Newlands Walk
First walk of 2011 and the start of a successful year in chalking off a large number of tops. Steve and Peter picked me up just after 6.00 am, it took a while to clear the ice off the car which was a sign of how the weather was going to be today. It was very cold but very clear as we drove over the A66 towards Keswick. We had already decided to go to the Newlands Valley to do anything up to 4 tops starting with Robinson and then Hindscarth, Dale Head and potentially High Spy. We turned off the A66 towards Portinscale and after a couple of wrong turns eventually found the very minor road to Little Town. We parked just before Chapel Bridge, first in the car park although 2 other cars arrived as we were getting ready. I picked up the Angus steak pies the day before so we got ready and then tucked into the pies.
Start of the walk
We started walking at 8.30, crossing the bridge over the stream and turning left towards Newlands Church. We walked up past the church and through a couple of gates. After the second gate we turned right and immediately up a very steep grassy bank towards High Snab Bank. There was a thick frost on the ground but it was a very clear day.
High Snab Bank
Once onto the ridge we had a steady walk for a little while until we reached 3 rock steps, about 20 or 30 feet each which meant we had a bit of scrambling to do. There was still a little way to go, but from here it was a steady climb to the summit which we reached at about 11.15 am. We stuck around for a few photos and then headed for top 2 of the day which was clearly visible in the very blue sky.
We walked towards a fence and then turned left walking down by the fence towards Little Dale then the path split in two. We took the left path towards Hindscarth and reached the second summit at about 12.15. Two down and time for another cuppa and a bit of bait.
Dale Head seemed well within reach so 3 tops in one day was looking very likely but could we make 4? We decided to head towards Dale Head and then decide when we got there. We headed along the ridge turning left towards Dale Head, dropping slightly before climbing again to the summit which we reached around 1.30. So that was definitely 3 tops down today,
not a bad start to the year.
Dale Head Summit
There was a particularly well built cairn at the summit and we remarked all the tops should have such monuments to them.
Hindscarth summit
So the question was do we go for 4 or stick with 3 and head back to the car. Well either way we had to drop to Dale Head tarn and then it was either continue down into the valley or climb to High Spy and then follow the ridge all the way along. So we began to descend to Dale Head tarn, quite a steep descent and a little slippy in places where it was icy. When we got to the frozen tarn we threw a few stones onto the tarn and heard the hollow sound as they bounced on the ice. As the descent to the tarn was quite steep and my legs were feeling the strain now we all decided it was best to head back to the car. Perhaps the single top of High Spy can be given the dubious honour of being my final top when I reach my target eventually!
Leaving the tarn we dropped down to cross an almost frozen stream and then followed the stream for a little while dropping all the way. A long slow descent and a little icy as well meant you had to tread very carefully. We eventually reached an unmade road and Steve commented that on the left side of the valley Gold mining had gone on in the distant past.
Looking back we could see the full walk, Robinson on the right and Dales Head on the left with Hindscarth in the middle. It looked a very impressive achievement from this end point and very satisfying.We continued along the path for an hour and eventually got back close to the car, so close we could see it below, about 50 feet away but with no obvious path down to it. We had to walk a little further along the track and then drop down to the road and doubled back to the car. It was after 4.oo pm now so no time for a drink but very happy that 3 tops were down in one day.
Next walk will not be until early March now.
PS. Click here for video footage of the walk
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