Author Topic: The Hill Wainwright Forgot  (Read 2910 times)

mike knipe

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The Hill Wainwright Forgot
« on: 21:53:55, 30/03/08 »
Its a good job I dont write these things in the mornings as they would be full of grumpy. This morning, all the clocks were an hour fast, even the radio was an hour fast, and it was persisting down big time as I drove over from Weardale - with me mutterring darkly about weather forecasters and how it was about time we had some warm weather.
Then the sun came out.
Me and the dingo (I also invited Alan but he came out with some lame excuse about it being his ruby wedding anniversary or something) arrived at the tiny car park at Felldyke in the Western lakes - just southish of Lamplugh.
Our aim was to bag the wainwright neglected top of Knock Murton aka Murton Fell.  How AW came to overlook this one is a mystery. It stands proudly and lumpily just next to the Loweswater fells and sticks up just short of 500 feet from the pass with those hills.  Its not even an "Outlying Fell" - I suspect the publishers said that the book was big enough!
Its an easy bag, though from the road to the west and there are zig-zag tracks and a path through the heather and moss that forms it's carpet. On top, it has a shelter and two cairns.
We descended South to Leaps Beck and then through a corner of forest and up on to Blake Fell via High and Low Pen. After  a late lunch, we bagged the little top of Sharp Knott, then over the col to Carling Knott and Loweswater End. 
We then contoured West again to the Wiseholme Beck col and bagged BUrnbank fell and Owsen fell, then down to the Wiseholme valley/coire to follow a track to Lamplugh. Just as the track hits the pastures, however, there's two signs on the gate which indicate that there's no footpath. One helpfully instructs the walker to "[censored] Off".   I ignored the invitation and walked through to the road, which I followed back to the start for ease and speed, although there is a footpath (but I'd had enough)  9 Miles, 2400 feet of uphill - larks, and, notably, meadow pipits singing. (Meadow pipits are, apparently a favourite victim of cuckoos, so the fact that they're singing is a good sign of better things to come) Lots and lots of snow seen on the Helvellyn ridge , although not all that much everywhere else.
Cracking views, today, too.
The route's a bit complicated, but then I made it up as I went along.
« Last Edit: 11:08:40, 31/03/08 by mike knipe »
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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KIDSTYPIKE

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Re: The Hill Wainwright Forgot
« Reply #1 on: 20:39:13, 31/03/08 »
A good walk description and pictures Mike.
I don't think that AW actually forgot Knock Murton, in Book 7 "The Western Fells" he actually calls Knock Murton  "The forbidden peak" and says "A tight forest fence now seals off the higher parts of Murton Fell and there is no longer free access for walkers to the summit, while the good folk of Lampla (Lamplugians?) have lost their traditional bilberry harvest-field from the same cause. Those who are determined to reach the top can best get within the fence by climbing the gates on the mine road"

As to why it missed the "Outlying Fells" I wouldn't know, it certainly beats Humphrey Head!!

Regards,
Dave
http://www.wainwright-wanderings.co.uk/

mike knipe

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Re: The Hill Wainwright Forgot
« Reply #2 on: 21:00:46, 31/03/08 »
It certainly beats Mungrisdale Common!  There seems to be open access to the hill nowadays - it appears to belong to the Forestry Commission - although there's been some temporary restrictions for forest harvesting -  and Cogra Moss is a nature reserve with permissive paths from Felldyke (but not Lamplugh).
Access didnt seem to bother AW too much when he included The Nab, though - maybe it was because you could sneak up that hill from the back. The most significant Lake District hill which is currently very private is Swinside in Newlands/Borrowdale.  I expect that there's a really good view form the top of that one ! Not that I would.....ahem.... but if you climb it late on a summer evening....perfectly easy track... apparently... not that i would know, obviously...cough!
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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Mairi

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Re: The Hill Wainwright Forgot
« Reply #3 on: 04:10:22, 02/04/08 »
Just to muddy things, there's another hill (2207 ft) called Murton Fell north east of Appleby.

mike knipe

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Re: The Hill Wainwright Forgot
« Reply #4 on: 10:14:09, 02/04/08 »
Yes there's another Murton Fell near Appleby - its a big, grassy lump and half of it is just inside the Warcop military firing range. You can bag it from High Cup Nick without getting shot or blown up.
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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garyr

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Re: The Hill Wainwright Forgot
« Reply #5 on: 10:59:53, 03/04/08 »
Mike - nice route, we are staying over that way in a couple of weeks time so I might give it try!

Cheers Gary

mike knipe

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Re: The Hill Wainwright Forgot
« Reply #6 on: 20:37:25, 03/04/08 »
Have a cracking time, Gary - dont forget that the last bit of the walk into Lamplugh is a trespass...... but they can't touch you for it, though..
Possibly the only tricky bit is identifying the exit from the forest on to the climb up Low Pen - the clue is that the forest track goes uphill, then downhill , and the exit is on the Right at the foot of the downhill bit. There's a path inside the fence, though the top of High Pen is on the other side of the fence, and its just high enough to be intimately friendly! :o...if you catch my drift.... The dawg managed it with one of his mighty bounds.
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

See the blog!  www.northernpies.blogspot.com

 

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