The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

Cribyn & N escarpment

from Pen y Fan

96 The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

Manchester Corporation 10
years earlier to lood the valley
and turn it into a reservoir,
an even more ambitious plan
was put forward that included
a reservoir, a new road and
water sports facilities. On this
occasion, challengers included
Alfred Wainwright, who
described the water authorities
as “cannibalistic”. hankfully,
this scheme too was abandoned.
Whenever I visit this
secluded part of Cumbria, I
can’t help but ponder, with a
slight shiver, what might have
been. On my last walk along the
ridge to the south of the valley,
I followed a faint trail through
a landscape dominated by
heather and bilberry, then by
moorland grasses. hese fells
are low by Lakeland standards

• not even reaching 500m – but
  their rugged remoteness makes
  them feel more substantial.

Here and there, a few rocky bits

stick out, adding to the sense of

this being a ‘wild’ place.

As on previous occasions,

I didn’t see a soul. No wind

turbines either, though the

masts of the repeater station

near Whinfell Beacon were

an intrusion I tried to blank

out. To the north, east and

west, hills illed the horizon,

and the knowledge that I had

at least some of those largely

unblemished hills to myself

brought a huge grin to my face.

he sense of solitude

continued as I dropped into

Borrowdale itself. While

Scots pines adorn the higher

slopes, gnarly old oaks are

scattered along the valley

bottom. Saplings, planted

by the Friends of the Lake

District, are boxed into tiny

wooden enclosures to protect

them from wind and grazing

animals. he conservation

charity has planted 10,000

native trees, including oak,

rowan, hawthorn, willow and

alder, since acquiring part of the

valley around High Borrowdale

in 2002. It has also created

upland hay meadows in a bid

to boost habitats. And wildlife

does seem to be thriving here:

wandering upstream along the

valley bottom, I saw herons

and a juvenile snipe. A pair of

buzzards wheeled overhead,

while the call of a cuckoo

echoed of the valley walls.

Ater the close brushes with

water and power schemes over

the past few decades, it seems

the valley is in safe hands again.

Also, with extensions to the park

boundaries in 2016, Borrowdale

became part of the Lake District

National Park. Hopefully, this

means it will never face such

threats again.

Further information

Maps: OS 1:25,000

Explorer sheet OL7

(English Lakes, South-eastern

area); Harvey 1:25,000

Superwalker Lake District

South-East

Transport: None to

the start

i

Information: Kendal TIC,

01539 735891 or info@

kendaltic.co.uk

[Captions clockwise from top]

Cairn perched on the north-

western edge of Ashstead Fell;

Tiny building below Mabbin

Crag, a useful shelter in bad

weather; Looking towards the

Howgills from Whinfell Beacon