Newlands and Little Dale Skyline 10^th March 2007

The sky was clear and I was hoping for a sunny day until I reached the Lake District where it was overcast and damp; by the time I parked near Skelgill it had started to rain. I walked towards Skelgill but kept to the higher track rather than drop down and walk on the road past the houses. The good track led to Yewthwaite Mine; no mining goes on these days but the spoil heaps remain, although Yewthwaite Gill is doing its best to wear them away. It was really raining and very windy as I turned towards Little Town; at the first of the houses I again stayed on a track rather than drop down to the road.

The track I was on goes all the way by the side of Newlands Beck to Dale Head. There were several people walking up the valley and several cars driving up the road on the other side of the beck; it can only only mean that the locals are gathering for their favourite spectator sport. I walked up the valley along the track until I was opposite the Goldscope mineshafts in the side of Scope End; there is a footbridge that gets you across the beck.

After crossing the beck I climbed up steep, wet grass and then worked my through the spoil heaps to the mineshaft entrances; from a distance they look like large rectangular holes slanting at an angle of about thirty degrees. The entrances to the shaft are actually round holes at the bottom end of the angled clefts; the prospect of entering inside wasn't improved by that particular observation. I climbed steeply up wet vegetation to the higher of the two shafts in the lower cleft; you have to take care walking across a small rocky ledge above the lower entrance to reach the higher one.

I dropped back down to the small path and, as I was walking towards the crest of the Scope End ridge, I heard the shouts and horn of the hunt master. I could see the hounds, bobbing and weaving around the heather and rocks on the steep sides of Maiden Moor. I can understand the fascination of watching the hounds and the chase, I don't understand the enjoyment and spectacle of watching the kill.

I started to walk up the footpath of sheep-cropped grass towards the ridge and I was wondering where the higher mine shaft entrances might be. I saw a faint path through the dead bracken going up towards a rock outcrop; I followed the path up to a small crest and had to make a steep climb up to the higher cleft, it is almost identical in size and shape to the lower one. I reached the entrance to the lower shaft but couldn't work out a way up to higher one that avoided the steep, wet slabs of rock so I'll save that for another day. A steep climb up the grass got me back to the main ridge path; the people and dogs were leaving the valley, they must have achieved what they set out to do.

It is quite a while since I climbed down Scope End, it was three years ago that I promised myself I would climb up it. I had forgotten how rugged it is; a steep rocky scramble, it would be lovely in dry weather but when wet it is slippery. I had to make a couple of long leg stretches, the footholds and handholds are not obvious and there is plenty of exposure in places; at least by that time the wind had dropped as it had stopped raining. After a pleasantly exhilarating scramble you reach what, from below, looks like a small summit outcrop; it is actually just the rounded end of a long ridge. The ridge was quite a surprise, partly because I usually view Hindscarth from the other direction and partly because it looked completely different on the way down.

Walking along the airy ridge was a delight, I had a good view ahead of Hindscarth and Robinson to the right; on a sunny day with the heather in bloom it would be a wonderful place. There were still a couple more outcrops to scramble up, but they were much easier and shorter than the climb up Scope End. You can see the final climb up to the summit plateau from quite a way off; after quite a lengthy pleasant walk you have to start climbing. It's quite a slog upwards, the surface has been eroded away down to the underlying rock in places but at least it is broken enough so as not to be slippery.

Eventually you reach a big cairn and your legs get a bit of a rest; there isn't much of a gradient on the walk across a broad plateau to the shelter cairn at the summit of Hindscarth. The wind had got up again, it was cold and the weather in the direction of Dale Head, in fact in every direction, didn't look too promising. There is a path along the ridge that descends to a small col before continuing up to a subsidiary summit at the end of the ridge. As you walk along the ridge you can see Littledale Edge; you can also see a path below the ridge leading to it, but I couldn't see where to join the path even though I knew it was there.

From the col I made a beeline across luxuriant vegetation; easing myself downwards across the contours so it wasn't too steep, eventually reaching the path I had seen from above. From Littledale Edge there is a long climb ahead to get to Robinson; there was a strong wind and the mist had come down, or I had climbed up into it. The navigation is easy, you follow the fence, and even if the fence wasn't there the path is eroded enough to be obvious. Just after the fence bears left away from the path you will reach a big cairn; if you are lucky you will be able to see Robinson's summit cairn which makes finding the faint path a good deal easier.

