The Cumbria Way: Day 5: Braithwaite to Caldbeck

So an early start, partly because of the forecast of heavy rain by 10am. The clouds were moving away from the distant fells. It's about half an hour walk back through Portinscale into Keswick where the route has been changed from my 1997 OS map and now runs up through the main market area and then turns left towards the swimming pool. I played hide and seek the markers for a minute or so there before walking round the perimeter of a field to join the road at Briar Rigg and striking off North East towards and over the A66 by a footbridge and up into the woods. I wouldn't say I was going slowly at this point but an old man with two walking sticks passed me uphill (he also had a rucsac and headed up Skiddaw a few minutes later).        


The path is obvious from here on and contours along the valley and then heads steadily up towards Skiddaw House. It is more than 6 miles from Keswick to Skiddaw House and last time i was there in the mid 90s it was derelict. Now it's open as a youth hostel again but only if you walk or cycle there. It's also a campsite although I didn't see any tents there when i arrived mid morning. Walking up the valley there had been several mudslides on both sides of the valley. These were easy to cross but I would not want to be anywhere near when it happens.

At Skiddaw House (1550ft) there's a choice of routes for the Cumbria Way. Straight on takes you down by Dash Falls eventually to the road and then a long road walk to Caldbeck. Turning right however is a shorter  but higher route and it was always my plan to go this way despite some heavy showers. I rationalised this by noting that even in the rain the high level summits were still visible so while I might get wetter, at least I would see where I was going. Any anyway, who wants to walk on the road? Not me.

So it was off across the moor on a very wet path to eventually join the River Caldew. The path stays fairly well above it which is just as well because it had clearly been up over the banks in places. A seriously heavy shower had me putting my coat on for at least the 3rd time that day and looking up for reassurance that the tops were still visible. Three and half miles downhill from Skiddaw House took me an hour and a half to reach the end of an unclassified road at the bottom of Grainsgill Beck. You could still escape down the road here to eventually reach Hesket Newmarket but the sun was out and the highest point of the walk was imminent. So after a pork pie and an Eccles Cake I set off up Grainsgill Beck.

At the bottom there's a fair track and you can see the nick in the skyline which is Miller Moss, and a building to the right which isn't on my map. There are mine workings early on and then the path deteriorates somewhat, becoming wetter, less distinct and nearer to the beck. The climb is about 900ft altogether in about a mile so it isn't desperately steep. But on a wet Thursday in the wettest June on record it's very wet. And then it rained. Not streadily, but torrentially, without respite on an already saturated fellside. Every semblance of a path was a stream or a bog and every sidestream a waterfall to be crossed. It might not look too bad on the picture which is taken near the top, but what you can't see is the rain bouncing off the puddles and that I'm ankle deep in mud. Indeed at one point i was more than knee deep and relieved to get my foot out with my boot still on. But i reasoned that it would clear in the end and at least I could see. Well at least until the clouds snuck up the valley behind me and blotted out the view. After a very squelchy hour I reached the top of Miller Moss where there should be a crossing path. This was tricky to identify positively but i followed some suggestions of ruts with streams flowing down them and my compass bearing until I nearly walked into a large garden shed in the mist and rain. Helpfully it had a Cumbria way disc on the back, and a door on the front and this was Lingy Hut, a mountain refuge which was what I had seen from the bottom of the climb. Gratefully I stepped through the door and out of the rain. 


At this point the advantage of being a back packer was obvious; dry clothes and socks although almost everything in my pack was damp by now. And I sat there long enough for my trousers to dry out to some extent and to wait for the rain to stop. I was joined after a while by another Cumbria Way walker who had survived Grainsgill Beck and fancied eating his lunch out of the rain. As the visibility cleared, a couple passed by in the same direction. He said they couldn't get any wetter so they would carry on. She didn't speak but the look on her face suggested he was in trouble later! As the weather improved my shedmate set off and I left a few minutes later. I would like to thank the people who maintain Lingy Hut and other mountain refuges. It was not an emergency for me, but at other times it could be a life saver. I left my undrunk bottle of Cocker Hoop there in thanks, and for any poor soul who has to spend the night there. 

From the hut it is a short and easy walk (when you can see the way) to High Pike, 2158ft. It's the most northerly of the Cumbria 2000s and has a solid slate seat in a puddle next to the cairn and trig point.


The route is indistinct for a bit after this, but a compass bearing North brings you down the correct side of the ridge and down the right hand side of a stream by old mine workings. Every path leads you to Nether Row and on to a lane heading towards Caldbeck. I stayed at the Oddfellows Arms although there are other bed and breakfast places. There's no campsite on the map or in the village but Throstle Hall Touring Caravans site appears to take Cumbria Way walkers according to the website. The village shop has good fodder for campers and lunch.