Length:
33.0 km (20.5 mi)
Ascent/Descent:
1048/999m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 8 ½ hours
Toughness:
10
out of 10
Take
the 08.24 Leeds train from Carlisle, arrives Langwathby at 08.51 (an Off-Peak service,
Senior Railcards are valid).
Return
trains: 15.16,
17.17, 18.46 and 20.15 (42 minutes journey time). Buy
an Appleby return.
This
route follows the Pennine Way (PW) across Cross Fell and Great Dun Fell (with
Little Dun Fell squeezed in), the highest hills along the Pennines and
therefore the highest in England outside the Lake District. They are part of a
more than 12 km long ridge, the largest area of continuous high ground in
England, forming part of the English watershed. The tops are often windswept
and foggy, with snow clinging on into May. Cross Fell is an iconic structure of
a broad-based and mighty flat plateau top with boulder-filled slopes sitting on
a long ridge, and the only place in Britain with a named wind, the Helm Wind.
The views from the top (in good weather) include The Lake District Fells,
Solway Firth, Scottish Uplands, Tyne and Tees Valleys and the Pennine Ridge.
Great Dun Fell is dominated by large Air Traffic Control radomes, guiding
transatlantic air traffic.
Navigation is relatively straight forward, even in bad weather, due to good
tracks and engineered paths on the ascents/descents and numerous cairns and
shelters on the high ground. Flora and fauna include upland hay meadows, rare
arctic and alpine plants on the top plateau, curlews, grouse and golden plovers
in season.
All hills on the walk have been mined over millennia for lead, iron and
limestone, and scars of those activities – some quite picturesque – are still
very evident, especially on the extended version via Threlkeld Side.
The hills are far from any train station, making this a very long walk. Only taxis or car shuttles can reduce the length substantially.
Walk
Options:
A
Taxi or organised car shuttle to St. Lawrence’s Church in Kirkland cuts the
initial all-tarmac 7.9 km of the route, giving a 25.1 km/15.6 mi walk with
932/972m ascent/descent and an 8/10 rating.
Three different descents from the ridge after Great Dun Fell are described:
· The Shortcut: initially following the tarmac service track from the
radar station, through a beautiful gorge below Green Castle Crag and along the
rim of the Knock Ore Gill, then down rough pastures and along paths to the PW
(cut 500m and 50m ascent);
· The Main Walk: follow the PW over The Heights and Green Fell mostly
with clear and good paths and then descend with the PW along good paths and
tracks;
· The Extension: from Knock Fell, continue across the mostly pathless
moorland plateau to Great Rundale Tarn and pick up a shooter’s track down
Threlkeld Side with its disused mines past Dufton Pike to Dufton
(map-and-compass navigation skills are advised). Add 1.2 km but cut 30m ascent.
A
more strenuous outing continues
even further over the open moorland plateau to High Cup Nick where you can pick
up one of the SWC’s High Cup Nick Walk routes for a descent to Appleby.
Finish the walk in Dufton at the very agreeable Stag Inn or the Post Box
Pantry and get a taxi to pick you up (cuts 5.7 km).
Add an out-and-back down into Appleby’s town centre at the end of the
walk past more tea places (see route map for details).
Lunch:
Picnic.
Tea:
The Stag Inn (open from 17.00, food
from 17.30) and The Post Box Pantry in Dufton (5.7
km from the end of the walk). The Midland Hotel
Freehouse, right by the
station (no food). Plenty of options in
Appleby (adds 1.2 km), see the pdf for details.
2 comments:
With blue skies and some warm weather forecast, 1 eager punter arranged for a taxi to shuttle walkers from Langwathby station to Kirkland for the 25 km short option of this walk. This convinced n=7 of the remaining 8 SWCers in town to pursue this wonderful (in favourable weather) route. We got going about 9.20 in blazing sunshine and reached Cross Fell's storm shelter in time for Elenvenses. The wind up there was strong but not strong enough to inhibit walking in a straight line.
The views were superlative even though there was a fair haze towards the Lake District. Down and up and down and up again across Little Dun Fell to Great Dun Fell and its Air Traffic Control radomes. There we bumped into a Natural England warden inspecting the fencing around the many disused mine shafts, who reported having seen 4 short eared tawny owls. All 7 then chose the Main Walk option, following the Pennine Way over another plateau and off the ridge along ultimately easy-to-follow paths and with fascinating scenery to Dufton.
Here the 4 overnighters went to the Post Box Pantry for tea, while the 3 going back home tonight went on immediately to Appleby Station. Some of the 4 later went down into Appleby for a nosey. We all briefly reunited outside The Griffin in Carlisle, as the later train from Appleby arrived 20 minutes before our train to Euston left. Now on the 19.49 train back home.
Elenvenses on Cross Fell, home b4 midnight...
W=sunny-and-warm-in-the-valley-with-a-strong-wind-on-the-tops
To round off a fine trip, the 5 remaining in Carlisle on Tuesday night went for dinner at The Thin White Duke (just one Bowie song played though). 4 then continued to the Griffin, of which 3 then went to Wetherspoons #2 The Woodrow Wilson (who visited his mother's home town Carlisle) which had a surprisingly good draft selection at £2.50 a pint!
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