot of the Lad Hows
ascent means the day starts without any road walking.
[ Loes and Dylan are on light duties today so will walk home
via the lakeside path from here.]
Most of the group started out as I was taking a photo of Lad
Hows. Pip held back to give the photographer a sense of perspective
!
The taller peak behind Lad Hows is Whiteless Pike, which will
be included on our return walk later in the day.
A quick stop to gather the group together and to discus the
planned route.
Most of the walk is straight forward but there
is scope for a variation at the end . . . over Rannerdale or
down the valley.
We'll leave that decision till we see how we
all feel at the time.
- - - o o o - - -
Despite the cold temperatures
the waterfall on Cinderdale Beck is running free.
You can see the frost on the ground
especially in the shadows,
but the temperatures have not been low enough for
long enough
to encourage ice to form.
- - - o o o - - -
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However the temperature is low enough for this
Herdwick to really take advantage of its thick winter coat.
Part way up Lad Hows is the small holly tree
so I encourage Dougal to sit next to it.
I've used this location as wallpaper photo on
my old laptop for years, so I take another photo today to spot
the changes.
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The holly
bush circa 2009 with Layla and Holly . . . |
. . . and again
in September 2020 with Dylan and Dougal. |
The steep part of the climb up Lad Hows is complete,
so we take the opportunity to briefly stop and admire the view.
Roll call for today: Ann, Sue, Peter,
Julie, (Kathryn out of photo behind Julie), Chris, Hugh, Pip
plus myself and Dougal of course.
Looking down on a very cold Rannerdale Farm.
We felt a coffee and a flapjack was in order
before the big climb but a stop at Lad Hows seemed to early
for refreshments.
A short time later, before the main climb, we
paused to indulge ourselves and to gain an energy boost !
Several of us had shed a layer of clothing by
this time as it was warm work climbing and there was no wind-chill
effect.
The upper section of the climb is steep enough
to cause the path to zig-zag through the rock outcrops and scree.
Up here we got a clear view of the Isle of Man,
directly above the left hand (higher) summit of Mellbreak.
Mountain Man . . . happy to have completed the
bulk of the climb.
So as not to appear sexist or biased in any
way . . . Mountain Woman !
The last hundred yards to the ridge is a much
easier stroll and we have time to appreciate the view to the
full.
Click here
or on the picture for a slightly
larger version with more detail.
The last doddle of the walk across the flat
topped summit of Grasmoor.
What always confuses people about Grasmoor is
that the dramatic summit seen from below is about half a mile
further on and some 300 feet lower
than the summit cairn and shelters seen here
in this photo. I did the extra walk to it a
few years ago and it was a long way back up !
- - - o o o - - -
Whilst at the summit shelter I took this photo
looking west to the Isle of Man, seen just right of centre this
time.
The two fellow walkers had just finished a coffee
and headed off before us.
Time to retrace our summit steps along the ridge,
then past the Lad Hows turning and on eastward towards our next
objective.
This was the small cairn on the eastern end
of the ridge which gave us a fine view of the central Scafell
summits.
The descent to the hause at Wandope Moss was
significantly steeper than I remember
but no particular problem unless you are climbing
up it after a long day on the fells.
Ahead are the summits of Crag Hill on the left
(not for us today as we were there recently)
and for us, Wandope off to the right.
We will aim for that diagonal path climbing
directly for Wandope's summit.
On reaching the top we could look down into
Addacomb Hole,
This is a dry mountain corrie which looks as
if it had a small tarn in the olden days.
A breach in the moraine at the edge of the deep
shadow has allowed any water to drain away.
The break of slope on the summit and an insulated
sit mat adds comfort to our lunchtime seating position.
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- - - o o o - - -
We have a spectacular vista ahead
of us
as we relax in the sunshine
but all of a sudden our attention
was diverted
by the sudden arrival of a tray
of famous hazel nut chocolates.
You can tell you're walking with a
quality crowd !
