Gowbarrow & the Mell Fells

 A let up in the April showers was forecast this weekend, so I shot off up the M6 to explore the northern edge of Ullswater.

Parking up in the the lay-by below Stybarrow Crag, just outside Glenridding - where there's room for about 8 to 10 well parked cars - is right on the shoreline. Crossing the road I joined the footpath that weaved its way from the waters edge over the rocky crags, but all the way it was following the general route of the main road.

The path then passed along the end of the valley of Glencoyne, with imposing fells surrounding a small farmstead & grassy pastures like an amphitheatre, and eventually passing through the National Trust car park for Glencoyne Bay. It was around this area where the wild daffodils grew by the lakes edge - the very same daffodils that inspired Wordsworth to write his 'I wandered lonely as a cloud' poem - so I was on the lookout for a golden blanket somewhere along the route.

However, the path - part of the Ullswater Way which circuited the lake - headed away from the shoreline, on the opposite side of the road and began to gently ascend towards Glencoyne Park. This was a lovely walk - really quite level through woodland - although the were no sign of daffodils yet. My main objective, however was in front of me in the distance - Gowbarrow Fell.

The path eventually came to a gate, and a road junction, and in front was the Aira Force tearooms, and a meadow of (planted) daffodils.

I took the opportunity to get a few shots.

The tea rooms, and the area around Aira Force was really quite busy with visitors. I headed through the large National Trust car park and into the Victorian woodland park to find the waterfalls.

The path followed alongside Aira Beck and rose quite high along the gorge until the thundering noise of the waterfall was in ear shot.

At this point, I had reached quite a height and was at the upper end of the waterfall, but there were steps descending down the side of the gorge to the splash-pool at the bottom of the falls, so I headed down for a closer look.

Even with its 70 foot drop, Aira Force isn't the highest waterfall in the Lake District (that accolade goes to Scale Force near Crummock Water at 120 foot), but it is one of the most easily accessible, at just a 1/3rd of a mile from the car park & its quaint stone bridges at both the top & bottom of the falls help make it an iconic & inspirational location, worthy of a photo or two.

Continuing on, the steps took me up the opposite side of the gorge and towards the higher stone bridge. It was only narrow & there were a few people around, so I only had a quick minute to take a peek over the edge to see the gushing falls dropping straight down.

That would be it for most of the tourists - but I followed the lesser trodden, and slightly muddier path alongside the beck. To my delight this was a lovely woodland walk with the beck babbling nearby. Until the sound of thundering water came into earshot once again..... another waterfall! This was unexpected - but worth a nosey.

This was 'High Force'. (Not to be confused with the waterfall of the same name in County Durham... I hadn't walked that far!). It wasn't a big drop, but was wider & I was able to get closer to the falls. There were also less people around - really just a family having a picnic near the smooth rocks just back from the falls.

From there the path reached a stone wall, and passing through a gate reached the open fellside & lower slopes of Gowbarrow. A small wooden signpost pointed the way to the top. It was a steady climb - although quite boggy & muddy in places, but I was kitted up, so it wasn't an issue for me. Others on the path weren't as practical, and were trying to find a route between the muddy sections without getting their jeans or trainers dirty!

Nearer the top, the path levelled out for a distance before the final climb onto Airy Crag - the summit point of Gowbarrow (1,579 ft), my 97th Wainwright - which was topped with a Trig Point inset with a National Trust emblem.

As I arrived on the top, there was a woman loudly nattering away on her mobile phone, who then declared to her boyfriend 'it's too cold up here, lets go', and they headed off.

I decided to stay, & it was a good time to stop for some lunch. A few people came and went, and after about 20 minutes I put my litter into my rucksack and followed the track down off Airy Crag to circle round the eastern side of the fell.

Once on the eastern side, heading south, the view looked directly over Ullswater to Hallin Fell, and beyond was the Martindale fells I had hiked a month earlier...still with a few patches of snow around the top of Rampsgill Head. Eventually the path turned again to the south west, and a huge panoramic vista of (almost) the entire length of Ullswater could be seen, from Glenridding to Pooley Bridge. There was a marker cairn on some crags which gave the best view, with a small bunch of daffodils nearby, the breeze gently nodding their heads in approval.

Continuing to follow the high-level terrace path, past a stone memorial seat dated 1905, and in the direction back towards the Aira Force woodland, I gradually began to descend off the fell, and into the woods. Following the path over a wooden foot bridge it eventually came out at the grassy field near the Aira Force National Trust Car Park.

