High Pike from Mosedale

Friday 14th January 2022

A fairly easy walk in the Northern Fells today. Didn't exactly go to plan though. I actually 'slept in' and set off much later than I normally do - that wouldn't matter too much this time as the parking would be straightforward and also it's just about the easiest part of the lakes to get to for me. But there was also a problem on the A66 so I had to do a significant detour. To cap it all, I was chatting with my son and missed my turning and almost ended up in Keswick !!

In addition the weather was pretty gloomy - Weatherline had given me the impression that it was going to be 'bright' for the first half of the day, but that certainly wasn't the case. I shortened the walk when leaving High Pike, I had intended to do a sort of out and back to Carrock Fell but with limited daylight and a night out planned I ditched that idea. Anyway, a nice 10 mile walk albeit with limited views this time.

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Distance: 10.3 miles

Duration: 4:15 hours

Ascent: 2113 ft

Difficulty: Moderate

Accompanied By: On my Own

Weather: Cloudy/Mild

Wainwrights Visited

High Pike (Calebeck)

Parking

A great place to park when walking up Carrock Fell or High Pike. Never a problem getting parked up in this very quiet area and always the option to have a pint in The Mill Inn at Mungrisedale afterwards.

Heading off alongside the very quiet road in the direction of Calebreck

Carrock Fell at Stone End. The usual ascent can just be seen going diagonally from right to left reaching the wide gully and stream (two trees roughly mark the spot). However, I decided to carry on to Calebreck today and head up directly to High Pike rather than via Carrock Fell (just for a change - no other reason).

A useful alternative parking area near Carrock Fell, seems slightly more popular than mine today.

Now that's a proper ford !

On the flanks of High Pike - that cloud is getting nearer all the time and it's so 'still' with zero wind - I doubt it's going to go nowhere soon ! Looks like I'm in for a couple of hours without any views.

Take a last look - it's going grey soon.

The path crosses the Cumbria Way - so I turn left to join it and start the ascent of High Pike.

A gloomy summit gradually appears

For such a unremarkable fell - the summit offers quite a bit of interest, with a trig point, a wind shelter and a memorial seat.

Slightly later than I had intended for lunch, due to being about 2 hours behind schedule (sleeping in/blocked A66 & missed turning due to chatting to my son) - I arrived at the Lingy Hut. Somewhere to sit down out of the damp drizzly air and enjoy a hot drink and sandwich. No luck today - the place was full to the brim - a group had taken over it, so I had to press on to try to find a suitable alternative.

This will do ! Sitting alongside Grainsgill Beck following the Cumbria Way downwards - not too much of a view, but it was nice to have the sound of the small waterfalls in the background.

Finally I drop below the cloud-line and the world seems a better place.

The remnants of Carrock Mine - Looks like this was a thriving industry a 100 years ago. There's a display board showing a photo of the mine buildings that you can see in the centre of this photo when they were in use - It's worth a stop for 5 minutes to imagine what it was like to be here during it's heyday. I found it fascinating.

A gentle stroll back along the valley road towards Mosedale before the journey back to Teesside and a night out down the town. Isn't life great !