Mellbreak and Hen Comb

Mellbreak

Monday, 4 November 2024

Ascent:       789 metres
Distance:    13 kilometres
Time:          4 hours 21 minutes

Mellbreak North Top   509m    1hr 14mins
Mellbreak                     514m    1hr 38mins
Scale Knott                   338m    1hr  57mins   
Hen Comb                    506m     3hrs 09mins
Little Dodd                   362m     3hrs 27mins

It was day 2 of the November fog fest, we decided to visit Loweswater and climb the two steep peaks that Keith and I had yet to climb on our second Wainwright Round. It was mild with no wind but the fells were smothered in cloud. We parked by the Kirkstile Inn and wended our way up a splendid track leading to Mellbreak, the impressive pyramid of a hill that overlooks Crummock Water. 

There is an easy option to head along Mosedale and climb by a path to the col between the twin peaks. We took the steeper route up a path through the scree and rocks on the north face. Time was on our side so there was no pressure and despite the poor visibility the day had an autumnal calmness that was surprisingly enjoyable. We crossed to the higher southern summit before descending to Scale Knott, a Birkett, a hill of over 1000 feet in the Lake District. Keith collects hills of all denominations and we were accomplices although it was hardly difficult, a mere 200 metres away from the path with a minimal ascent and some Herdwick sheep posing on the summit.

We dropped down to the wetland between Mellbreak and Hen Comb where we had almost 2 kilometres of boggy ground to cover to reach the path up Hen Comb. John and Keith took a more direct route to the summit whilst I battered through the boggy ground to reach the path that gave a steep but reasonable route. We emerged on a summit and took some time for food and drink before an easy descent to Little Dodd, the Birkett at the northern end of Hen Comb. 

There is a good path down to Mosedale where we crossed the beck and found the excellent track back to Kirkgate Farm and the Kirkstile Inn. We took some time to look around the large churchyard, builders were working on replacing the roof slates. It was still early and we had thought about another couple of hills but returned to Keswick and spent an hour in the outdoor shops before calling in for a fish supper. 

We returned to the Youth Hostel and spent much of the evening talking to other guests including a couple of Glaswegians whom I found much in common with.

Track to Mellbreak

Whiteless Pike over Crummock Water

Scale Knott above Crummock Water and Buttermere

On Hen Comb

Mellbreak north top

Whiteside and Grasmoor

Lakeland Barn

Haweswater Wainwrights

Branstree: Artle Crag Cairn

Sunday, November 3 2024

Ascent:       963 metres

Distance:    17 kilometres

Time:          5 hours 32 minutes

Tarn Crag                  664m      1hr 43mins

Gray Crag:                638m      2hrs  9mins

Branstree NE Top     673m     3hrs 38mins

Selside Pike              655m      3hrs 56mins

Branstree                  713m      4hrs 34mins

I made an early start to collect Keith from Glasgow and to head for the Lakes for three days walking. We made it to Haweswater by 11:30am after a slow 20 miles on the narrow single track roads beyond Penrith. We jiggled our way through the remote and tranquil Lakeland villages of Askham, Butterwick and Bampton and the  bucolic scenery of Mardale. It was my first visit to this remote part of the Lakes although I had always intended to visit Mardale after browsing photo books of the Lake District as a child. The villages, hotels and houses looked unchanged from the 1950s. Haweswater was flooded in 1935 by Manchester Corporation to provide a water supply for Lancashire and has a rugged wild appearance compared to the more tamed lakes elsewhere in the National Park. 

The long singe track to the road end of Haweswater brought us to a crowded car park and we struggled to find a place amidst the land rovers and other vehicles that had gathered for the last open day for trail bikes and land rovers to have permission to test their driving skills on the Gatesgarth Pass that climbs to 582 metres as it snakes its way to Longsleddale. John had already arrived and it was almost noon as we began the long ascent up the rocky path that had been chiselled over the Gatesgarth Pass. 

I had previously climbed these hills from Longsleddale and knew that they were amongst the boggiest hills in the Lakes. I had warned John and Keith and I wasn't wrong. We decided to paddle out to Tarn Crag and Grey Crag first and savour the higher drier hills of Braintree and Seaside Pike later when we hoped the hill fog may have lifted, our optimism is unbridled. Keith took us on a short cut from the top of the pass to the col between Braintree and Tarn Crag. The path might have been quicker and certainly easier but hill walking is not about making things easy, it is gymnasium for nature's freeloaders.

The ascent of Tarn Crag was a walk up a slow moving horizontal waterfall over grassland. The flat and undistinguished summit of Tarn Crag is embellished by a tall surveying pillar that was built by Manchester Corporation when constructing the Haweswater Dam. We continued across to Grey Crag and met a couple of other walkers, the conversation turned to the vast number of hill classification schemes that had sprung up in recent years. Keith had disappeared to bag a nearby Burkett, or was it a Nuttall but probably not a Marilyn or a Hewitt, or was that the other way round. The confusion stemmed from three factors: imperial or metric measurement, random or rule based classification and height drop between adjacent possible summits. All the classifications provide some excitement for the tick box fraternity. We had some food and drink before beginning the long up hill and down dale squish to Branstree. Well, not quite, we traversed across to Selside Pike once we reached a suitable height and took in the North East Top of Branstree that is higher than the nearby Seaside Pike. The consolation was the firmer ground conditions.

The last leg was the trek back to Branstree with its two cone shaped cairns but the true summit a couple of hundred metres away and is a stone ring in the ground that presumably once held a trig point. There were no rocks in the vicinity to erect a cairn so we began the quick descent to the Gatesgarth Pass as the November light combined with the hill fog made for an eerie descent on the rocky path back to Haweswater. It was one of those occasions that changing footwear and socks was essential before the drive to Keswick. 

There had been a diesel spillage on the A66 and a diversion so it well after 6pm before we were able to enjoy the splendid facilities of the Youth Hostel. A hot shower, well equipped kitchen, a bar and helpful staff make it a near perfect base.  Youth hostellers nowadays are not Generation Z or even Millenials, we are mainly the generation called baby boomers but I would prefer to stick with Youth as a descriptor, it has  the promise of more exciting times ahead. 

Bog trotting in Mosedale towards Tarn Crag

Surveying Pillar on Tarn Crag

Selside Pike