Thu 28 Dec 2017
For a full index of the walks, please click here.
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Harter Fell (Howgills) |
We ignored the route given by AW using a ford near Handley's Bridge, which we judged to be risky with so much ice on the
footpaths, and took instead the second path leaving the road beyond Rawthey
Bridge.
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Steep start below Murthwaite |
The initial climb up to Murthwaite was really steep. We found the correct path beyond the
farm well signed and set out along the track which leads to the
Ravenstonedale Road above Adamthwaite. Brilliant sunshine meant excellent
views but there was a cold breeze which grew in strength as height was gained.
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Adamthwaite in the shelter of Wandale Hill |
We took AW's advice to watch where we were putting our
feet as there were occasional slippery icy patches. Some way along we branched off to the right up
an old track which made a gentle ascent round the slope of Harter Fell.
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The easy track ascending Harter Fell |
When the track came to an end we plodded off over pathless
moorland up to a subsidiary summit and there we rested and had a snack before
continuing along a clear track curving round to the summit cairn. There the
wind was really cold.
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It was too cold to pose for long! |
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Wandale Hill from Harter Fell |
After taking photos with the wonderful Howgills and
Wild Boar Fell as backdrops we were glad to be descending to the road connecting
Adamthwaite Farm to Ravenstonedale.
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Automatic weather station Mar 2008 - now gone |
Turning left we descended towards the farm and took a lane
above it. We were in shelter from the wind, which had much lessened, and
stopped to eat our lunch in warm sunshine, before continuing along the icy road beyond a barn to where a huge stone, (surely never a gate post?) marked the crossing of Adamthwaite Sike - or so I thought.
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The monolith near the barn |
From this point on, the walk proved rather a challenge. The track appeared to me to be leading down to cross Adamthwaite Sike. We crossed it, but found no track on the other side and encountered a very old broken wall and old and new barbed wire fences.
We had a pretty uncomfortable time negotiating the barriers before eventually getting on to the right route. Had we taken more time to check AW's and the OS maps and explore further upstream we would have been able to find the correct crossing, which I was vaguely aware of having taken last time. I fully accept the blame for the mistake.
We had a pretty uncomfortable time negotiating the barriers before eventually getting on to the right route. Had we taken more time to check AW's and the OS maps and explore further upstream we would have been able to find the correct crossing, which I was vaguely aware of having taken last time. I fully accept the blame for the mistake.
It was then hard and tiring work over the tussocks with the fell summit proving to be one of those that appears to recede further with every step.
Eventually we got to a few large stones forming a
low cairn. As there were no other rocks around someone had carried the stones for
some distance.
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The summit of Wandale Hill. Hurrah! |
After the tiring ascent of the fell
it was a real pleasure for me to find a clear track leading at an easy angle down
towards Narthwaite. We were soon at a wall where a right turn took us
along a thin path to join the Westerdale bridleway leading down to Narthwaite. Here I made again the mistake of not checking the OS map, which shows the bridle path quite clearly. AW's map appears to show the sharp left turn to be right against a wall and, being very tired by this time, I misjudged the way and insisted on continuing straight on, ignoring Andrew's pointing out a clear notice about the bridleway. So we had to climb back up to it later. I used to be a reasonable map reader but I am now relying too much on a failing memory. Sorry, Andrew.
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A short trip up Westerdale |
Some fifteen minutes later a muddy, stony lane took us down to the farm, whence it was just a stroll with aching feet
(mine, at any rate) along the farm road. It was here that I felt blood oozing from a painful scratch on my hand probably gained from rusty barbed wire. At the highway it was but a quarter of
a mile to Andrew's car.
In our opinion the walk would be much better done
clockwise, leaving the higher summit as the climax.
