Ponsonby Fell NY 081 070
Cold Fell NY 058 092
Irton Pike NY 120 015
I am now playing catchup with these posts. There is more to come from yesterday (Sunday), and the plan is for two more successive Outlying Fells days tomorrow and Wednesday.
I reckon the drive up to these north eastern edges of the Lake District is more strenuous than the walking.
I did have a bit of confusion about Cold Fell having mistakenly ticked it off the list because I climbed another fell of the same name last year out in the wilds to the east of Carlisle that was a Marilyn, CLICK IF YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT THAT ONE
Ponsonby was ascended up a track from the west leading to a ruined farm named Farmery (with a capital) on the map. My dictionary defines that word as "the buildings of a farm", but I have never heard it used before, especially as a proper name. Views were interesting and extensive including Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant and the clearest sighting of the Isle of Man I can recall. Unfortunately my camera has got some dirt on the sensor, so many of my photos now have a blobby mark, but more of that in a forthcoming post, but suffice to say that from tomorrow onwards that will no longer be a problem.
A short drive took me to the start for Cold Fell.
Cold Fell gets the thumbs down from me, and even Wainwright has a dig after excusing his omission of directions, "...if with the aid of the map only, you cannot find the top of Cold Fell, then take some good advice from an old man, and pack it in". Twas fifteen minutes up from the road with a featureless plateau - the only redeeming feature being the sunshine, blue sky and rolling white clouds - a perfect day.
Irton Pike is obviously more popular then the two aforementioned, less visited fells; it has a car park for about eight cars, I was just able to squeeze on. I saw nobody on the very steep but eroded and well frequented path, so where all the car owners were is a mystery. This is a proper little mountain with a peaky summit, and a tempting view of part of Wastwater - I was up and down in about forty minutes accompanied by a minor hailstorm on the descent.
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| The start of the track up to Ponsonby Fell |
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| Ponsonby Fell - Farmery is at the left end of the wood |
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| Sellafield and part of the IOM at right skyline. I had good close up, but fleeting sighting of wheatears flitting on and of this wall as I took the photo. |
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| Strange bomb like object embedded in grass near summit of Ponsonby just below a prominent boulder NY 08044 07126 There was no way I was going to attempt to unearth it - not sure if I should report it to somebody, but others must have seen it before. |
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| Above mentioned item in context |
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| Isle of Man - click to enlarge |
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| The distant Scafells from Ponsonby summit |
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| Cold Fell "cairn" which summarises what I thought about this hill |
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| The tempting view of Wastwater from Irton Pike summit - you just want to look round the corner beyond Yewbarrow |
We had a family break at Silecroft some years ago, the Isle of Man looked so clear and close it had me wondering whether Brigadoon was rising from the Irish Sea!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had better views than we had on Ponsonby. Irton is a nice little top with great views. I would guess folk had gone up to Illgill head and Whin rigg and back via Burnmoor. I have done that circular from the same car park.
ReplyDeleteI think the clock is still ticking on that shady device!
JJ - I have never spent much time on the eastern side of the Lakes and glimpses of IOM have been rare, so anything as good as the photos here, which never show as much as you see in real life, are a treat for me.
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AlanR. - Strange how two neighbouring peaks can have such different characteristics, Ponsonby warm and friendly, and Cold, cold, and boring.
All unknown ground to me Conrad, so always interesting to read about these hills and see some good photographs. So different from the terrain we encountered today but more of that later.
ReplyDeleteafoot - thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteYour bomb-looking item in the grass on Ponsonby Fell is actually part of Canberra WT505 that crashed nearby in 1956. It looks like an oxygen bottle.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous -Fascinating - thanks for solving the mystery. I would be interested to know how you happened on this post which dates back three years. I am not sure if you've commented here before - if not welcome to the blog.
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