~High Spy & Maiden Moor~
15th August 2015
Maiden Moor
Scroll down for photos and a description of the walk....
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Chapel House Farm Campsite |
Morraine Ridge |
A snap decision to take a trip to the Lakes for an overnight stay in deepest Borrowdale. Here at Chapel House Farm Campsite, the farmer put us in his "spare" field as the main one was full. Bingo! Loads of space and not many tents. A morraine ridge runs along one side and hosts a public footpath, which became the start of our walk towards High Spy, part of the Newlands Horseshoe of fell tops.
Castle Crag
Skirting along the foot of Johnny Wood, we are aiming for Scaleclose Force, not one I've seen before.
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Coppice |
Waterfall |
Scaleclose
Danger lurks at the high edges of ground close to the waterfall, take care! A stile leads out into the open and towards Tongue Gill for the walk up to Rigghead Quarries.
To Tongue Gill
My previous visit to Rigghead Quarries was late in the day and in descent, so this is a new ascent route.
Tongue Gill
It's an obvious route up and there's lots of old quarry stuff to see. The piles of slate offcuts show where the main mines were excavated into the landscape, spoils the view!
Looking Back Down
Wilson's Bield
The col at the top of Tongue Gill is called Wilson's Bield. Walkers for High Spy turn right and head up the hill.
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The prominent crag of Great Gable belongs to Dale Head. Molly awaits the slower member of the party.
High Spy Summit 2,143ft asl
A fine cairn on top of this fine fell. "A memorial to its unknown builders". I wonder if it's like the Blue Peter garden and could there be a time capsule concealed deep within the stone structure?
To Maiden Moor
1.5 miles of pleasant straightforward walking to the next fell top.
Heather on Maiden Moor
It's that time of year when those who have previously rushed to take photos of the first snows of winter, the daffodils on Ullswater, then the bluebells at Rannerdale, maybe foxgloves now head up the high places to take photos of heather. But not me, the blooming heather is purely incidental....
Molly on top of Maiden Moor
She has a new trick: the levitating ball. A larger cairn and selfie station is lower down, but this is the highest point of Maiden Moor.
Scope End
Looking across to Scope End - Hindscarth route. No doubt there are folk sat in the heather over there, with their cameras clicking away, luxuriating in the splendour of this fine August day.
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Cat Bells |
Hause Gate |
Initially the plan had been to taverse Cat Bells and walk through Portinscale to Keswick for a bus back to Stonethwaite, but a change of plan lead us to take the path of Hause Gate and back into Borrowdale for the walk back to the tent.
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The Way Down
High Ground
Picnic spot above the fields of Borrowdale. It's Grange Fell over there.
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Ellers |
Footbridge |
We followed the path past Ellers and High Close for a route to Hollows Farm
Hollows Farm
After passing the farm and the campsite, we continued alongside the River Derwent and then into Rosthwaite.
Rosthwaite
Eagle Crag
Stonethwaite Cottages
Walkers: Molly The Dog and Me.
Route: Chapel House Farm Campsite, Peak Howe, Johnny's Wood, Scaleclose, Tongue Gill, Rigghead Quarries, Wilson's Bield, High Spy, Maiden Moor, Hause Gate, High Ground, Ellers, High Close, Hollows Farm, River Derwent, Rosthwaite, road back to Stonethwaite and the camspite.
Time taken: 5hrs 10mins over a distance of about 10 miles.
Weather: Dry and sunny for most of the time.
Another 15th August on Maiden Moor and High Spy, genuinely a coincidence that the calendar date is the same!
Nearly all photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2015 ©
Take me back to the start ....