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" Knock Murton Sunshine "

Date & start time: Sunday 9th February 2014, 3.45 pm start. ( NY 086 184 )

Location of Start : Roadside at Cross Rigg, near Croasdale, Ennerdale, Cumbria, Uk.

Places visited : Murton Fell, Knock Murton, back alongside forest and the old railway track.

Walk details :   2 mls,  675 ft of ascent, 1 hours 20 mins.

Highest point : Knock Murton  1452ft - 447m

Walked with : Ann and our dog, Harry.

Weather : Lovely afternoon sunshine but a cool breeze.

 

" Knock Murton Sunshine " at EveryTrail
 

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

 

In between the wet days there are dry ones, the trick is to get out for a nice walk when this occurs. 

One of our closest, local fells bathed in the low afternoon sun would be Knock Murton,

so a short journey took us round towards Ennerdale for a climb to the summit.

The rounded slopes of Knock Murton taken from the gate at the start of our walk.

There's room for several cars here . . . ours is the long shadow on the left reflecting the low angle of the late afternoon sun.

Colour is always difficult in these "into the sun" photos

but this is the old mine railway track that lead up to the Lamplugh iron mines that litter the fellside around here.

One such working has left a spoil heap on the opposite side of the shallow Leaps Beck valley.

The field in front is home to the Ennerdale Agricultural Show in the Autumn.

Leaving the lower track we start our ascent, passing the first iron-rich , red spoil heap on the way up.

As we climb, the view of Great Borne and Ennerdale Water becomes more extensive.

Our sunshine is not shared by the high fells and the summit of Haycock and Pillar are somewhat uninviting.

Looking back as Ann climbs up alongside the fence.

It turns and descends the fell again,

but beyond it is the rather hazy view of the Workington wind farms and the Solway Firth.

More surface workings on the way up.

Ann stops to look at the large furrow and also takes in the view of Great Borne.

The final pull to the top . . .
 . . . is bathed in warm sunlight.

That's Blake . . . or rather , that's Ann with Blake behind.

She's caught in the action of using her camera . . .

Guess who took this one !

. . . and this one of me trying out the camera's tilt screen . . . for an overhead shot of the shelters.

Looking into the sunshine and the cold breeze, as Ann makes here way over to the summit shelter.

I returned to the top for an unrestricted look around.

Click here or on the photo above for a Loweswatercam 360 degree annotated panorama

The photo doesn't really show it, but the group of shelters are almost cloven in shape,

offering respite from the whole gambit of wind directions.

Can't think what was on my mind . . . perhaps just getting out of the breeze was a good idea.

Harry grabbed the best seat in the house . . . after a little persuasion !

In the sun meant he was in the cool westerly breeze . . . we were inside in the warm.

All good things come to an end and we must make a start on our descent.

Down towards the Murton plantation . . .
Open mine shafts but no great danger as they were full of rubble.

Harry found a problem without an answer . . . but he was "looking into it".

More workings on the fellside below.

In the distance the cloud covering the high fells is starting to turn colour, reflecting the hues of the setting sun.

More collapsed workings and a trace of wooden staging, turned soft and rotting below the bright red soil.

As we reached the woodland, the sun reached the first of two low cloud layers.

We would be denied a classic sunset, but  it was still providing a welcome glow.

Sun, over cloud, over old, flat topped mine workings.

Finally, as the sun set behind the cloud layer the light dropped,

but the wide sky-scape of blue re-asserted itself

bringing to a close a fine afternoon on the west coast of the Lakes.

- - - o o o - - -

 

Technical note: Pictures taken with either Ann's Canon Sureshot SX220, or my Nikon P520 digital camera.

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

This site best viewed with . . . a local fell that is accessible at a moment's notice.

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Previous walk - 3rd February 2014 - Mill Beck, Buttermere

A previous time near here - 6th February 2010 Blake Fell from Cogra Moss

Next walk - 10th February 2014 - Darling Fell Walk