Latrigg and Lonscale Fell

Friday 21st December 2018

For my last day in the Lake District last Christmas I set off from Keswick past the swimming pool and onto Spoonygreen Lane towards Latrigg while overhead the weather seemed promising. Although I had a little rain initially, this was short lived while some of the fells, notably Skiddaw Little Man, were free of cloud and the skies seemed bright with very little wind, which was a welcome change from the previous days when strong winds had forced me to turn back. Not long after entering Brundholme Wood I branched off the wide, rising lane as I attempted to find a direct route up Latrigg through the wood rather than following the orthodox route via Mallen Dodd. Wainwright mentions several routes , but I had difficulty finding them, although it would have helped if I’d brought a copy of the guide with me rather than relying on lines that I had pencilled onto my Ordnance Survey map. Eventually, I found a route up, but it was ridiculously steep as befits the comments in the newer editions of Wainwright’s guide: “This route is best avoided because of a difficult stretch just below the fence”. The route up Latrigg via Mallen Dodd is still the best way up.

Once past the fence steep grassy slopes brought me up to a seat where tremendous views could be seen over Keswick and Derwent Water towards the distant fells beyond. Despite low clouds clinging to the fells around Borrowdale this was still a fabulous sight. Continuing over Latrigg I followed the clear path over several rocky outcrops that could all vie for the honour of being the top, but the actual summit is singled out by a wide grassy path that heads from it straight down to the car park at the end of Gale Road. Taking this path I went down past the car park onto the Skiddaw path, however I had no intention of going up Skiddaw, so I branched off onto the route of the Cumbria Way that descends gradually to cross Whit Beck where hundreds of young trees have recently been planted to accompany the scattered trees further upstream. I continued along the track as it crosses the slopes of Lonscale Fell while the clouds descended firmly onto all the fells, but with hardly any wind I had no hesitation in making an ascent up Lonscale Fell.

After crossing a fence I turned left uphill following the fence into the clouds above Lonscale Crags all the way up to the top of the fell. I feel as I have gone up Lonscale a lot, or at least I had recently gone up only last May after climbing Skiddaw, which seems to be the norm whenever I stay at Skiddaw House. On this occasion I was coming from the other direction slowly climbing heather slopes that seemed to be taking me so long I wondered whether I was actually climbing Skiddaw. Eventually the fence turned a corner and the eastern top appeared through the mist, which I ignored, as I headed in the opposite direction away from the fence until the summit cairn of Lonscale Fell began to emerge after a short walk. Full of energy after eating my lunch while sat at the summit I hopped away and skipped up to the featureless east top that is a much better place to be when there is a view. Turning around I followed the fence for safety in the misty conditions across the top turning right at a junction and headed north down the increasingly steep terrain towards the ridge of Burnt Horse.

As I descended it started raining so, just as in May last year, it was wet as I made my way along this fabulous ridge whose enjoyment is not diminished by poor weather. Eventually I reached the bridleway that heads to Skiddaw House and is the continuation of the track that I had been on earlier. The rain stopped as I turned right and headed along the path that goes to either Threlkeld or Keswick depending on which branch I took. I had difficulty deciding which branch to take as I could catch the bus from either Threlkeld or Keswick, but eventually I reasoned that since last May I had taken the branch to Threlkeld and since now I had plenty of time I took the fabulous path that crosses the steep slopes below Lonscale. This path is gloriously rock-filled and is absolutely delightful, and as I joyously leaped along this path that was built to serve the nearby disused quarries the thought came to my mind that the best paths were built by miners. The appeal of the Lake District today owes a lot to its mining heritage.

All too soon I came to the far end of Lonscale Crags at the point where I had left the path earlier to start my ascent of Lonscale Fell, and eventually returned to the Gale Road car park. There I had another choice to make for my route, whether to stay on the Cumbria Way, if I was short of time, and head straight into Keswick, or turn left if I had plenty of time across the eastern slopes of Latrigg and descend through Brundholme Wood. In the end I turned left though I may not have had the time so I rushed along the byway onto the grassy slopes of Latrigg before dropping onto the permissive path that goes through Brundholme Wood. I have never taken this route before but I was rather frustrated by the frequent ascents on the undulating path so I was unable to enjoy it. I probably should have taken the direct route as this route is probably much longer than it appears on the map. Eventually I came off the path onto a road that passes through the wood and provided me with a quick and easy way back into Keswick where I could catch the bus and begin my journey home.

This was a good walk that was helped by light winds that enabled me to reach the top of Lonscale Fell whereas on the previous day's walk it had been far too windy to get that high. Once again the weather during this Christmas holiday was wet as it has been in the Lake District every Christmas for the last five years, but as on those previous occasions the rain failed to dampen my enthusiasm for the area and I was able to do some good walks. You should always expect rain in the Lake District, though hope for good weather, and if you are lucky I think you will then appreciate it all the more for its rarity. I had blue skies and sunshine just once on this holiday, around midday on Wednesday, but when I had it I savoured the good, though brief, weather with enthusiasm. However, the footpaths are the crowning jewels of the Lake District and these are the same no matter what the weather.