A Newlands Valley Walk

In the Lake District you have to be prepared for unexpected weather and it always pays to have a plan B. Some days a high level walk simply aren't meant to be, if the wind and rain decides against it. more and more I am discovering that the alternative walks can be just as scenic and whilst they don't necessarily help in any list-ticking exercises, they are as rewarding as a higher level walk can be.

Earlier this year we had one such day where the windswept fells looked decidedly uninviting. We decided to head deep into Newlands valley to do a lower level walk.

Parking up at Little Town, our planned route would take us around the base of some of the Newlands Horseshoe fells - around the base of Maiden Moor and High Spy, then back around Hindscarth and Robinson before returning to the car.

Although this area is very scenic, popular fells such as Catbells are in close proximity so when the crowds head for the heights, this might be a nice quiet alternative walk. The views into the surrounding fells are incredible and there are really good views  as you look back out of the valley too.

There are plenty of options to change the flavour of the walk - from the valley footpath you can easily take one of the routes up the fells to reach High Spy or Hindscarth. Having rounded the base of Scope End (the buttress of Hinscarth) you go up into the quiet vale between Hindscarth and Robinson.

Here and indeed throughout this walk there is lots of evidence of mining activities and the valley's industrial past. You climb up a bit to reach a reservoir at the foot of Robinson, and in fact it felt like this would be a nice way of getting to the fell tops. The footpath crosses over via an old dam along the edge of the reservoir and we returned via the path along the foot of Robinson.

From here the path more or less led us straight back to the car park of Little Town. This is a great walk for when you're not sure about the weather, as the low level walk is a lot of fun, yet should the outlook brighten up you do have plenty of options for getting onto the Newlands fell tops. We'll be back!

A Newlands Round, North Western Fells

The Newlands Valley has to be one of my favourite parts of the Lake District. A stone's throw from Keswick - or a stone skim if you are going right across Derwentwater.
On a recent Summer's day Claire and I were in Keswick, but it was one of those rare days this Summer when the weather looked like being truly awful.

We were outside Moot Hall wondering if it was even worth setting off, but we soon decided that even in the pouring rain a quick hike over to Grange on the other side of the Lake would be a nice trip out.

By the time we had got to Swinside the weather had improved considerably and so we soon set our eyes on the Newlands fells ahead of us. Instead of starting with the usual Catbells, we decided on coming round the back way, starting with Hindscarth.

Walking around the lower slopes of Catbells and Maiden Moor, this all meant we had already walked six miles, in order to get to the start of the walk!

The pull up to Scope End is steep and gets the blood pumping, but it is also a quick way of gaining altitude and as always, each step upwards is rewarded with an ever increasing vista. We could see the clouds shifting and shafts of sunlight to the north of us on Causey Pike.

Once you've done the hard work the next section of the walk is a real pleasure, a ridge route that takes you all the way to the summit of Hindscarth. After the fairly narrow ridge the summit is quite vast, with clear routes in a couple of directions. It was pretty windy on the exposed top so we didn't linger, but headed straight towards the next summit of Dale Head. The wind didn't let up and we were grateful for the wide terrain, rather than having to worry about being blown away.

As we reached the main path to Dale Head we had some great views over the back of the Newlands Valley and into neighbouring Buttermere and it's collection of fells, and a good view of Fleetwith Pike.

Over the other side we had an incredible view down into Newlands, over the vale of Keswick and the Skiddaw massif in the distance. Dale Head has a fantastic cairn marking its summit, but the wind had not died down in the slightest so once again we didn't hang around.

The ridge route from Hindscarth to Dale Head had been a nice easy one along Hindscarth Edge, but the onwards path to High Spy meant a steep slope down to Dale Head tarn and a sharp climb back up, but once we lost a bit of height we found some welcome respite from the wind. We had done High Spy a few years ago from Catbells and so we were now back on familiar territory.

Walking in this direction meant we had the view of Keswick beyond Derwentwater accompanying every step. It is an easy walk from High Spy to Maiden Moor, but by now we were conscious of time - having only intended to do a short walk we had not set out especially early and by now it was late afternoon. We decided to skip Catbells, coming back down onto the path near Little Town past various disused mine shafts, workings and levels that reminded us that this used to be very much a working landscape.