Perhaps the energy to weight ratio
wasn't quite as good
as a classic bar of chocolate, but
they did taste rather nice.
Thank you to Ann who brought them
up.
- - - o o o - - -
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Suitably fortified by lunch and a crunch, we
headed off on the homeward leg of our walk.
Ahead of us was a view of the climb so far,
with the Lad Hows ridge being the left hand slope of Grasmoor
as seen from here.
The ground rises slightly now to Whiteless Edge,
where we regain the views of Crummock Water and Loweswater far
below.
Third Gill Man Head takes its name from tributary
stream to its left which flows down into Buttermere's Sail Beck
/ Mill Beck.
It's a local summit name not shown on either
of the O.S. maps I have seen.
Another slight rise along the ridge to Whiteless
Pike gives more open views north and west to the Scottish coast.
Near the top we stopped briefly to admire the
views across to the Helvellyn Ridge
which appears to attract a little summit cloud
across its snowy tops.
However the sun continues to shine on Clough
Head and the Dodds and the intermediate ridges of Maiden Moor
and Ard Crags closer to us.
Sue leads off, down the slightly challenging
zig-zag path from the rocky top of Whiteless Pike.
Those areas shaded from the winter sun have
retained a deep frost, both in Rannerdale Valley and across
the way under Scales and Starling Dodd.
Looking towards Robinson and High Snockrigg
as clouds now gathers over the summits of the Scafells.
A last view of the long ridge that joins Knott
Rigg at this end to the pointed Ard Crags in the distance.
Time to decide on the final part of the route
soon . . . Rannerdale valley or ridge.
One will be cool and possibly icy, the summit
will be further but remains in the sunshine.
The descent off the far end should be clear
of problems as it is also facing the sun.
Two schools of thought and with a party of nine
we have the chance to offer folk the choice of route on this
last part of the walk.
Peter led the four who chose the valley descent
and I nominally lead five of us who preferred the tops.
As the Mob is a democratic bunch of 'fellow-walkers'
rather than a formally led group it can offer this sort of flexibility
on the day.
Let me at this point offer a vote of thanks
to Peter, technically our "leader" today
as he has put not inconsiderable effort into
planning and a reccy-ing the route prior to today's outing.
With the winter sun setting early, not all of
the ridge is in direct sunshine, but five of us head out for
the Rannerdale Knotts summits nevertheless.
To our right the cold looking Squat Beck and
Rannerdale Valley.
To our right the equally cold looking fields
and slopes that surround the head of Crummock Water.
Summit dog on the first of the Rannerdale Knotts.
The view down from the second and higher summit
of the Knott itself . . . anyone lost a bobble hat ?
It doesn't belong to my four companions on this
part of the walk.
Dougal stops on the edge to enjoy the view down
and to bask in the last of the direct sum today.
Looking down on Rannerdale Farm once again,
but from a very different angle compared to that from Grasmoor
earlier in the day.
It's a level walk from here on as we had a reasonable
descent of the pitched path and have now reach the main road.
A final look over the wall and a look back at
a fine walk.
"We haven't had a better day in the hills
than this for a very long time" was one of the comments
made
when we met up with the others at Cinderdale
car park at the end of the walk.
- - - o o o - - -
Roger
I have continued to view
your website since contacting you many years ago.
You keep me in contact with a most beautiful part
of the world, one quite different from the 40 degrees
Centigrade we experienced in Brisbane, Australia,
yesterday.
Your photographs are always
impressive, but the reason for my message is that
I thought your pictures from the mob outing to Grasmoor
were exquisite. The view from Rannerdale Knotts
looking down over Rannerdale farm, Crummock Water,
Mellbreak and Low Fell is one of my favourites.
You have shown it many times before, but it often
isn’t as clear as this picture. That view
reminds me of our walk to Low Fell on a freezing,
windy November day almost 40 years ago.
I really appreciate your
web posts – they bring much joy.
Graham White
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