Mungrisdale, Bowscale Fell, Blackhazel Beck, Souther Fell, Cumbria
[ 15.7 km] Wed  22 Jul 2009

Start/finish NY 364 305.
The weather forecast was bad and unfortunately it turned out to be right. I arrived at Mungrisdale Village Hall car park to a nice shiny sign saying I had to pay a £2 fee to use it. It also told me I’d have to park my car facing the river. So I declined both and continued past the small church and parked on the wide grass verge. It was quite firm so even the rain didn’t mean I’d leave any tyre marks. It was raining steadily so I needed all my waterproofs on. My first objective was to get up Raven Crags and there is a sign of a path directly up from the Bullfell Beck track. Because of the deep ferns and wet conditions I didn’t fancy it so walked along the road to climb a steeper route more from the north.

Sharp Edge in the distance.

 There were still deep fern in places but I was soon up. Above Raven Crags I joined the path which was quite nice and there was a wide grassy way through the ferns higher up. As I got higher on the ridge the wind and rain increased and I couldn’t see anything due to the cloud. The stone shelter on the top of Bowscale Fell was fairly miserable and I pressed on to descend south towards Bannerdale Crags. I wanted to head down Blackhazel Beck, a valley I’d never visited before. Although the map shows a path there isn’t one and I was soon wading across a area of unbelievable wet ponds, bog and squelch. I’d overshot my descent route and had to turn back on myself to find the beck. As I got lower I dipped below the cloud and had brief glimpses of the main valley ahead.

The beck was in quite a deep ravine and it was a bit tricky getting down the steep side. I came to a sheepfold which was a good spot to shelter and have some lunch. I then found the best route I could up to Mungrisdale Common, over the pass and pick up the path below the base of Sharp Edge. I followed it round and over the summit of Souther Fell. The NE ridge was a steep and muddy descent towards Mungrisdale and some very tall wet ferns at the bottom made it difficult for a while. I was glad to reach the road and some easy walking for a change. After reaching the car and changing into some dry clothes I had a quick look inside St Kentigern Church. There has been a church here since about 550AD but the present building dates from 1756. Some items are from previous buildings and the bell dates from 1491.
 

St Kentigern, Mungrisdale interior.

St Kentigern, Mungrisdale external view.