By now we had missed the last boat back across Derwentwater and the last couple of miles back to Keswick meant we had done about 18 miles - not bad for a short walk!

Cat Beers

It's been a while since the last beer post so I have a couple lined up for you.

Real ale is a booming business and an inspiring example of cottage industry and independent firms striking out on their own, and Claire and I have visiting a couple of great examples - the Durham Brewery and Jennings Brewery. Apart from the obvious great tasting beer, I love some of the imagination and thought that goes into the branding and packaging of independent ales. I'm an easy target in many ways and any beer that has some Lake District or Yorkshire Dales association is going to win me over every time, so I'll always pick up a bottle of  "Leyburn Shawl" or "Muker Silver" whenever I see a selection of beers from the Yorkshire Dales brewery on offer.

One other beer that catches my eye is a label with a cat on it! Any of our friends will know we have a house full of cats and Claire does some good work for the Cats Protection Society too, fostering cats in need of a new home and so this is a topic close to our hearts.
I've picked up a few "cat beers" recently and here are a few that I really like:

This first one has it all, Lake District AND cats, how could I resist?

This beer brewed by Robinsons has a cat AND my name, but at 8.5% it's not to be taken lightly.

This one isn't quite as heavy but at 6% still a strong ale.

And finally here's one from Moorhouses who have built up a range of ales that feature the mystique of Pendle Hill - and what witches tale would be complete without a black cat?

Causey Pike, Scar Crags, Outerside & Barrow

A mad idea from Claire and her colleagues meant that we found ourselves in Keswick on a night out mid-February, followed by a night in the freezing cold camping barn at Catbells afterwards. The problem was that if no-one volunteers to stay home and stoke the coals whilst the others are out having a good time, then that fireplace and camping barn is going to be cold!

An early start and a big breakfast at Booths soon warmed us up and meant we could head back over to Newlands and park up just beyond Stair for the start of this walk. Our planned itinerary was up the front face of Rowling End and onto Causey Pike, following the ridge over Scar Crags before taking the path down at Sail Pass which would bring us back along the lower slopes of Causey Pike before crossing over to ascend Outerside and Barrow.

The pull up Rowling End was a hard slog, but it did mean that we reached higher ground pretty quickly. As always each step upwards was rewarded with a view that was opening up and behind us we had fantastic views over Keswick and Derwentwater. The flat section along Causey Pike was a welcome break before the final scramble up. This looked much trickier than it actually was and as usual, a scramble up seems easier than using the same route to come down.

Having seen very few people, it came as a surprise to find a load of people resting on the top of Causey Pike, I wonder when the bus was due?!?! It was pretty windy here so we didn't linger for long.

One of my favourite parts of fellwalking is the ridge route - it's a great reward for the hard work in getting up the fell, and the ridge from Causey Pike over Scar Crags towards Sail is a delight. Good walking conditions and really rewarding views.

Ahead we could see the hard work done by Fix The Fells to restore the path up Sail, and you could see the scars left behind by the thousands of boots that had widened the path beforehand.

On reaching Coledale Hause we turned sharp right and headed along the path that would take us down to the bottom of High Moss. The path was iced over in places meaning we had to either go off-road, or sit down and slide down on our bums - this was nothing compared to the slides down Great Whernside which I'll be telling you about in a future post!

From here it was an easy walk over to the base of Outerside and a short and pleasant climb up. At this point the wind had picked up a bit so it got really cold whenever we stopped.

A short pause on the summit of Outerside and we pushed on, over the crags of Stile End until we made the summit of Barrow and our fourth fell of the day. From here once again we had brilliant view over diminutive Swinside and onto Keswick, Derwentwater as well as over Bassenthwaite Lake over to the Skiddaw range.

In a rush to get out of the wind we retraced our steps to Stile End, before taking the steep path down the side of Barrow which brought us onto the main bridleway along Stonycroft Gill, and here it was an easy walk back to the Newlands road and the warmth of the car.

Last Orders At The Bar?

I've not only read a couple of depressing news articles recently but also seen it with my own eyes, the sad demise of many a local pub. There's nothing quite like a satisfying meal or drink in a rural pub, such as the Swinside Inn at the foot of Catbells in the Lake District, or the White Horse Inn, hidden in Rosedale in the deepest folds of the North York Moors.

