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" Mellbreak with Richard "

Date & start time: 4th March 2011, 2.55 pm start.

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

Places visited : Kirk head Farm, Mellbreak and back via Mosedale Track.

Walk details : 4.65 mls, 1150 ft of ascent, 2 hrs 30 mins.

Highest point : Mellbreak 1,676ft ( 512m)

Walked with : Richard and the dogs, Harry and Bethan, joined by Ann and Jo later.

Weather : Overcast with low cloud blending into valley haze. Rather grey to say the least !

 

Mellbreak with Richard at EveryTrail
 

[ Alter the settings to zoom or change the Map, use Everytrail to download the Gps route ]

 

Ok . . . I've a few days off work and the weather has taken a dive . . . low cloud and poor viz . . .

but Richard is up and wants to climb the local fells

so we set off in search of his final summit in the Wainwright N.W. Fells book.

This sums up the weather I think . . .

and we had delayed the start of the walk in order to give the weather time to improve !

The Kirkstile Inn as we passed.

Can't call in every time, especially as Richard has a deadline to get home later this evening.

   
Shall we go this way to the pool today ?
No thanks . . . Bethan has the route sorted, straight on at the gate.

My companion today . . . Richard.

Technically I suppose I'm his companion as he decided the route and I'm joining him on the walk.

As we ascend the weather . . . stays exactly as before !

Richard had climbed Low Fell and Fellbarrow this morning and he commented that this was the first clear view of those summits he has had all day.

The morning mist has obviously cleared and the visibility slightly improved as forecasted.

   
Looking down on White Crag and the Kirkstile below.
No big surprise at 'Surprise View' today.

We reach the top of the northern end of the fell in under the hour.

There is always a debate with Mellbreak about which end is higher. The map shown the southern end as three metres taller so that qualifies as the Wainwright summit.

Even the northern end here has two cairns and the dogs choose one each and play ' King of the Castle ' trying to decide who is top dog.

A short while later we are nearing the northern end and we look back at the view across the summit plateau.

The far end is mainly heather, this end mainly grass under foot.

Richard bags another fell and another book. He had seven walks left to complete his Wainwright summits

and coincidently he had one fell left from each of the Wainwright guide books . . . what's the chances of that ?

Counting down, this is his seventh from last walk and the first of his seven completed books.

Ed and followers of this site will notice the lack of a summit cairn on the previous photo.

None of the half a dozen of the usual larger stones are anywhere to be seen

so we gather a few shards of stone to build Harry a summit cairn for his photo.

Time to cut back to the centre of the fell in order to descend to the track below.

Ann, and Jo who arrived just a short time before lunch, should be walking up Mosedale to meet us.

Looking down the steep western flank of the fell . . . there's the holly tree but no Ann and Jo.

Are we ahead of time or did they set off later than planned ?

Whichever it was we soon met up on the valley track and the dogs rush ahead to greet them.

Ann and Jodie.

Right wife . . . wrong dog !

Making our way gently back down the valley.

We stopped off at Harry's pool to give the dogs a swim and to wash the mud off them after their mountain excursion.

In no time at all the Kirkstile and the cottage were within sight.

Would it be a beer and crisps . . . or would it be a slice of warm, home grown, home baked pumpkin pie and a cup of tea ?

Mmmm . . . I'll let you decide . . . which would you chose ?

- - - o o o - - -

 

Technical note: Pictures taken with Ann's Canon 75 digital camera.

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

This site best viewed with . . . four empty plates and an empty teapot !

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Previous walk - 1st March 2011 Arnison Crag and Birks

A previous time up here - 5th May 2008 Mellbreak and the two Jens

Next walk - 5th March 2011 Five go to Troutbeck Tongue