Three Birketts and a HuMP

After a fairly relaxed morning with a kipper and some shredded wheat, me and Superdawg packed a banana and a cheese butty (Lancashire by the way) and hurtled off over the A66 to Cumbria and the back door of Whinfell Center Parcs – or, as we know it in England, Centre Park. This looks remarkably like a very comfy prisoner of war camp from the back, what with the security fencing and the guards in high-vis jackets and so on.

Stalag Center Parc pooch on peripheral path partially parallel to private part

A footpath leads through very soggy woodland (perhaps its not always soggy, but its been raining a lot recently…) and up to the front entrance where there is a bus stop and a border post, and a sign, on the track I wanted to take up the HuMP, saying “Private Road No Public Access” So I sneaked around the back.

Bruno at the summit of Quarrystone Bank (This is proper bagging!)

The summit was well forested. I had bagged Quarrystone Bank. I returned from whence…. – about 4km altogether.

Warning! These vicious commie squirrels will nibble on your nuts, specially if you’re a capitalist running dog

The, after scoffing the cheese butty, I drove off and got fairly lost on the Cumbrian back lanes, eventually turning up at a place called Underwood, on the minor road from Watermillock to somewhere else.

Another very soggy and, this time muddy path, signposted for Aira Force, took me along an attractive fellside and through woodland to open fell, where a group of children in red waterproofs were doing something noisy, but, probably, harmless. I gained the fell top and headed North to bag Great Meldrum, a little, round, grassy thing with a great view and a cold wind.

Furry, ferny tree on the path to Aira Force

Little Meldrum followed but with a bit more difficulty. Its in a forest, y’see – but the summit is open fell and its a bit rockier than the Green Meldrum.

We struggled uphill to find a gate giving access to our final target for the afternoon – Watermillock Fell – another, slightly rock lump with a cracking view.

This is like Fell Walking, but without all the hard work. It would be a nice little trundle for a rest day, or a wet day when the high fells are splatterred and misty. And there’s a pub just down the road for shelter.

Great Mell Fell

A bit of a downhill road walk brought us back to the knipemobile.

Three Birketts bagged.

Impressive stuff, eh?

Total mileage was about 8 miles and 1200 feet of uphill.

Must set the camera to do higher quality pictures….