Bagging Old and New Tops on Muncaster Fell

 

Me and LTD took the new knipemobile on a stupidly long journey through FIVE sets of roadworks to the far end of Cumbria where, just by Ravenglass there’s a National Trust property by the name of Muncaster Castle. Muncaster also has a fell – a pleasant nobbly ridge running towards Eskdale and Alf (That Lass Has Nicked My Pipe) Wainwright included Muncaster Fell in his treatise on the outlying fells of Lakeland.

A bit later, Muncaster Fell was recognised as a Marilyn – a hill with 150+ metres of re-ascent all around.

So, baggers got double bubble – a Wainwright Outlier AND a Marilyn. Muncaster Fell was to prove popular in baggism. (Thats the hill-type baggism, not the Lennon/Ono sort which requires an expensive hotel room in Amsterdam and a white piano.)

I bagged Muncaster Fell on 15 September 2002 in the company of Bruno the Superdawg and Mike the Editor.

And then, a few months ago (not sure when) – Muncaster Fell got surveyed and it was discovered that the top with the trig on it wasn’t the top at all. There was another top a bit over there -------> and it was a little bit higher.  So a return match was required, and this was it.

We parked freely (we like parking freely) in Muncaster Castle car park and wandered up Fell Lane to the old top – that is to say, the Wainwright top at 231.4 metres. The new top looked suspiciously lower than the old top from the old top, but nevertheless we wandered over there next. The new top is 232.1 metres high – so, 0.7 metres higher than the old top. The old top looked suspiciously higher than the new top from the new top, so I ate a cornish pasty and a whisper bar (other choccy bars are available).

And then , having satisfied both the inner man AND the Gods of Baggerdom, we wandered further over just about anything that was sticking up – just in case.

Finally, we bagged the rather lovely Tump, Silver Knott at 176 metres. And this is where me and LTD dozed off in the warm sun for about half an hour. This was quite nice. Napping on a summit is very pleasant. Until  one day, you wake up and it’s gone dark, which is probably not all that nice, really.

Our return walk was by bridleways which run along the Southern edge of Muncaster Fell. Not many people know this, but there’s a golf course along here and there’s a sign encouraging walkers, cyclists and stamp collectors alike to pop in for a cuppa.

We journeyed back to Knipetowers by a slightly quicker route involving the M6 and only two sets of roadworks, saving 15 minutes which is sufficient time for a nice cup of tea.

This is far too far for this kind of thing.  I meantersay, five hours driving and a seven mile walk. Its madness. Madness….   Madness… They call it Madness..