When I reached the rocky avenue at the summit of Robinson the mist was thick but it seemed to be coming over in waves; keeping my camera at the ready I got a couple of sneaky views under the mist of Crummock Water. I retraced my steps back down to find the fence; on the way down I decided it had become cold enough to put on my best warm gloves. After descending to the fence I decided it had become too windy to explore the Hackney Holes area on the rough ground side of the fence so walked backed down the eroded path to the col at Littledale Edge.

From the col I continued to follow the fence up towards Hindscarth; no need to visit the summit again as I carried on towards Hindscarth Edge. It had become very misty and it was one of those walks where you have no feeling of time and space; no apparent ascent or descent, you just get to where you want to be. Once I started to climb a more rugged path with outcropping boulders it was obvious that I was approaching the summit of Dale Head. The strong wind certainly brought back my sense of space and time; I had to hang on to stop myself being blown over on a couple of occasions as I stepped over the rough ground.

The summit of Dale Head was deserted and view-less; the cairn seems worse for wear too, I'm sure it has lost some height. On the descent from the summit in the direction of Dalehead Tarn the path has become very eroded; at the bottom of the erosion there is a small viewpoint cairn from where I got a bit of a view of Newlands valley below. The path bears right, but not obviously, just before you reach the cairn; the reconstructed path is obvious enough once you reach it. The downward-sloping, wet, slippery rock steps encourage you to walk by the side of the path, thereby defeating its purpose.

I got a view of Dalehead Tarn as I got below the cloud base; after reaching its choppy waters I walked down another reconstructed path to the young Newlands Beck. This my favourite stream crossing; set in a rugged little canyon, you step across the beck just before it takes a dive down towards the valley. The path on the other side of the beck takes you up to a small tarn and on to High Spy. It is a rough path in places, it is not always obvious and the cairns can be difficult to spot in poor weather; otherwise it is a steady climb to the summit. The cairn at the summit of High Spy also seems to be receding; it's not a surprise really that these tall piles of loose stones are susceptible to natural erosion.

Once you get to the summit of High Spy most of the day's climbing is finished if you want it to be; as you walk in the direction of Maiden Moor you are on a broad flat ridge, with a good view down to the valley in good weather. There is not much of a descent before you start to climb Maiden Moor; if you can call walking up a gentle slope a climb. I always keep to the less obvious left hand path along the edge, above the valley, you have a chance of a view sometimes. The path takes you up to the area of the summit; the small cairn by side of path must be close to the highest point but you can't tell where that is exactly.

The ridge is now even broader and flatter, I walked over grass to rejoin the main path; it's a bit of a shock when you start to descend. After all that easy walking, as you get lower the path becomes more rugged and quite eroded. On the way down you are busy concentrating and can't really tell that the rock outcrops you have to scramble down are so close to the edge of a big drop. After clambering down rock so close to the edge the going is much easier down to Hause Gate.

After being in descent for so long did I really want to climb Catbells? From Hause Gate an obvious gravel path takes you up towards it; the gradient eases and becomes a short green ridge that gradually becomes more rugged. There is a short sharp scramble up final rocky crown to the summit; the scramble can be avoided if you really must. If you carry on past the summit, the descent is easy at first; steadily though it becomes steeper and rockier, there is a real mountain feel to this small hill. The wet rock made it a bit awkward in places and you can see where people have bypassed it; there are massive muddy foot holes in the grass that are more slippery and awkward than the rock they have avoided.

When you finally reach the bottom of the steep slope you can look back and admire the hill you have just descended; there are two more smaller rock steps before the easy grassy ridge to Skelgill Bank. There is a long established and newly reconstructed path downwards, the less obvious path turning left takes you back to the car parking area near Skelgill.

Andy Wallace 10th March 2007

© 2003 - 2008 By Andy Wallace. Reproduction of this work in whole or in part, including images, and reproduction in electronic media, without documented permission from the author is prohibited.

Back to Walking in Cumbria