Cat Bells

It had been a long time since I'd climbed Cat Bells by its northern ridge. I'd forgotten that parts of it are a bit of a scramble. On the first, steep scrambly bit, a teenage girl was having a bit of a moment as she tried to descend. Her father was trying to guide her feet and hand placements, but she was insisting on trying to slide down on her backside rather than face the rock. A queue started to form pretty much like that at the Hillary Step on Everest. I felt sorry for the family, but there wasn't much I could do to assist them. In the end, I skirted around the edge of the crag and climbed by a different route. The crags have been worn smooth by thousands of boots, and were covered in a thin layer of mud making them very slippery. I caught another walker up whose cheeks were about as red as his hair. 'It's a bit warm today, isn't it?' he commented. I had to agree that it was mild, but I was glad that the sun was out and burning off the mist. I scrambled up the last crag to the summit. I could see that the mist had now disappeared from Maiden Moor. I had considered going back down to Derwent Water from Cats Bells, but given the improving conditions I decided to continue over Maiden Moor and High Spy

Maiden Moor And High Spy

Halfway up Maiden Moor, the mist blew in and I was in a world of gloom. It did enter my mind to turn around and go back down, but I continued onwards. By the time I reached the plateau of Maiden Moor, the mist brightened and then blew away, revealing High Spy further ahead. It also opened up views over to Hindscarth and Robinson. I plodded on, overtaking a couple who were walking at a more leisurely pace. The mist loomed to my left, but it never gained any momentum to roll over the western side of High Spy. The summit was free from mist when I reached its well built cairn. There was a cold blowing and so I continued down the track towards Dalehead Tarn. I managed to find some shelter behind a boulder to have my lunch. I expected the couple I'd overtaken earlier to pass me by, but they never materialised. After lunch I continued my descent towards Dalehead Tarn.

Valley Walking

Before reaching the tarn, I turned on to a path following the stream down into the valley. Miner's Crag, up to my right, looked as though it was overhanging and ready to drop. The path was a little bit bouldery and slippery, but it didn't present much of a problem. There was a great view down the length of the valley, with Dale Head's and Hindscarth's crags over to my left. There were also some wonderful waterfalls that revealed themselves as I descended. The footpath marked on the OS map dropped quite steeply and didn't look that easy. I settled for a track that descended gradually along the hillside. It was a little indistinct in areas, but had the odd cairn to indicate that I was on the right track. It eventually reached the valley bottom and the main track that runs out of the valley. A little further up the valley I came across a small house that is labelled as a Climbing Hunt on the OS map. A sign said it was private and so I didn't investigate further. It was a long, long valley and I followed right up the farm at Skelgill, fairly close to where I started my Cat Bells ascent earlier in the day.

Return

I crossed the Newlands valley using a combination of roads and fields. At Uzzicar farm I spent a while photographing some hens who had some rather pretty feathers. I looked back towards Cat Bells and Maiden Moor and could see that the mist had completely gone. That was not the case everywhere though; the upper half of Skiddaw was still covered in mist, and had not changed since this morning.

The day had turned out much better than I thought it would. I probably picked the best part of the Lake District to do my walk, since the surrounding fells were topped with mist. This was the first time I'd descended down the valley from Dalehead Tarn and I was impressed with the views, especially those of the crags and waterfalls at its upper end.