Meet time: 9.15am
Start time: 9.30am
Estimated finish time: 3.30pm to 3.45pm.
Distance: About 10.7 miles (17.22 kilometres).
Ascent: About 2560 feet (780 meters).
Ramblers walk grading: A (Strenuous).
Start point: Lingholm Estate Car Park
Postcode: CA12 5TZ
Car parking: There is a car park right next to the Lingholm Estate Car Park.
It is the responsibility of each walker to make sure they understand where to park. If you are not sure where the car parking/meeting point is, you must contact the walk leader at the latest the day before the walk. You should not rely on mobile phones or postcodes. There is often no mobile reception near walk meeting points and postcodes are for the nearest place nearby but should only serve as a guideline. Please allow plenty of time to find a parking space so that walks can start promptly.
Description: Following the Cumbria Way we make an approach to Cat Bells, however, where the ascent to Cat Bells begins instead we follow the road to the hamlet of Skelgill and follow a path that goes around Cat Bells and Maiden Moor. Soon we enter the Newlands valley and head upstream in a path running parallel to the stream that flows from Dale Head Tarn.
Hindscarth, Dale Head and High Spy loom over as the valley narrows. It gets steeper when the valley becomes a gully and when it the path levels out by Dale Head Tarn this is a good spot for a rest because of the stone walls that mark out a sheltered grassy area with a small crag usually providing a wind break.
The next part of the ascent is from Dale Head Tarn to High Spy. The top of High Spy, 653 meters, is parked by a large ten-foot tall cylindrical cairn. Now the view from High Spy to Derwent Water and Skiddaw is perhaps the best from this vantage point, but the views of Dale Head, Hindscarth and Great Gable are impressive too.
We then begin a gradual rolling descent reaching Maiden Moor, a Wainwright (576 meters high), and then after losing a bit of height make one last, and brief, ascent to the lovely Cat Bells. From the Cat Bells we descend all the way back to the Cumbria Way and complete the loop. From there it’s an easy walk through the woods back to Lingholm Estate.
Please contact Miles on 07842 783319 by 10pm on Friday 12 December if you are coming on this walk (text or phone, WhatsApp, or message on Facebook (Miles Saunders-Priem)).
Please check the weather and bring appropriate clothing (waterproofs and spare warm clothing), footwear and enough food and water. The leader reserves the right to turn away any walker not suitably equipped. The leader may cancel the walk or modify the route dependent on conditions.
Car sharing may be possible – please contact the walk leader to arrange.
New members: please note the walk leader may ask for more information about your walking experience. This is to ensure you have the fitness required to complete the walk that is planned safely.
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