Vivienne Crow climbs a little-walked ridge to reach one of Skiddaw’s outliers, Lonscale Fell via the Horse and Farrier Inn.
When you’ve got celebrities for neighbours, it’s easy to go unnoticed. Sitting between Blencathra and Skiddaw, that’s exactly what’s happened to Lonscale Fell. And yet this 715m fell has more to offer than the smooth heather-clad slopes seen from the A66…
From Threlkeld at the base of Blencathra, this route uses the deep, steep-sided trench carved by the Glenderaterra Beck to head Back o’ Skiddaw. The pyramid-like peak of Lonscale Fell dominates this early part of the walk. Nearing Skiddaw House, we swing up on to the Burnt Horse ridge which provides a little-known route on to the high ground. Lonscale Fell’s true summit proves rather uninspiring, but its eastern top, perched on crags high above the Glenderaterra, is a lot more interesting. After descending those heather-covered slopes mentioned earlier, the route heads valley-ward via the northern flank of Latrigg to join the Keswick Railway Path. Threlkeld, at day’s end, is home to the popular Horse and Farrier Inn or, if that’s too busy, The Salutation, which is just a little further down the road.
Lonscale Fell via the Horse and Farrier Inn: route guide
START/FINISH: Blease Road car park on north-west edge of Threlkeld, GR NY318256 | MAPS: OS Explorer OL4 and OL5 (1:25k), OS Landranger 90 (1:50k), Harvey 1:25,000 Superwalker Lake District North | DISTANCE: 16.7km/10.4 miles | ASCENT: 717m/2350ft | DURATION: 6-6½ hours
1. NY318256: Leave the car park and turn right along Blease Road. Climbing all the while, this later becomes a rough track. Beyond the Field Studies Council’s Blencathra Centre, you get your first uninterrupted view of Lonscale Fell on the far side of the valley. You can now see straight up the Glenderaterra Beck too. The fell dominating the view beyond the head of the valley is Great Calva.
With Lonscale Fell ahead, the track heads into the valley of the Glenderaterra Beck. Credit: Vivienne Crow
2. NY296278: Soon after a sheepfold, cross the first of two wooden bridges in quick succession. With the pyramidal Lonscale Fell straight ahead, the track now passes through a gate and climbs gently beside a dry-stone wall. About 230m beyond the gate, ignore the trail peeling off left.
Stile leading on to the Burnt Horse ridge. Credit: Vivienne Crow
3. NY293287: On reaching a gate across the path, don’t go through; instead, turn left to climb beside a fence on the right. After a stile near the top of the first rise, head out along the Burnt Horse ridge. Lonscale Fell’s dark, north-facing slopes look formidable from here but our route bypasses the craggy ground. Drop off the ridge into a slight dip where another stile is crossed. Head straight up the grassy slope, beside the fence. Initially, it’s a steep climb, but it’s relatively short-lived.
Lonscale Fell from the Burnt Horse ridge. Credit: Vivienne Crow
4. NY283272: Eventually, you cross the main ridge fence. A few strides beyond this, turn left along a faint path that climbs to the tiny cairn on Lonscale Fell’s true summit. It continues across the top and then drops slightly to recross the fence at a bend. Head north-east along a faint trail to reach Lonscale Fell’s other, more satisfyingly exposed summit. With the ground dropping away dramatically to the north and the east, this is a good vantage point to gaze into the heart of the Northern Fells and across to Blencathra.
Skiddaw from Lonscale Fell’s true summit. Credit: Vivienne Crow
5. NY288272: Drop south from this eastern top. Keep to the edge of the high ground for now, swinging back in towards the fence in 200m or so. (If it’s windy or misty though, you’re better off returning to the fence straight away.) Follow the fence down the heathery hillside, with the Helvellyn range’s northernmost hills straight ahead.
Looking towards Lonscale Fell’s east top, with Blencathra behind. Credit: Vivienne Crow
6. NY293260: Turn right on reaching the track at the bottom of the slope – through a gate. With views of the Scafell group and the many peaks of the North-western Fells, this cuts easily across Lonscale Fell’s lower slopes and then fords Whit Beck. Beyond a gate, follow the wall/fence on the right until you reach a set of gates leading to the parking area at the end of Gale Road.
Helvellyn from the Whit Beck path. Credit: Vivienne Crow
7. NY280253: Don’t go through the gates; instead, turn sharp left along a wide track – with a fence/wall on your right at first. This track skirts the northern edge of Latrigg and eventually drops to a rough lane, along which you turn left. Almost immediately, bear right.
The track turning at waypoint 7. Credit: Vivienne Crow
8. NY298247: In the valley bottom, just before the lane crosses the Glenderaterra Beck, turn right through a gate. After the next gate, turn left along the route of the old Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith railway line, built in 1865 and now a shared-use trail. After 1.8km, the path zig-zags its way up to the A66. Turn left along the pavement and take the next road on the left. Just after passing Threlkeld’s village hall and coffee shop on the right, take Blease Road on the left. The car park is 270m ahead on the right – or you could continue along the main village road for a further 250m to visit the Horse and Farrier Inn.
Further information
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Bus X4/X5, Workington to Penrith via Keswick, www.stagecoachbus.com
TOURIST INFORMATION: www.lakedistrict.gov.uk, 0845 9010845
