Captain's Log

Return To Place Fell

Today’s walk would be similar to one I did in December 2021 (see Ullswater Place Race). It didn’t seem like four years ago. Time is moving fast nowadays. Looking at the date, it must have been outside the dreaded Covid lockdown periods. I remember that it snowed for a while on the walk. There wasn’t  much of a chance of that happening today; there were a few clouds in the sky, but the sun was out too and it looked like it would be a good day weather-wise.    

Our route would take us from the Cow Bridge carpark near Hartsop, past the Goldrill Beck rewilding project and follow the valley northwards to Ullswater. We would then follow the wonderful Ullswater Way along the eastern side of the lake until we were nearly at Sandwick. My intention then was to climb over Low Birk Fell and Bleaberry Knott to Place Fell. Events didn’t quite turn out as planned (more of that later) and we would take a different route up to Place Fell. We would then descend to Boredale Hause and then to Hartsop, before returning to the carpark.    

The Kapitan and the Cabin Boy were with me today and they were both in good spirits. In fact they were so excited that they both initially started walking in the wrong direction from the car.  

Ullswater

Back on track, we used the permissive path to walk along the northern side of the Goldrill Beck rewilding project to reach the eastern side of the valley. Halfway across the valley we noticed what looked like a purpose built Osprey nest on the top of a large tree trunk. It wasn’t occupied, but it did look like a camera had been set up in case any of our feathered friends decided to take up residence there. It seemed a bit of a busy location for Ospreys though; maybe it was for some other large Raptor. The river was rewiggled (that is the official term) through the valley and initially the surrounding area had looked bare and rocky. It has all overgrown now and looks as though it has been like that for millennia. The area hosts Egrets, Dippers, Swallows and Sand Martins and there's salmon in the river too.     

Near the farm at  Crookabeck we came across some Giant Rhubarb. Apparently it is classed as an invasive species and owners must prevent it from spreading outside their garden. This particular example was surrounded by a stone wall, but given the plant's resemblance to a Triffid, I wasn’t sure how successful it would be in containing it. We reached the southern end of Ullswater and continued along the trail along its eastern side. This section is one of my favourite lakeside walks. It has wonderful views across the lake to the high mountains in the Helvellyn range. Silver Point is a headland in the lake where the lake changes direction from northwards to north-eastwards. It is the best location for appreciating the whole length of Ullswater. A man sitting  in a rowing boat was fishing, a few metres off shore. It looked like a fine spot to fish.    

A few minutes later, one of the passenger ferries from Glenridding caught up with us. The deck of the boat looked full with passengers. As we came closer to Sandwick, we started meeting some walkers coming the other way. Presumably, these must have been some of the passengers from the ferry. At Scalehow Beck we spent some time searching for a viable path up to Low Birk Fell. The lower slopes were covered in high ferns and it didn’t look a feasible ascent. We made a 50 yard foray into the forest, but it was no good and we retreated back to the lakeside path.  It was time for a rethink. 

Place Fell

We crossed Scalehow Beck and picked up an obvious track that followed another beck up the hillside. It was a wide track and had probably been used by an ATV. The path made short work of this wilderness of ferns and we soon found our way above them. Looking across to Low Birk Fell, I could see that the ferns went to the very summit. I was glad we’d not persisted in our attempts to climb it. I’d have to tick that hill by following the ridge from Bleaberry Knott at a later date.   

There was a derelict building that served the quarry on the west side of High Dodd. Back in 2021, we’d rested on a bench here that had a plaque with ‘Nonna’s Bench’ inscribed on it. I was surprised that the bench and plaque had now disappeared, which was a shame since it would have provided a great spot to have a break out of the wind. We found some stones to sit on anyway and drank some coffee. We’d watched a large group of deer move along Mortar Crag on the earlier occasion, but we couldn’t see any today. 

The track ascended  gradually to the old sheepfold at Low Moss. We turned southeastwards and started along the track to Place Fell. It was a gradual climb and we stopped now and again to admire the view back towards Hallin Fell. There looked to be plenty of cars parked near to the church at Martindale. The top of Place Fell had protected us from the wind on the ascent, but as soon as we reached its summit ridge we were hit by its full force.  A couple of people were making their way across the crags to the trig. I could also see walkers making their way across towards the summit from Round How. There was an excellent view of the eastern and far eastern fells from the summit of Place Fell. This was our highest point of the day and we started our descent southwards. 

Return

Rather than scramble down the crag at Round How, we bypassed it by using the track to the west. It became less windy as we dropped down and we warmed up again. It wasn’t long before we reached Boredale Hause.
‘Do you know the quickest way down to the road?’ A female runner with a foreign accent had asked me the question.  It seemed an odd question to ask for a runner out on the fells; I would have expected them to have a map with them. She said that she needed to catch a bus. I pointed her down the path towards Patterdale.     

The sun was out and we got quite warm as we dropped down into the valley. I had my camera primed for any jets that might fly down the valley, but they never show up when your ready for them. At Goldrill Beck we kept an eye out for any Ospreys, but I’d guess that if there had been any using the nest this year, then they would now be on their way to Africa. As we walked along the road from Hartsop to the carpark a bus passed us and we spotted the female runner who we’d met at Boredale Hause. I felt a little relieved that she’d found her way to a bus stop. 

It had been a thoroughly enjoyable walk. In terms of lakeside paths, I don’t think you can beat that one along Ullswater. We didn't manage to tick Low Birk Fell and Bleaberry Knott, but ticking things always takes second priority to being out there in the first place. Place Fell always delivers in terms of spectacular views no matter which way you get to its summit.