Saturday 8th March 2025
Part of this walk was included in the story of the Roman Milestone in July 2020
There are a number of steep sided gills that run east/west from the Middleton Fell complex which fascinate me but access is limited. Browsing the map it seemed that Millhouse Gill would be accessible. After weeks of shivering cold misery at last spring has made a temporary appearance. The forecast was warm and sunny and off I went.
From my Roman Milestone visit I knew I could park in the church carpark, the church being mo longer in use. My aim was to ascend enough distance to be able to see into the gill and actually get onto some wilder country instead of plodding round farmer's fields but with my breathless affliction I knew that would not be easy.
Apart from my own liberation from the winter weather motorcyclists had also taken advantage and they were out in force, but after only a hundred yards I was away from the main road.
There is an attractive cul-de-sac public road leading to Mill House, so no access problem so far. Where the OS map shows the end of the public road I suppose the entrance to Millhouse is mow private although there is no such indication and a public footpath continues into the property before turning off right after about thirty yards, and just before the wall that is within the booundary of the access land. Looking very carefully at the OS 1:25 it seems the boundary for the access land includes the high wall but this is now blocked by a high padlocked gate with the track quite obvious on the other side leading off into the uncultivated fell side.
Looking at this Middleton Fell access area stretching five miles from north to south, there are only three access points on the western side, one at the northern tip, and one at the south, and one in between, and debatably none on the eastern side.
The CROW Act of 2000 designated many large areas as access land for the public. However, often there is no public right of way to enter many of those spaces, or they are so infrequent as to make much of the land in practical terms inaccessible, so it is all a bit of nonsense.
I do not like to trespass if I can help it but I had come this far with the specific objective of exploring Millhouse Gill (on access land) as far as my physical limitation would allow. I found a gate from the property through some marshy land leading to another gate out onto the access land but putting me on the wrong side of a wall. I followed that until another gate lead to the track skirting the northern edge of the gill. I found a good spot to sit and have my sandwich and coffee looking down into the gill and with extensive views in all directions. All was peace and quiet and I lingered there for over half an hour before returning to Millhouse and continuing my circular walk.
At Low Fellside the public footpath skirted the property but I was hailed by the owner and he kindly offered to let me take a shortcut through his property. We had quite a long and enjoyable conversation. He told me that since the extension of the Lake District National Park he sees many more visitors who are not really walkers driving cars up his private road, leaving litter, and wandering over his private property. On a brighter note I wish him well on his forthcoming plan to walk the West Highland Way.
I was glad to be able to see some of Millhouse Gill but it would have been so much better if I could have followed it further, but I suppose at 85 I should be thankful to get as far as I did.
On my drive home, just after passing the hundreds of motor bikes at Devil's Bridge, their traditional weekend pilgrimage venue, I had to make the right turn onto the A65 . I had to wait ages for a gap. I think the whole world had turned out to welcome this spell of good weather. Eventually the traffic from the right gave me a chance but then a line of eight motorcyclists approached from the left to turn right onto my Devil's Bridge Road. The leader kindly stopped the whole line and politely waived me through. We need more of that and obliteration of Orange Man and P. Can't the former comprehend that the latter will do him over?
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| Parking at the church carpark just the other side.This dales road is iconic motor cyclists heaven |
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| Millhouse Gill is the obvious cleft centre of the photo |
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| Holiday cottages proliferate everywhere these days |
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| Pink string! |
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| Approaching Millhouse holiday cottages |
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| "Entrance" to the access land is only a few yards beyond that far left turn of the path |
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| So much for the CROW Act |
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| After finding a way through a couple of gates I was now on the wrong side of the wall. I was able cross near the distant bend through another gate |
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| I had my snack and a highly pleasureable sojourn to the left of this photo |
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| Looking up the gill from my rest stop |
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| Back at Millhouse cottages. The blocking gate is just out of shot to the left. Note the "camouflaged" footpath sign against the cottage wall. |
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| This and the next two. The line opened in 1860, and ran from Clapham, through Ingleton, Kirkby Lonsdale, Barbon, Middleton-on-Lune, Sedbergh and Lowgill, before joining what is now the West Coast main line, just south of Tebay. There was once a station at Barbon – we will pass the site later in the walk.16 Dec 2023 |
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| Looking back up to Millhouse Gill |
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| Blue route as I originally plotted. Top red shows my diversion to gain the access land. Bottom red shows shortcut offered by proprietor of Low Fell Side |
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| Red, my diversion. Blue as originally plotted |
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| Detail of proximity to access land. Note public footpath extending beyond road into property. Red line shows my solution. Thin blue line shows my original plot. |
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