The Swinside Inn tucked away in the Lake District

But pubs in rural areas in particular are susceptible to closure it seems, which probably has the most impact as these communities lose yet another focal point. The locals suffer and the tourists and walkers miss out too. Whether you like a beer or two or not is irrelevant, the knock-on effect to the local economy and culture is devastating.

About as remote as it gets - Tan Hill Inn

The West Midlands is one of the areas hardest hit by pub closures which is a bit of a surprise to me as it is the home of the Marstons Beer Company who as well as brewing some of their own great beers such as Banks's, Marstons Pedigree, EPA and so on, also look after the bottling for my favourite beer which is Jennings' Cumberland Ale.

Jennings brewery tour

The area hardest hit in the first half of 2012 was rural Lancashire and again this is a disappointment to me as I enjoy visiting the area and have done some walking on Clougha Pike in the Forest of Bowland.

As well as doing the obvious and frequenting pubs, you can also get involved in a number of ways. Here are a number of links which will give you further information.

The Pub Is The Hub - about recognising the value the local pub has in the community

The Cumbria Crack - a competition offering a makeover to the winning Cumbrian pub.

Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)

You can read more about the regions hardest hit by pub closures - from the drinks industry perspective - here

Return to Catbells and Maiden Moor

The stag do. It's something you can't really avoid if you're getting married really. I decided to keep potential damage to a minimum by having my stag do based at the camping barn at Skelgill farm on the lower slopes of Catbells. Far enough away from civilisation to be safe...

ready for the walk

There was no need to fear any nonsense but just in case anyone came up with clever ideas I had a full action programme to tire everyone out and guess what it worked! We had a great time at the Go Ape course in Whinlatter forest, with your humble stag being given a gorilla outfit to wear for the very hot three hours in the trees!

Following a few hours in the pubs of Keswick and one barbeque later, the next morning we were all geared up for a fell walk. With many of my party being newcomers to the fells I decided on taking the group up a classic starter fell - Catbells.

classic view down Catbells

Our starting point at the barn meant we had already done the first few metres of ascent, and we followed the path round the back of Catbells, pausing on occasion to enjoy the view as Newlands Valley opened up behind. This route meant giving the rest of the lads a reall "aaaahh" moment when we reached the plateau of Catbells and were rewarded with the view over Derwentwater.

Derwentwater with a distant Blencathra

A real stopper each time you see it. From here it was a simple enough walk and short scramble up to the summit of Catbells and my lads were rewarded with their first fell.

the final climb up Catbells

We pushed on along the popular ridge walk, the Lake on our right hand as we followed the dip down from Catbells and up Maiden Moor.

looking from Catbells summit to Maiden Moor

As you reach the top of Maiden Moor more of the fells southwards can be and the extent and grandeur of the Lake District slowly unfolds. Quite amazing how many lakes, fells, tarns and wilderness are packed into the 34 miles length of the National Park.

looking into Newlands Valley

It got very windy at the top of Maiden Moor so we did not stay long. Time restraints meant we could not push on towards High Spy and Dale Head, but we had a great short walk and after the stag goings on it was a great way to clear the heads.

Maiden Moor summit

We walked back towards Catbells, before heading down into Newlands Valley at Hause Gate.

sunlight shines where Derwentwater meets Borrowdale

The path showed lots of evidence of Catbells' industrial path with the lead mine spoil heaps and a few shafts exposed. A great short walk that is always a pleasure.

Causey Pike from the foot of Catbells

Dawn over the Lake District

On a recent Lake District trip I was treated to some great lights and sights as I got up just as the sun was emerging from it's slumber. I wasn't fully wide awake but I managed to grab my camera and take some pictures of the sun as it came up.

still dark over Swinside

It was still very dark as I walked around the ouside of the camping barn but slowly the surrounding hills and peaks took shape and I was able to make them out as the North Western Fells slowly woke up.

and it starts getting lighter

Daylight was creeping over the horizon andshafts of light gave some great colours in the sky

sun pushing through the cloud at Skelgill farm

The sun was doing a good job of burning off cloud and it created spectacular reflections on the fells facing the camping barn, in particular the heather giving some great colour to the slopes of Causey Pike and Barrow

Barrow

Causey Pike

Stoneycroft Gill separating Causey Pike (left) and Barrow (right)