I back-tracked along the Glencoyne Park path from earlier in the day, keeping my eyes on the lake shore for any signs of Wordsworth's notorious daffodils.

All of a sudden a yellow glint caught my eye, and hidden just down the verge on the opposite side of the main road was a carpet of daffodils. I found a footpath which took me down onto the road, followed it for a short while, then crossed over into the narrow strip of woodland between the road and the lake shore. There were huge carpets of wild daffodils stretching along the shoreline....

... And of course I took photo's. Quite a few photos! Including the iconic shot of the daffodils, the lake & the fells beyond. The only problem was the close proximity to the road. Every now and again, the tranquillity of it all was spoilt by a car or motorbike driving past.

Instead of heading back along the road, I decided to stick to the shoreline - there was no path but the pebbled shoreline meant it was easy going, only having to duck for the odd overhanging tree branch. After a short while the shoreline cornered Glencoyne Bay, where I headed through the National Trust car park to pick up the path back to my car. It was a glorious late afternoon, and at one point the scent of cooking sausages was wafting in the air. Glancing down at one of the coves between the crags I spotted a family having a picnic, and a small portable barbecue on the go.... they must have been having the sausages!

Back at the car, I checked my map for my next destination. Driving along the main shoreline road north along Ullswater, I took the turning for Watermillock Church & followed the narrow country lane past the church towards Matterdale End, along the road to The Hause where there was a layby for four or five cars. I parked up, & set off for my quickest Wainwright fell yet... Little Mell Fell. From the layby, after navigating through a muddy field, its a short, steep climb of 450 feet over 1/3rd of a mile, straight up.

The path consists of grassy, well trod foot holds, only letting up a while where it joins a shepherds track for a short distance before climbing upwards once again. Once nearing the summit, the path flattens, and became slightly boggy - sphagnum moss & the squelching underfoot being the telltale sign.

There is an Ordnance Survey trig point on Little Mell fell (#98 - 1,657 ft) - probably one of the fells only identifying features - and someone had left a small bunch of daffodils on top of it. Looking west, in the distance was my next objective, a short drive away.

Arriving back at the car - a mere 28 minutes after starting the Little Mell Fell climb - I continued to drive along the road towards Matterdale End until I reached Brownrigg Farm. Opposite the farm, branching off the road, is a rough unpaved lane which heads around the base of Great Mell Fell, and at the junction is another layby for a couple of cars. I parked up and donned my wild camping rucksack to my final summit for the day.

Following the rough lane for a short while, I came upon a gate with a National Trust sign declaring this to be 'Mell Fell' (I'm not sure why they lost the 'Great'), but from my Wainwright guide I remembered that this gate leads to a path which circles the fell, so I carried on along the track to the second gate & style - this is the route to the summit.

Once again, the ground was quite muddy on the initial sections of the path, but as it started to climb the path became firmer and grassy. I saw a family with small children heading back down, so let on as I continued the climb. I saw a large grey object move through the trees a short distance ahead - where the path was taking me.

As I got closer, the animal appeared, a Fell Pony. I had heard there was a group of Fell Ponies on Great Mell Fell, but was totally surprised to see one, especially just 15 minutes or so into the walk. It gently walked across the path in front of me from right to left. I watched it doing so, and as I gazed left saw two more ponies a bit further away, grassing in the long grass in the late afternoon sunshine. This was their fell, so quietly moved onward.

The trees gave way to the open fell side, although there were the odd strange wind-twisted trees dotted across the fell. These slopes must get a battering from the wind! But on ascending further, I entered more woodland on the higher slopes of the fell. This is very odd for Lakeland, where the fells are usually only covered with heather and bracken. The woodland gave some respite from the late afternoon sun, however, and it was a pleasant stroll through the Scots Pines.

On leaving the wood, the more familiar & barren fell top landscape opened up, a wide path leading to the top.

Although slightly boggy in places, I soon reached the summit mound. (#99 - Great Mell Fell - 1,760 feet). There was no large cairn, or trig point here, just a few rocks that had been placed in a divot in the mound. On the Ordnance Survey map, this is marked as a 'tumulus', which some believe to be a bronze age burial mound!

I found a flat area close by & pitched my tent. Unpacked & got my Jetboil on to cook my dinner of pasta bolognese. I'd brought a 'Look What We Found' Beef Bolognese pouch meal, which I would boil-in-the-bag, and threw some pasta into the boiling water to cook that at the same time.

After dinner, I settled down for the night, watching the sun set over Blencathra to the north-west, which I planned to be my 100th Wainwright summit in the not-to-distant future.

Mark