Great Mountain Days in the Pennines. Terry Marsh
in England) directly opposite.
Turn right at the road, but leave it almost immediately for a broad stony track that takes a shortcut, crossing the A-road again, lower down. Go through a gate and forward to pass a bothy cottage with a fabulous view across the Eden valley to the Lake District fells, after which a splendid cross-fell track ensues, gradually descending to cross Ricker Gill Bridge and then on to a derelict farmhouse, just after which a gate gives onto a fenced track leading down to a surfaced lane. A short way on, cross Selah Bridge and make a short ascent.
At the top of the ascent, an alternative section of track saves about 1 mile of road walking, rejoining the road just past the cluster of buildings at Haresceugh.
Stroll along the road, which is generally quiet, largely traffic free and a delight to walk, with a fine view northwards to the summit tackled at the start of the walk.
From Raven Bridge, where Raven Beck eases through a dark ravine, a rough path offers a variant finish across fields back to Renwick, but stay on the road to a T-junction. Turn right and walk towards the village centre, and at another T-junction turn left (for Croglin) to complete the walk.
Thack Moor from below Hartside summit
WALK TWO
Melmerby Fell and Fiend’s Fell
| Start point | Melmerby NY616373 |
| Distance | 16.5km (10¼ miles) |
| Height gain | 546m (1790ft) |
| Grade | demanding |
| Time | 6hrs |
| Maps | Ordnance Survey OL31 (North Pennines: Teesdale and Weardale) |
| Getting there | Limited off-road parking near Shepherd’s Inn |
| After-walk refreshment | Shepherd’s Inn pub, Melmerby |
Melmerby is a pleasing red-sandstone village tucked into the area known as East Fellside, and it proves to be a perfect starting point for this assault on the Northern Pennines. There is a tranquillity about both the village and the fells to the east, and while navigational skills may well be needed in poor visibility, on a good day the sense of well-being that comes from striding out across spacious fell moors will refresh most souls.
Melmerby Fell from the stony track above the village
The attractive village of Melmerby is thought by some to have Danish origins, being named after a certain Melmor, who lived nearby in the ninth century. A person called Melmor, however, also appears in Gospatric’s charter in the 11th century as a landowner in Allerdale. The likelihood is that there was more than one Melmor, although the name Melmor is believed to be Gaelic rather than Danish. In the 14th century, John de Denum of Melmerby Hall petitioned Edward II for ‘help in the form of wages or otherwise until times change, because all the country around would suffer great loss peril and loss if it were taken through lack of garrison’.
The Route
Leave the village on the Ousby road, passing the Shepherd’s Inn, and turn into the first lane branching on the left (signed for Melmerby Fell and Gale Hall). Continue up the lane until it swings to the right, and there leave it on the apex, going forward onto a stony track between walls and along the edge of a plantation.
The route as it heads towards the high fells after leaving the plantation
The track leads up to enter the plantation and crosses a stream at a footbridge. On leaving the plantation, the route continues towards the high fells, bounded by fences. At another gate, it reaches Access Land, and then makes a circling loop to the north to gain a gently rising track onto Melmerby Low Scar. Here, the track passes between the scar and higher rocks to the east, and eventually runs up to a gate in a wall giving onto open moorland.
Beyond the wall, the route passes through spreads of small boulders, initially as a green trod and heading up towards a large cairn. From the cairn, continue in an easterly direction. There is an indistinct path, but choice of route will be determined by how wet the ground is underfoot. The target is another prominent cairn on the eastern skyline; this is the location of Knapside Hill, the summit of which is marked by a substantial shelter-cairn.
Looking north from the top of Knapside Hill
Melmerby Fell rises to the south-east as an unpromising moorland mound, easily reached and barely 1km distant; its top is marked by a large cairn. Return from Melmerby Fell to Knapside Hill, from where a narrow but distinct path leads northwards to Little Knapside Hill.
Pass through a kissing-gate in a fence (NY645392). Another narrow, grassy path then runs on across surprisingly firm turf (for a while). Continue down to another gate (NY644399) and fence (new, and in the middle of a quagmire in 2012). From it cross rough ground towards Fiend’s Fell, crossing an shallow ravine to gain a quad-bike track that circles around a low shoulder and leads to one final gate (NY642404), from where it is a short pull up onto Fiend’s Fell, marked by both a low shelter and a trig pillar.
Fiend’s Fell was the original name for Cross Fell, some 5 miles away, which seems possible since the name Cross Fell derives from the erection of a cross there to ward off evil spirits. That, however, does not explain why the name was transferred to an otherwise innocent location nearby.
From the top of Fiend’s Fell, a solitary stone pillar is in sight, as is the café at Hartside Pass (the highest café in England). Head down to the pillar following quad-bike tracks, and gradually the return route, a clear stony track, comes into view. Walk forward towards a fence, and then bear left to a kissing-gate when it comes into view, beyond which a short section of rough ground leads to the track. Turn left.
Simple walking now ensues, following the stony track down to cross the A686 and continuing into a walled track opposite (signed for Hazel Rigg Farm). Just after passing Hazel Rigg, join a surfaced lane at a bend. Bear right for a short distance and then, opposite a side road to Unthank, turn left onto a stony track enclosed between walls. Over a distance of about 2.75km (1¾ miles), and keeping forward at all track junctions, this track leads unerringly and agreeably, if in places muddily, all the way back to Melmerby – a remarkably pleasant concluding stretch of the walk.
The way north to Fiend’s Fell
WALK THREE
Cross Fell
| Start point | Kirkland NY645325 |
| Distance | 15km (9¼ miles) |
| Height gain | 683m (2240ft) |
| Grade | strenuous |
| Time | 5–6hrs |
| Maps | Ordnance Survey OL31 (North Pennines: Teesdale and Weardale) |
| Getting there | Limited off-road parking near the church at Kirkland |
| After-walk refreshment | Pubs and cafés in Langwathby and Penrith |
Although its summit plateau is largely devoid of features, Cross Fell remains the highest summit in the Pennines, and is worthy of a visit on that count alone. Moreover, there is a calming, pastoral beauty about the Eden valley; the villages, built from lovely red sandstone are small and isolated, and the general ambiance is quite at odds with the proximity of mountains that reach almost to 3000ft.
Cross Fell from the upper part of the corpse road
The Route
Drawing to their greatest height at the