Walk 67 - Walla Crag & Bleaberry Fell - 20th December 2021 |
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Wainwright's Walking Guide to the Lake District Fells - Book 3 The Central Fells |
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#154 Walla Crag 1243 ft #155 Bleaberry Fell 1936 ft |
Distance |
4.3 miles |
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Time |
5 hrs |
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Lowest Point |
272 ft |
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Highest Point |
1936 ft |
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Total Ascent |
1865 ft |
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Walk Rating - moderate |
Mini Route Map Go to start on OS map Go to start on Google |
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11.46 It had been our intention to climb Seat Sandal today but coming out of Grasmere we could see the cloud was too low so we continued north and settled for Walla Crag with the possibility of Bleaberry Fell if the cloud stayed off it. |
11.52 A short walk through the woods from Great Wood car park and we are looking for the route up Cat Gill. |
12.00 At the start of the steep part up the side of Cat Gill. |
12.21 Nearing the top of Cat Gill we were looking down on the lower cloud level and could see the higher level settled on the top of Causey Pike. Thats 2090ft and Bleaberry Fell is 1936ft so if it dropped much we would be unlucky and not have a view from the top. |
12.30 Looking back towards Maiden Moor as we walk up the last bit to the first summit. |
12.34 It was very mild for December and the walk up Cat Gill had been warm work. |
12.43 Panorama 628 Walla Crag summit (Wainwright #154 1243ft). |
12.44 The clouds below use and above us made for an interesting view of the valley and the although there was lots of it around, visibility of things in the distance was good, especially to the north. We could even see Scotland on the far side of the Solway Firth. |
12.50 Cat Bells behind Dertwentwater. Another day with no wind left the lake mirror calm. |
12.52 Bleaberry Fell was clear so we decided to go for it. |
13.08 Walking back down from Walla Crag summit. |
13.34 There a quite a number of paths crossing the fell in all directions. We missed one turn and found ourselves walking too far west so a quick course correction and we were soon back on the main track. This large lump in the background is about half way up and is the main feature visible from Keswick but it appears to be un-named.. |
13.37 Panorama 629 As we approached the steeper climb to the summit the cloud seemed to be dropping above us. Causey Pike on the far side of the valley was much less visible now so I took this panorama just in case it was our last view. |
13.48 Half way up the steep part we were found by this very friendly recue collie called Joe. |
13.55 Approaching the summit cairn after a few false summits with High Seat in the distance already touching the clouds. Within a few minutes it was gone. |
13.55 Looking north we could still see quite clearly but the cloud is just touching Dodd (1647ft) behind Nick and that is 300ft lower than we are. |
13.56 Panorama 630 Bleaberry Fell summit. (Wainwright #155 1936ft). Nothing visible to the south now. |
14.17 After snacks the view has all but disappeared with only a little of Bassenthwaite visible to the north. Time to head to Booths for tea and cakes and then Manchester and home by midnight. |