Mosser Road, Whin Fell, Fellbarrow, Loftbarrow, Darling Fell, Loweswater, Cumbria.

Mosser Road, Whin Fell, Fellbarrow, Loftbarrow, Darling Fell, Loweswater, Cumbria.
[13.3 km] Wed 16 Oct 2019

Lat/Long: 54.589893, -03.366604
OS Grid ref: NY 11789 22492
I have returned to the Loweswater area to explore more of the the Loweswater Fells. My original plan was to start from Waterend and walk in an anticlockwise direction starting with the climb of the west side of Darling Fell. However the weather was bad first thing with rain and low cloud with the chance of improving weather by midday. Because of this I decided to do the walk anti-clockwise so the low-level part came first. There is a large parking area by the narrow road at Waterend where the old telephone box has been converted to a defibrillator. I was the only car there when I arrived and after putting on full waterproofs set off up the farm access track to Miresyke.

At the farm gate there is a very rough track at a right fork which I followed up to reach the Mosser Road. This is where I walked last week and now I am heading north along the road in very dismal and rainy weather. Last week I checked the Google Map view and was surprised to see a street view of the full length of this very rough track. There was little to see as I headed north and I soon reached the group of houses at Mosser mains. One of the properties at Gill Brow was being extensively refurbished so I took a photo.
Gill Brow

I continued north along the road to the right turn NE which heads east. It is signposted as unsuitable for vehicles and I haven't been walking along it for a long when I realised why. The further I went the worse the road became and was soon nothing more than a farm track. I continued for just over a mile heading steadily upwards until I came to the right track which heads up onto the fell.
Muddy road

I turned right here to head up the stony track with a strong easterly wind driving the rain across. At the end of the stony track I went through a gate and headed up the grassy hillside towards Whin Fell. There was no path and once through a gate and a final steep climb reached Hatteringill Head summit. The weather had cleared a bit and I was able to see south towards my next objective which was Fellbarrow. After a descent I was on a defined path which took me up to the summit.
Old railway goods wagon

I continued climbing to the trig post but didn't stop and continued south towards Sourfoot Fell. I then turn shortly west to Loftarrow and after reaching a fence followed it to a stone wall and crossed it buy an interesting small stone boundary post. Adjacent to the Stone was in an iron fence post with an interesting casting on the top.
Fellbarrow trig post

Fence Iron casting
Boundary post and fence

The ground then became very boggy as I crossed Beckhead Moss to reach an old farm track where I had walked last week. I then headed for Darling Fell where I saw some walkers approaching from the west. By the time I'd reach the summit they had vanished from view. The weather had cleared a little more and I had some moody views across Loweswater to Mellbreak in the distance. My descent was the west side of Darling Fell which I have never visited before. It is a pleasant and easy walk though quite steep in places. The weather had cleared enough to give me extensive views out to the west. The path took me diagonally down as I got lower to reach the old Mosser Road. I followed it back towards the Loweswater road but before reaching it took a shortcut through the trees. It was then an easy walk back along the road for about three quarters of a mile back to the car.

Mellbreak on the left