Lose yourself Back o' Skiddaw!

Since the gloomy forecast last week, Lakeland has been blessed with several sunny days and a few warm overcast ones too, unlike the rest of the country!

Keswick is very busy this week with it’s annual convention, which brings large numbers of visitors to the town. From humble beginnings on the vicarage lawn back in 1875 the event has grown to a three week long celebration of Christianity in all its forms.

If you prefer to nourish your soul with a bit of outdoor escapism then my walk over Carrock Fell and High Pike is for you. This is a beautiful fell walk of medium effort, with only one steep short climb, just right for a bit of peace and solitude. The fells known as Back o’ Skiddaw are wonderful vast hilly expanses where you can walk for miles with only your own thoughts to disturb you.

It is ideally located for some of our cottages and lodges in the outerlying areas of the National Park including the quietly situated lodges at Dukes Pond, Rowanburn and Larchwood.

Start the walk from Stone End where there is parking and head steeply up the fell and pick up a path that cuts through the scree or Rake Trod. The hard work is soon over and you will find yourself at the top of the craggy face. Now continue onwards to the summit of Carrock Fell. It is the site of an ancient Iron Age hill fort and the outline of the foundations remain.

There are lovely views to the back of Blencathra and Skiddaw and across the low lying land towards the Pennines in the east. From Carrock Fell, continue on the easy grass tracks towards High Pike and enjoy a seat on the slate bench looking back over the ground you have covered.

Descend using the mine tracks through the disused workings and call in for a pint at the lovely Mill Inn at Mungrisedale or the Old Crown in Heskett Newmarket, the UK’s first co-operative pub.

This walk is ideally located for many of our self catering cottages in the north of Cumbria and those in the Eden Valley. If you enjoyed reading about this quiet are of the Lake District, then please take a look at our Bowscale Fell walk which is in the same area.