Thursday 2 April 2026 - Carrock Fell

Sue and I had originally planned a day in the Lake District during our stay at Whinfell, but the weather forecast when we left home had obliterated any such idea, so very little walking gear was taken. However, given the opportunity for a walk on an unexpectedly fine day, we donned trail shoes and t-shirts and headed off to Carrock Beck, where half a dozen or so cars meant that we were not alone on the hill.

Carrock Fell, pictured above from near the start of the walk, is one of 214 'Wainwrights' - the hills described in Alfred Wainwright's pictorial walking guides. I'd never ticked these off in the past, but during last year I scoured my old diaries and entered details on a spreadsheet, to discover that there were about 60 'Wainwrights' that I'd not been up. Thus the germ of a project that would be easier than the 100+ Munro summits that I need to climb to achieve a second round of those summits.

The slow plod up to the main path was a bit squelchy, but my feet stayed dry in the sturdy Keen Targhee 3 shoes. Sue's Saloman shoes leaked, and she soon sped far ahead, for a long wait on the summit.

Looking south to Bannerdale Crags and Blencathra

This is the site of an Iron Age hillfort (see details at the foot of this posting), and the 663 metre summit of Carrock Fell is certainly a fine viewpoint.

It was a lovely sunny day, but a cool breeze provided encouragement to keep going. We left a large group on the summit of Carrock Fell and headed off over slightly boggy ground (not as bad as expected) to reach the minor summits of Round Knott and Miton Hill.

Round Knott

Looking back to Carrock Fell from Round Knott

Above and below: by the cairn that marks the summit of Miton Hill

After continuing over the rocky ramparts of Round Knott, and then to the small cairn at the top of Miton Hill, we headed down to the col at Red Gate and a turn right onto a good track to Carrock Beck.

The gentle descent to Carrock Beck

On reaching Carrock Beck, a spring in our steps saw us easily across the torrent.

The path turned into a track and led all the way down to the minor road where the car was parked. There were welcome warnings of dire consequences for anyone bold enough to try driving up the Caldbeck Common road on which we had just descended.

Any concerns about re-crossing the beck to reach the car were soon dismissed, though without the footbridge we would certainly have got wet feet in the ford.

Looking down, the river has certainly picked up pace from where we crossed easily higher up the valley.

Back at the car, with our route up to the summit of Carrock Fell in clear view

Here's our route - 7.3km with 400 metres ascent, taking around 3 hours, described in part below.

We could have continued over High Pike, another 'Wainwright', but we'd been there before and we were needed back at base to help cook a meal for 10 people. (That went well.)