Great Sca Fell via Trusmadoor

Thursday 27th November 2008

It was great to be back in the Lake District for this holiday, and just as great to be walking again after two months of enforced rest while my ankle healed. So it was a pity that the weather wasn't better, but what can you expect at this time of the year? I suppose the weather was another reason why I hadn’t been walking much lately even though the weather in autumn can be quite nice, it’s just that the weather all year has been rather poor. I remember having walks in October where the weather can be described as feeling like summer, however the weather for this walk definitely did not feel like summer. I was walking in the Northern Fells, which is a generally ignored area of the Lake District as the fells, as a whole, are not typical Lakeland having rounded grassy slopes with very few cliffs or rocks. I haven’t done much walking in this area myself (aside from the beginning of this year) so I thought I’d take advantage of my last two day's holiday from work to go to the Lake District and do some walks in the area. After driving up during the morning in pouring rain I was delighted to find clear dry weather when I finally reached the tiny hamlet of Longlands on the northern edge of the Lake District. I set off south beside a tiny stream, the Longlands Beck, to the distinctive Trusmadoor, a natural cutting in the hillside, and as perfect a pass as you could hope for. On reaching this gap I walked through it and climbed up the fell on the right side of the pass, onto the eloquently named Great Cockup. There are some brilliant names in this area, but this one has got to be the best, with Trusmadoor a close second. On reaching the summit I stopped to have my lunch and then returned to the fantastic Trusmadoor. Now I went up the fell on the other side of the pass, Meal Fell, which sports a fascinating collection of cairns and shelters with a few ponds in between. My course continued along the ridge and up the steep, stark, grassy slopes of Great Sca Fell, where any similarity with its more famous namesake is totally absent, for aside from their name, there is absolutely no similarity between them. The weather turned grey and windy as I walked down the hill from the summit of Great Sca Fell and while passing over Little Sca Fell it started hailing. Fortunately the bombardment was short lived and I was able to comfortably walk across to my fourth Wainwright of the day, Brae Fell.

After gazing out at the scene from the top of this fell that lies on the northern edge of the Lake District I set off west down the hillside towards the Longlands ridge. On my way along the ridge I passed over Lowthwaite Fell, which isn't a Wainwright, and Longlands Fell, which is, even though its smaller. I began dropping down from the top of Longlands Fell after just three hour's walking, which isn’t long, but since I’d not started until one o’clock and it was the end of November, the sun was already setting when I left the top. A track down the north ridge took me off the fell and onto a byway at the bottom, which brought me back to my car. This was a nice little walk in a quiet secluded section of the park. Despite the grassy hills, which are not really my ideal walking terrain, I actually enjoyed the walk and I didn't want to stop even though it was getting dark. Nearby was a solitary hill that also happened to be a Wainwright and since I had some time free, even though it was getting dark, I drove to the foot of the fell and walked right up to the top of Binsey. Going up I didn't need a torch but coming back down the track I found that it was essential as it was now really dark. This was a short walk with the sole purpose of bagging a summit, which is quite sad but still satisfying. I was making it my goal to go up all the Wainwrights in the Northern Fells on this holiday (or at least all the ones I hadn’t already been up) so Binsey was still a necessary if rather pathetic climb.