Sun 22 May 2016
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| The terraced track from Stonestar |
Andrew and I tried to identify the
summit of Tarn Hill from Stonestar in the Duddon valley as sketched by
Wainwright on page 133 of his guide to the Outlying Fells but we couldn't do so
with any certainty.
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| Was this built for carts or ponies? |
In fact, the top of the fell is not easy to find even after
toiling up to the ridge and proceeding north trying to 'keep an eye on the
pointed summit directly ahead'. Having visited it some five years earlier I had
some idea of its location, but in no way can it be described as pointed!
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| Looking back from near the ridge |
We did eventually arrive there, confirmed by consulting AW's summit sketch on page 134. It is a non-descript place, and hardly worth the effort apart from the fascination provided by the terraced track up from the road and the numerous large, old cairns along the path northwards.
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| The summit of Tarn Hill |
But the real
interest is the enclosure on the fell-side below the ridge suggesting a former
ancient settlement. Before the bracken has grown to obscure the walls it can be
seen after careful scrutiny from above.
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| The outline of the enclosure is clear from above |
I cannot find any notes about it on
Google but maybe CWAAS* has something in their archives.
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| Down by the ancient enclosure |
After descending to the road we drove
through Ulpha and up on to the Birker Fell road ready for a rather tedious
ascent of Hesk Fell.
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| Hesk Fell |
If using the pathless route that AW suggests it's best to keep strictly to it along the farm intake wall till it turns off right, and then curve round left up the ridge, where a path can be joined. Otherwise veering off to the left too early means a tiring and unpromising trudge, the summit seemingly never to be attainable on account of the very gradual curve of the fell.The
summit is worth visiting because of the wide panorama over south
Lakeland. It's possible from here, particularly, to put into context the
arrangement of the fells to the south, such as Stainton Pike, the Whit Fell
group, and Black Combe. (No suitable photos, unfortunately).
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The magnificent monolith on Hesk Fell ...
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After a short rest admiring the view we
descended to the cross-wall below where a stile by the gate gives access to an
enclosure which is marked private but is National Trust property with both a
footpath and bridleway through it further along. It is often used by walkers to
attain via another stile in a fence the splendid viewpoint of The Pike.
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| Dunnerdale and fells from The Pike |
From here we could see the Dunnerdale
Fells we had climbed in the morning, but it was not easy to see the summit of
Tarn Hill.
After a snack we returned to the slopes
of Hesk Fell and contoured round northwards. AW suggests we cross Crosby Gill
and to see an ancient cairn but we were put off by marshy ground and long grass beyond the gill would probably hide any ancient stones.
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| AW's ancient cairn |
So we returned via the farm track to the car parked further westward and drove back to a grassy lay-by. We found the scattered stones of what had been the cairn among long grass, and Andrew spotted the sloughed-off skin of a what was probably quite a large adder.
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| Snake skin |
* Cumberland & Westmorland Archaeological and Antiquarian Society. Their reports are in Kendal Library upstairs in the Local History room.
