UKC

I fancy doing Long Man Hill tomorrow from the Pennine Way.  A couple of years ago there was a temporary access restriction shown on a map in Garrigill.  Is the restriction in place just now?

Nothing showing on the Natural England Open Access portal so you should be alright.

I often walk in that area and have never seen an access restriction around there. I last walked that section of the Pennine Way about six months ago, on a round taking in Cross Fell, and there were no restrictions then. I don't know of any reason there should be any in place now, unless it's to prevent lovers of little visited hills sinking up to their necks in bog.

If you fancy a longer day, I reckon the approach from the Penrith to Alston road, heading along the Maiden Way and branching off at the Melmerby Shop, is more interesting.

This is what I saw last year.

Standard guidance is to stick to paths March till August due to ground nesting birds and the summit isn’t serviced by a path.  The secondary summit a few hundred meters SSE is almost as high and is on a rough track.

Weather has been a bit wiggy in the general area recently; I’m hoping it improves for the weekend.

Have you ever visited the Cash Force waterfall in that area?  I’m looking for pros and cons on picking up the river south of the Alston road and following it vs taking the Maiden Way and then the track through Smittergill Head and beyond…

As much as I’m a fan of knee deep bog punctuated by meter high peat hags, given the state of the lowlands this “summer” I think I need to be more discerning than normal about the tops if I don’t want to end up as a “bog body” in a museum some distant day…

I believe my son and I chanced across the waterfall one evening when descending from Bullman Hills. I hadn't registered before then that there was a pretty major waterfall there. It was impressive, although there hadn't been anywhere near as much rain as we've had this summer.

On that occasion we'd come in along the Smittergill Head way, but I've also accessed that country along a track starting near Alston. I don't recall that either route involves the very worst Pennine bogs, but so much depends on the weather.

Think I'll wait till the shooting finishes now. I rescued a lamb from a hole full of peat porridge last year. Certainly a serious hazard for a human.

That track from near Alston looks interesting, especially if the golf club are amenable to overnight parking and a donation for night hikes.  I was surprised to find out when reading around something nearby that there is decent sized waterfall I’d not heard about.

Just going from Bowlees carpark to Gibson’s Cave was sketchy enough with mud today.  In mid summer…

No parking left at Sharnberry Gill due to a shoot this morning so no walk down a glacial overflow channel for me today. There may be bog but the patches of bilberry are looking more verdant than I can ever recall.  

Walking to the north of the Penrith to Alston road with a friend earlier this year, near Tom Smith's Stone, we were surprised when a hang glider pilot started shouting instructions down to us on how to avoid the worst of the bog. I think it was this distraction which caused my friend to step into a mire in which he sank to his waist. I didn't laugh at all.

I just wonder if those of a goml persuasion have any idea of how many sheep we collectively rescue. I have howked quite a few lambs out of water with an inviting green cover.  

Was having a short brutal fight with some Kielder moorland (Carter Bar is there for a reason!) yesterday and the compensation was one of the best blaeberry feasts ever.  Rasps lower down too.  And what a year for flowers.