Hodge Close

We took the footpath from Elterwater over to Little Langdale. It was a bit of a grey start to the day. There was a great view of Wetherlam as we progressed. Much of the walking was through or alongside fields. At Stang End we entered woodland where bluebells were coated the ground. As we progressed spoil heaps from the quarries appeared amongst the trees. Eventually we reached the chasm of Hodge Close Quarry. There was a huge drop to its water filled bottom. Apparently, it is possible to see a reflection of a skull from the rock formation, although we couldn't see one from this angle. Some rock climbers were preparing to have some fun on the rocks. We left them to it and went up by the side of it to climb Holme Fell.

Holme Fell

The route went up through woodland to some reservoirs. The top of Holme Fell could be seen across the reservoirs. We spotted somebody with a telescope on a tripod near Uskdale Gap. The last time we were up here we saw a similar thing on some nearby crags. I guess there must be some interesting bird sightings in this area. 

The top of Holme Fell can be confusing. As far as I can tell the summit does not have a cairn on it, although there is a rock outcrop that does have a cairn. Either way, we went to both spots and claimed our Wainwright. We had a break and admired a view down to Coniston Water. Mo became fascinated by a dead caterpillar near to where he was seated. I declined to take a picture of it.

Tarn Hows

We descended Holme Fell via Uskdale Gap. The person with the telescope had disappeared. The path dropped steeply and then found its way to the busy Coniston road. We took our life in our hands by walking along the road to the car park at Lane Head Coppice. It is only about a hundred metres, but care is needed. A climb through another woodland trail brought us to the Lakeland wonder of Tarn Hows. Unless you go on a very rainy day, you are unlikely to find solitude at Tarn Hows. It is a very popular place. Today it was being circumnavigated by families with push chairs. Dog jumped into the tarn to fetch sticks thrown by their owners. On the northern side many trees had been blown down by Storm Arwen. Some of these were huge. We saw a 'coin tree' that had hundreds, if not thousands of coins embedded in it. Mo's eyes lit up at the sight of this and I could see he was contemplating ways to get them out.

Tarn Hows was a bit too hectic as a spot for lunch and so we had it further up the hillside away from it.

Black Fell (Crag)

The route from Tarn Hows to Black Fell involved a short section on a RUPP between Knipe Fold to the Coniston Road. Four four-wheeled drives motored their way along this narrow track. They stopped and some people got out to take photos of Tarn Hows in the distance. We'd encounter them twice more during the day on the narrow roads in the area. It seems an odd hobby to me; personally I don't particularly like driving on narrow lanes. Some more woodland walking and we reached Iron Keld and open fell. An undulating path then brought us to the top of our second Wainwright of the day, Black Fell (Crag). There is a good all round view from the trig. About a hundred metres away from the trig is a large, well built cairn.

We headed back down from Black Crag on the same route we came in. At Iron Keld we headed off through fields towards the Coniston Road.

Colwith And Skelwith Force

The route back from Black Crag is a bit convoluted, but the route is generally well signed and so should not be an issue. In Tongue Intake Plantation, the route drops downs to Cowith Force. It is best seen in winter when there's less foliage, but is still worth a look no matter what time of the year. It is easy to miss it since it is a few metres off the path. After going down a section of stone steps, take the track to the left for the best viewpoint. A man was bathing at the bottom of the waterfall today. I bet it was chilly.

The path went through bits of woodland, farmland and farm yards before descending into some woodland towards Skelwitch Bridge. Rather than going into the village itself we followed the River Brathay back upstream and crossed over a footbridge. It is then possible to head a short distance downstream to a viewing point for Skelwith Force. It looked a bit busy today though and so we gave it a miss.

The route alongside Elterwater back to the village was almost as busy as Tarn Hows. In fact we recognised a woman on a mobility scooter who was at Tarn Hows. There's tremendous views over the lake to the Langdales.

Although we'd only completed two of the lower Wainwrights, I felt we'd covered a lot of distance today. The walk had been interest with varied terrain and a peruse at the impressive Hodge Close quarry.