~Ard Crags to Knott Rigg~
6th May 2016
View off Knott Rigg
Scroll down for photos and a description of the walk....
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Rigg Beck |
Ard Crags |
The best camping weekends start with a Friday evening walk and this was to be no exception. Parking at Rigg Beck bridge where a quarried crag has left room for several cars, Molly and I set off up Rigg Beck for an ascent of Ard Crags.
Catbells
Usually I look for something under 2000ft (above sea level) for this time of day and our start time of 1800hrs gave us up to three hours of decent light at this time of year. Unfortunately it is rather gloomy which takes the shine off an otherwise enjoyable walk.
Ard Crags Ascent
Wainwright implores readers to wait for a sunny day in August to enjoy the delights of these heather-clad slopes; however time is a thief and my choice was made before referring to Book 6 - there will be heather somewhere else in August and this is our day for Ard Crags.
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Ard Crags Summit 1,860ft or thereabouts |
I'll let you know when we bump into fellow walkers...
To Knott Rigg
It would be difficult to get lost on the way to Knott Rigg.
Knott Rigg Summit 1,824ft asl
23 minutes later we hit the second felltop. At least we can play "ball" on this one.
Ridge Route
There are three options for walking off Knott Rigg and back down into Newlands. The beck (left) is not recommended, it looks a tricky scramble; this ridge is probably the best way down. There is another path off to the right which rejoins the ridge path above Keskadale.
Keskadale
The farm of Keskadale is down below. The red dots indicate our way back to Rigg Beck - around the corner after the arrow. There is a "fields" route on the map, but a sign by the farm warning of missing bridges after the floods of December '15.
Bawd Hall
Looking back to Bawd Hall and Ard Crags.
Newlands Road
Are you still here? A surprise awaits ...
Newlands Fell Cottage (dis)
Clearly damaged by fire. It must take an age for the fire services to reach a place like this. The photo below shows how it used to look, I hope the owners were insured and can restore the property.
Brochure Photo (not taken by me)
The A Word
This property was used for filming in the BBC drama: "The A Word". I know this because (a) I watched the series and (b) I found the crew here last August and was behind one of the wagons when it hit a tree branch and shattered the windscreen.
Rigg Beck
No other walkers at all, anywhere whatsoever.
Walkers: Molly The Dog and Me.
Route: Rigg Beck, up onto the ridge to Aikin Knott hence to Ard Crags, ridge to Knott Rigg, a third ridge back down the hills to Keskadale and then the Newlands road back to Rigg Beck.
Weather: Warm and cloudy.
Time Taken: 2hrs 35mins hours over a distance of about 5.5 miles. Easygoing evening exercise.
Nearly all photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2016 ©
Take me back to the start ....