Bleaberry Fell

Wednesday 2nd January 2013

I had not planned anything in advance for the last day of my holiday in the Lake District except for a requirement to catch a bus from Keswick mid-afternoon. I spent much of the evening of New Year’s Eve pouring over maps trying to decide what walks I was going to do for the next two days, but it wasn’t until I was part way through my walk of New Year’s Day on the western side of Derwent Water that I got the idea to walk up Bleaberry Fell, which is near to Keswick on the eastern side of Derwent Water. My original idea for New Year’s Day had been to walk all the way around Derwent Water, but a lack of a good through route on the eastern side of the lake prompted me to stay on the western side on New Year’s Day. Now the eastern side beckoned with a desire to climb alongside Cat Gill on an ascent of Bleaberry Fell that became my sole target for this last day. Wainwright’s “Ascent from the Borrowdale Road” fitted the bill, but first I needed to get to the Borrowdale Road.

My walk started with a stroll down to the popular viewpoint of Friar’s Crag for a look at the stunning view across Derwent Water, the most beautiful lake in the Lake District, even when the weather is awful. On this last day it was just as lousy as it had been throughout my holiday with rain falling more often than not but with lighter winds than I had endured over the previous couple of days. Fortunately the poor weather had driven away all the tourists and allowed me to enjoy the stunning views across the lake all on my own. Following the lake-shore path I walked around Strandshag Bay and through the Ings Wood to Calfclose Bay. Slowly, I made my way along the pleasant path to the Borrowdale Road and the start of the “Ascent from the Borrowdale Road” at the mouth of Cat Gill. After crossing the road I climbed a muddy path below the imposing Falcon Crag that I would have loved to have been able to explore.

Crossing Cat Gill by a footbridge I took an thrilling path that climbs steeply up the hillside beside the ravine created by Cat Gill on the edge of Great Wood. I loved this gorgeous stone-flagged path that cleverly climbs the steep hillside while on the edge of a stunning ravine and was thankful that I’d made the effort to climb Bleaberry Fell by this route; I am only disappointed that I hadn’t been up this path earlier. I was sheltered from the wind in the ravine and as I got hot from the effort of the climb I was actually wishing for a breath of wind, which is ironic after the savage cross-winds that I’d endured the day before on Maiden Moor. On this holiday I had been wearing two waterproofs, which is not something I’ve ever done before but it’s worked out quite well. As well as my usual waterproof (which is very light), I have added the old cagoule that I’ve had for years (and wore on my first ever holiday in the Lake District) and was now being used as an overcoat. In the very wet conditions I found on this holiday it worked very well, but on this ascent the non-breathable nature of the cagoule made me a bit warm, but through judicious use of rolling up the sleeves of my two waterproofs I managed to reach the top of Cat Gills without melting into a pool of sweat.

A clear path took me around the top of the various streams that combine at the top of the ravine until after I’d crossed the last stream I set off across the fell on relatively firm ground to the clear path that heads towards Bleaberry Fell. After passing a sheepfold, a heavily constructed path emerged that led me all the way up to the top of the fell, and was a welcome help as soon after joining this path it started raining heavily with no sign that it would end. This is not the sort of weather that you would want when climbing a fell. I resolutely made my way through the rain, up the steep paved path and past the many cairns that litter the top until I reached the summit of Bleaberry Fell where I found a small shelter from the wind and rain and had my lunch.

I returned back down the heavily made path and after passing the sheepfold I made a direct course for Walla Crag across very boggy ground. This was the route that I had taken the last time I was in this area, in 2006, but it’s not a good route. The route I’d taken in ascent from Cat Gill is much drier and much better than this usual route across the ridiculously boggy ground of Low Moss. Eventually I reached the tremendous views across Derwent Water that can seen from the popular top of Walla Crag, and from the top I took a fabulous path that skirts the edge of the crags and provided me with excellent views throughout the all-too-short walk. A delightful descent beside Brockle Beck followed and led me all the way down into Keswick, where since I still had a bit of time left before my bus I decided to nip up to the top of the wooded viewpoint of Castlehead, which Wainwright describes as having the most beautiful of all the views of Derwent Water. The extra height of Castlehead possibly gives it an edge over the lakeshore viewpoint from Friar’s Crag. This was a great end to a fabulous six days in the Lake District that shows that bad weather doesn’t necessarily stop you having a great walking holiday over the fells; you just have to be prepared.