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Mellbreak with Ian

Date & start time: Tuesday 4th May 2010, 11.30 am start.

Location of Start : The red phone box, Loweswater , Cumbria, Uk ( NY 143 211 )

Places visited : Mellbreak North top, the Pinnacles, South top and back via the lake path.

Walk details : 5.9 mls, 1900 ft of ascent, 4 hrs including lunch.

Highest point : Mellbreak South top 1676 ft - 512 m.

Walked with : Myself (Roger) Ian and the dogs, Harry and Bethan.

Weather : Sunshine and blue skies but cloud building by the end.

 

 Mellbreak with Ian

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Ian was over from Seascale and so I let him suggest a fell for today's walk.

He is gradually completing his second round of fells and mentioned that Mellbreak south top was yet to do.

So that was decided !

Ann had plenty to do at home and so passed on today's outing.

Perhaps she had planned to spend the afternoon relaxing in the garden

but in fact the paint brushes had been well used, and scones made ready for our return !

The challenge when repeating a favourite walk is to make it fresh and interesting

especially when taking someone else along. This is Church Bridge alongside the Kirkstile Inn.

The object for today is to climb that peak over there.

Unfortunately for Ian the other end of Mellbreak is three meters higher, so to collect his summit tick we must walk the whole length of the fell,

right to the other end . . . but that won't be such a bad thing on a day like today.

After walking up past the farm we make a start on the climb.

This is the view looking down on the pub, the Church, the Vicarage (behind it) and the red phone box of course.

Interestingly the Vicarage, which is tucked behind a slight rise, has no upstairs windows which give a view of the Church.

Was that deliberate so that the Vicar didn't have to think of work when he was at home ?

Beautiful sunshine and the the lack of shadows from the high clouds

leaves Loweswater looking extremely blue.

Bethan having an "away-day".
Harry close at hand as usual.

Despite being half brother / sister their temperaments are subtly different.

The dogs find a new path so we follow on to see where it leads.

In fact it turns out to be one of those tracks that is twice as big as it should be.

The reason being is that it is walked twice, once on the way out and once on the way back . . . it was a dead end !

As we climb the view became more expansive.

Here we are on the slightly level ground at the head of Raven Crag (half way up) which makes relaxing and photography easier.

Click here or on the photo above for a larger annotated panorama.

A little higher, a side path on White Crag gives access to the view up the valley to Buttermere and Fleetwith Pike.

Top Dog . . . Harry claims the high ground as we reach the north top of Mellbreak.

Looking up, the clouds are rolling over and the sunshine has gone. That north easterly breeze could be warmer too.

To show Ian more of the delights of the fell, we walk over to the pinnacles on the eastern side of the hill.

This was about as exposed a position as Ian was happy with. I'm not surprised, it's about 1300 ft down to the lake below !

There is a Wainwright route down the gully but it is not often used.

I climbed down a short way to see the rock pinnacles more closely.

There are four or five rock structures with deep clefts in between.

The path down can be seen on the left but beyond the last pinnacle it's all a rough scree and not very inviting.

We retrace our steps and follow as many grassy trods across the fell side as we could.

This shot is looking back as we start the climb to the southern end of the fell.

The pinnacles are below the middle notch (by the base of distant Low Fell).

Task completed as Ian reaches his summit . . . " Only 46 to go Harry. "

" Humans are weird . . . they keep bending down and touching piles of stones for no good reason."

Another fine fell completed and on such a nice day too.

[ Move your cursor over the photo to help Ian celebrate ]

Lunch with a view . . . or should I say . . . a view with lunch.

Buttermere and some "Derry Brabbs".
Scale Force (the waterfall) is hidden in the trees opposite.

Wainwright's famous photographer often likes a few locals in the foreground to add depth to the photo

so in our part of the world they are often called by their alternative photographic name.

We decided not to visit the waterfall today in favour of a direct descent to the lake.

This is not a great problem as it is grassy, but the descent off this side is almost as steep as the ascent up the northern end.

Recent Spring temperatures have encouraged a sudden growth of bright new foliage.

We're almost down on High Ling Crag. That's Rannerdale Farm on the opposite side of Crummock Water.

   
Another Hawthorn seemingly grows out of a tiny crack in the rock.
Below us is Low Ling Crag.

Ever since Ann pointed out the retriever dog's head on the beach below, I can no longer see it as just a rock jutting out into the lake.

We chose the higher path, contouring off the top of the crag and staying high above the lake.

We gradually descended and eventually meet the lake at the beach.

The wall into the lake has been extended by the fence.

An old tree lies sideways on the beach on the other side.

In the shelter of the high fell there is a slightly rippled reflection of Grasmoor opposite.

On the headland behind the beach is an old farm building known as Peel.

A board walk crosses a small stream and marshy area close to the Pump House.

Finally we re-cross Park Beck, the infant River Cocker

which has crossed the fields and farmland since we first saw it next to the Kirkstile Inn.

- - - o o o - - -

 

Technical note: Pictures taken with my Canon G10 digital camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . hot Loweswater scones just out of the oven.

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Previous walk - 3rd May 2010 Green Gable and Grey Knotts

A previous time up here - 10th November 2008 Mellbreak and the Pinnacles

Next walk - 8th May 2010 Low Fell with Jill