View to High Pike just before sunrise

Sunrise above High Pike

The wind died down during the night and the sky was partly clear. The forecast was for a clear sky but that turned out to be wrong although the temperature did drop to 4degC. I just caught a brief glimpse of the sun as it rose above High Pike to the NE but that was it for the rest of the day. The cloud rolled in and for a time enveloped my camp. I started the squelchy descent towards Miller Moss just before 7am. It was an easy and pleasant descent and at Grainsgill Beck I joined the Cumbria Way path to descend by the beck. The path is stony in places but improves when the old mine workings are reached.

View to Mosedale

The refurbished mine entrance

The mine area is desolate and deserted and it’s hard to imagine that when I passed this area 30years ago the mine was being worked. I was surprised to see one of the lower levels had been cleaned out and a shiny new stone portal constructed. The outlet had been piped to allow drainage water to return to the beck. There was no information board around to explain who was doing the work or why. The wide flat valley of the River Caldew was spread out before me. A campervan was parked in the first grassy lay-bye I came to but the blinds were up and presumably the occupants asleep.

River Caldew and Coomb Height

The river is fairly deep and fast and I needed to cross it. I didn’t have long to walk to reach the first footbridge at the Roundhouse properties. Over the bridge was a green path heading straight up the fell side. That’s the way I was heading so I followed it. The map doesn’t show it even though it must be well used. It was heading in the general direction of Bowscale Tarn but I left it to turn right and follow another old route up towards the crags above. After a steady climb it became steeper for a while then flattened out to give impressive views down on to Bowscale Tarn.

Approaching the footbridge at Roundhouse

A better defined path took me to the double summit of Bowscale Fell where I met a walker and his dog by the cairn which I judged to be the lower of the two summits. The next was only a minute away and as I arrived so did the walker but he slumped in to the stone shelter there and seemed happy to get out of the wind. I pressed on as I could see the path showing the way ahead towards Bannerdale Crags. It wasn’t the crags I was after but the path to the right which goes to a saddle on Mungrisdale Common. It was interesting looking up to the profile of Sharp Edge above me. I took the steep path up the ridge towards Atkinson Pike but had no intention of following it all the way.

Small Tarn near Atkinson Pike

One of the crosses near the summit

My objective was a pitch between Atkinson Pike and Blencathra but to get fresh water I needed to call at a stream which I’d reach by doing a traverse at the 750m contour. It was fairly easy going and after a while I found a faint path to follow. The stream appeared before me and had a couple of issues coming straight out of the fell side, indicating clean water from underground. It would have made a good camping spot but there wasn’t any ground flat enough to get my tent on. I filled my water bag and headed steeply upwards. I didn’t particularly want to camp directly on the summit as it would be too close to the main footpaths. I climbed up and kept a lookout for the first flat spot. It turned out to be near the top and closer to the footpath than I would have liked. Fortunately the ground wasn’t too stony and I was able to get all the pegs well in as I pitched the tent. By now it was mid-day and I hadn’t been in the tent long before a group of Geordies appeared outside the tent and one asked if it was OK to use the tent to shelter from the wind. Of cause I said it was but I’d hoped for some peace a quiet. Later in the day I went for a walk along the ridge to Atkinson Pike and a look at the various crosses formed by stones set in the ground. I saw three; two were white stones and the other just grey. The weather continued overcast and grey with spots of rain.

View down to Scales Tarn

Tent on Blencathra