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Whittle Wander|
Swindale, Sleddale, Keld and Shap Abbey, Cumbria. Thu 16 Mar 2006 |
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Drove via Shap to the narrow road leading up to Swindale. It was overcast, freezing and lots of snow on the fells. It’s the first time I’ve driven in this area and it doesn’t look much visited, by road or on foot. I left the car at the entrance to the valley and set of walking SW along the narrow unfenced lane. The road was covered in ice and I mostly kept to the verge wherever I could. At Truss Gate a narrow footbridge took me over Swindale Beck and a boggy path lead up towards Gouthercrag Gill.The path followed an ancient track that followed a series of zig zags up the fell side. Unfortunately large parts of the sunken track were filled with snow and it was not capable of taking my weight. This made for heavy going as every so often I would sink through the surface crust and have to climb out again. At the top of the fell there was no sign of a path, probably due to the snow. With no particular landmarks to head for I followed a compass bearing. |
| The cloud was higher than the fell tops, so at least I had a view. The snow made the going tough for the same reason that I explained earlier, by constantly collapsing under my weight. Approaching Gambling Crag I saw a strange sight in the distance, a large tracked vehicle, similar to a snow-cat, towing a square box trailer high up on to the fells. Why it needed to be up there I’ll never know. There was a small outcrop at Gambling Crag so I used the shelter to sit down and have my sandwiches. I now started my descent an before long could see Wet Sleddale Reservoir. The path dropped steeply down to the dilapidated building of Sleddale Hall. Large banks of snow had formed around the building but at least scaffolding implied that someone was trying to prevent its further deterioration. I mention this because it was one of the site locations for the film ‘Withnail and I’. The remote retreat of ‘Crow Crag’ was filmed here. |
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I followed the track to Sleddale Grange and over Stackhouse Brow to the minor road at Tewfit Mire. I was glad to be off the snow and have something solid underfoot. I followed the road to Keld, where it started to rain. Then across the fields to Abbey wood, over the River Lowther bridge and on to the ruins of Shap Abbey. |
| It’s over quarter of a century since I was last here. I was on the Coast to Coast walk with Charlie and we briefly looked at it while on the way to Shap village. The ruins are quite spectacular and definitely worth a visit. Being at the end of a very narrow lane may help keep the bulk of tourists away. The Abbey was founded in the late 12th century and was closed by Henry V111 in 1540. The Abbot was pensioned off with an annual payment of £40, pretty good for those days. I left the valley by a track to the west to rejoin the minor road. I noticed wide track marks in the snow similar to those left by the sno-cat I saw earlier. Could this be where the vehicle came from? Half an hour later I was back at the car. |
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