“The scenery throughout is of lonely moorland, but restful rather than dreary - a place of sheep and singing larks”
A Wainwright
A shorter horseshoe walk taking in three of the lower summits at the western end of the Ennerdale Valley, quiet grassy fellsides and great views over the Cumbrian coast throughout.
“For the man who wants to get away from it all”
A Wainwright
From the Cold Fell Road we shall walk east, crossing the ford over Comb Beck and then over the River Calder. A path climbs the grassy fellside above the Calder, climbing to the summit of Whoap.
A shot walk south from Whoap crosses the col and climbs to the grassy summit of Lank Rigg.
From Lank Rigg we follow the path north over Whoap, crossing the top to take the path along the ridge to the north east, continuing over the grassy upland to reach the wall, part of the Ennerdale Fence.
Following the wall downhill we soon reach the edge of the recently cleared forestry land, here a gate leads to a track (muddy at times) crossing through the felled woodland to meet the Public Bridleway.
A short walk to the west along the bridleway will bring us to a feint footpath leading to the north, from here a short climb will bring us to the summit of Crag Fell, one of the best viewpoints over the Ennerdale Valley, and a much underwalked fell.
From Crag Fell it's not far to our final Wainwright summit of the day, Grike. Following the fenceline to the west along a grassy path we cross the summit of Grike and descend to rejoin the bridleway, following the bridleway west until we can reach the open fellside on the slopes of Blakeley and the short walk back to the cars on the Cold Fell Road.
A good shorter walk with great every changing views, particularly those over the west coast of Cumbria and across the Solway to Scotland and the Isle of Man.
Each participant will be required to bring suitable equipment for their chosen event, please see Kit List tab above.
Where to meet: Cold Fell Road, Above Ennerdale Bridge
Postcode: CA23 3AQ
Grid Reference: NY 066 130
Directions
From Ennerdale Bridge: Drive south from the village, towards Cleator Moor, turn left onto Fell Road, signposted to Calderbridge. Follow this road up the hill and over the cattle grid. Follow this road south until a sharp right hand bend is reached, with a track leaving the road on the bend, we will meet here.
Bus Services
There is no bus service over the Cold Fell Road.
Stagecoach bus timetables can be viewed here