Grike & Crag Fell – 25th April 2011
WOTA – LDW 177 & 162
After the exposure of WOTA to my wife the preious day she granted me the morning off from domestic duties (I’d cut the grass the day before and done a few bits and pieces around the house but not enough to earn a proper brownie point or two). Grike and Crag fell are close by to my QTH with only a 10-15 minute drive from the house. They are not the most exciting of prospects and probably get largely overlooked as they are on the boundary of the national park. this is a shame because they are easily accessible from the Cold Fell road and Crag fell has a lovely view across Ennerdale.
The weather wasn’t as good as the previous day and the wind was starting to get up. I chose to go from the Heckbarley access road which I actually missed. I use the fell road quite a lot for training on the road bike and I usually pass the entrance point which normally has a handful of cars near it without much thought. This time I almost drove straight past as the felling of the coniferous forrest has made the landscape look a bit lunar. The old mine road is now suitable for logging trucks (of which there were a few on bank holiday monday) So a dash to the mine road was needed and on up to Grike first.
Grike views are not as spectacular as Crag Fells but the likelihood is that you can get a bit tuned out when you see that kind of view regularly. The large cairn was well employed to keep out the wind and also acted as a support to the fishing pole and SOTA beam. After the first call on 145.500 I got half a dozen returns and heard a Australian working some stations through an Echolink node (or so I assume as none of the G stations sounded familiar!)
getting on to Crag Fell can be done either by going back onto the mine road or by risking it across the boggy stretch in the saddle of the two peaks. As it has been dry for some time I thought I’d make a dash for it across the soggy bit. It turned out to be a good decision as I was back up and on the air in less than 20 mins from. A further bunch oh contacts confirmed the summit and that we me done in the strengthening wind.
just enough time to do the usual litter pick on the way back to the car and back it time for lunch. A highly recommended WOTA ‘sprint’ for ease of access from the West Coast and the excellent views down to Ennerdale.
