Tebay, Cleugh Gill, Blease Fell, Blakethwaite Stone,  Hand Lake, Cumbria. Thu 16 Nov 2006

I drove to Longdale, a small Hamlet 3Km east of Tebay. I left my car by the old School, now a private house, and started walking back along the road to Tebay. Driving north along the M6 I’d seen a track way running up Cleugh Gill and decided it was about time I investigated it. Walking through Gaisgill I noticed that quite a bit of development was going on. The people who move here will be totally reliant on their cars as there is no bus service that calls here.

Brockholes path marker.

 It didn’t take long to reach Tebay; the weather remained overcast and windy but no rain yet. People were about when I arrived and the first bus of the day had just gone. It’s nice to see the school is still there and not closed down like many in small villages. I was now heading south on the A685 and continued as far as the bridge over the river Lune. I took a left branch and followed the access track towards Brockholes and continued to the buildings. I was surprised how many there were. The path had been diverted round the buildings and crossed a wet field between the buildings and river.

It was pleasant walking along the bank of the Lune which I followed to the end of the field and then onto a stony path which was very wet and slippery. I didn’t want to go too far along it as my way was up, and towards Cleugh Gill. To my left was a very steep bank but I had to go for it as this was the only way up. Eventually I reached the field above and then a minor track which is shown on the map. Looking back down and across the Lune I could see the outline of the Roman Fort at Low Borrowbridge. A lot of gorse blocked the way at the Gill so I set off up the right side and crossed to the left when I was above the gorse. I soon picked up the track I’d seen from the motorway. It was a very interesting feature and was easy to follow steeply up the hillside. Higher up it took a zig zag route until it reached flatter ground. It must have been important to reach this high ground for such a well engineered track to be built.

The old track up Cleugh Gill.

The Lune valley, Railway & M6 from Blease Fell.

On the top I came to a faint path and followed it towards Blease Fell. Just over the top was a small cairn with a very commanding view of the Lune valley, railway and M6 motorway. The view was then lost as the weather started to close in and soon I was in cloud and rain. As I crossed Archer Moss the wind got up and the rain turned to hail. Over Uldale Head I descended a short way and looked for a bit of shelter to stop for lunch. I found some and got out my Vango one man storm shelter. I don’t often have to use it but in high winds and rain it’s a godsend. Inside the cheery orange glow of the fabric colour brightens things up, even though it is horrible outside.

Looking down into Blakethwaite Bottom I could see a group of the Howgill Ponies looking wet and dejected at the base of Great Ulgill Beck. I descended to the Blakethwaite Stone, hoping to take some photos of the various inscriptions. Heavy rain put paid to that. I crossed the valley and headed straight up the other side, following a quad bike track to make the going easier. I got to the summit of Hand Lake (a mountain, not a water lake) and headed north to descent to Langdale Beck. This place mustn’t be visited very often as there was no sign of a path. The heavy rain had eased a bit but didn’t stop. At Churn Gill I headed for a sheepfold.

Sheepfold by Churn Gill?

Water main marker.

As I got nearer I saw what looked like a small gravestone, but it turned out to be a water main marker.

The Gill was too deep and wide to get across easily so I headed upstream to find a narrow bit. No such luck, so I took off my boots and socks and waded. Returning downstream I reached the sheepfold, which looked odd with no access or gate. A diversion from the river runs into it and grassed over stone retaining walls run downstream on the same side. I can only assume it’s associated with the water main and is probably a small reservoir or settling tank.

Churngill Beck.

Bridge over Langdale Beck .

I headed across to Langdale Beck and the wonderful packhorse bridge. No problems getting over the river here. I took the very wet path down Langdale where the trees still had quite a bit of autumn colour in them, but being overcast and raining meant no photos. The farmer was out with his cows as I squelched past the muddy lane approaching Town Head, then onto the grass and my car at Longdale.