Downloads: GPX File | KML File | FIT File | Google Maps File | OS Online route
About Longlands Fell | About Lowthwaite Fell | About Brae Fell | About Little Sca Fell
About Great Sca Fell | About Knott | About Meal Fell | About Great Cockup
Parking Location | OS Map | Current Weather
Starting out in the small village of Longlands, we headed directly onto the fellside with our sights on Longlands Fell. Being a smaller fell, the top is easily seen from this position, so we decided on the direct route although there was a nice-looking path to our left along the Cumbria way, which looked gentler. The option is yours.
There is a grassy path the whole way up, never getting too steep. When the incline does increase, there are a couple of foot holes to help make it a touch easier. Surprisingly for us, but maybe not so much when you look back on the walk, it didn’t take long to reach the 443-metre summit. Standing here, we could easily make out the next few Fells of the day. There was also the mighty Skiddaw in view, taking on its headline act in the distance, where it would remain for most of the day.
We moved on down, continuing over the grassy path towards our next wainwright of Lowthwaite Fell, just touching over 500m. As you can imagine, it is a gentle walk between the two and after a small dip, we made our way up to the second peak of the day. Views are remarkably similar here to the previous fell, which is to say you can see most of the 14km loop when stood here. Amazing, considering the number of fells we were about to do.
Next up, Brae Fell. This is where we started to feel more like we were proper fell walking. Still on a grassy, sometimes dirt path - the route is clear and simple. However, after the dip down from Lowthwaite Fell, the climb started to feel a touch more difficult. It was not tough, but the previous two had been so easy this did feel more challenging compared. We followed the path to the left circling around Charleton Gill Mine before the path swings you out towards the peak of Brae Fell. Here you get a fantastic view north towards Scotland and the landscape that flattens out as you look away from the Lake District.
After taking in the view, we turned back on ourselves. Though instead of taking the path back down, we followed the ridge line. From here it is a mostly direct, straight line over the next 3 peaks. The walking is still easy, and the path not troublesome. Soon along the not-so-steep climb, we made it to the next peak of Little Sca Fell. From here Great Sca Fell can be viewed, and so we continued. In terms of “bagging” fells, this was prossibly the most we had done in such a short space of time.
Once reaching Great Sca Fell, we took in a little more time to take in the views, especially Skiddaw. We had never seen it from this side. Next on the list, Knott. The path between us and the top of the fell was clearly boggier and a little tougher going so we headed off expecting a bit more of a slog. Happily, due to how dry it had been, we found it easy to avoid what little bits of bog were around. The hardest part here was making sure we were on the path. It seems more of a “make your way to the top somehow” fell, and that little bit of effort is worth it. Upon reaching the peak, you get this epic view across the Skiddaw massif. A fantastic wandering path to Great Calva appears (one we discussed adding onto our route as it looked so good!) and you even get an amazing view out to Blencathra. It is one of the surprise views I was not expecting and loved it even more for it.
Once we had gotten our fill of the views, we headed back down the way we had come up until we reached Great Sca Fell. Rather than continuing over to Little Sca Fell, a sharp left turn sends you towards Meal Fell. Heading down is a little steep and due to it being grassy. It could be a pain in the wet, but in the dry we just took our time. Before we knew it, we were sitting between the two fells eating some lunch.
The ascent up to Meal fell isn’t too difficult. As with the rest of the walk, it is mostly grassy with some dirt patches, and the height wasn’t bad either. The top of meal fell was the rockiest of the day and there was even a wind shelter. This makes sense, as the raw landscape that opens out around you would be bleak on a harsh weather day.
Carrying on over the top of Meal fell, we took the steepest decent of the day. As with others, it’s not difficult and in the dry was fine, but we took our time anyway. No rush with all these fantastic views around. Eventually, we reached the bottom of the valley and headed straight up the other side. Now this felt like a slog! We had already done so many fells, and reaching valley felt like we were down and done for the day. The slightly loose path, that was also steeper than we had gotten used to on this walk made the route up to Great Cockup painful looking one.
That said, once we were passed the loose rock, the path was much easier. After a bit more height, those brilliant views came back, and we forgot all about any complaints we had. Once past the crag, the walking is easier, and we were soon marching over the tops with what felt like the entire world folding away in front of us. We enjoyed the views so much that even after reaching the summit, we carried on over for a short while. Skiddaw and the reaching views to Scotland are great here.
We headed back the way we came up, down into the valley, taking care at the lower loose section and once at the bottom, turned left to head back to the car. After walking for 10-15 minutes, we stopped and had a look back. The lush green fells that had layers of rising layers just fills you with a love for the lakes and it is well worth one last look back. Heading along this dirt/rock path was simple and uncomplicated, and as the views dropped away, we couldn’t help but talk about these fells with that twinkle in your eye of a great Lake District Day out. It is not a short walk to the car from here, so you have plenty of time to reminisce about of the 6 Wainwrights and 8 fells of the day.
None of these individually is a block buster fell, they don’t grab you like an Helvellyn does, but collectively, they are done with relative ease, and each fell makes the walk as a whole a little more special. On a wet day, or even a dry day at the end of a wet week, I can imagine these fells being a little tougher to love, but on a dry day we really enjoyed them.
