I was woken during the night by rain hitting the tent. It didn’t last long but at first light I looked out to see nothing but thick mist. This is my last day and I have quite a way to walk so got ready straight away and was packed up by 06:30am. The first part of the descent was quite wet and hardly any path to follow.

gloomy start to the day

Hartside summit

Eventually I was on the road ahead and had a quick look at the Harstside Hotel, which was closed, before continuing my descent down the A686 road.

the wonderfully engineered A686 designed and built my John MacAdam in 1823

I stopped at the first bend to photograph the wonderful sweep of the road and the even gradient which was engineered by John MacAdam in 1823. I left the road and headed north along the old quarry track. I was still in mist and when the track came to an abrupt end I wasn’t sure which way to go. There is supposed to be a path ahead but I couldn’t see any sign of one. I followed a track downhill for a while but soon realised it wasn’t going the right way. Reluctantly I had to head across open fell hoping I’d reach the correct route. When I’d reached the fence I knew where I was but hadn’t seen any path or track.

abandoned farm house

the old boiler

My next objective was a derelict farm building so I headed in its rough direction through the mist. I was crossing Harescugh Fell but didn’t see much of it. As I started to descend I dropped below the mist and there was the farmhouse below me. As I got to the front door an owl swooped out of the open barn door. The building was substantial with its roof intact but the doors and windows had disintegrated and it is now only a question of time before it starts to collapse. I followed the fence line down Skelling Moor towards Raven Beck. My eyes were on the opposite side of the valley which is where I was heading and a track high up on the far side. The river is in a deep ravine and as I approached was surprised to see a large rusty boiler standing in an alcove. It stood about 3m high and next to it was a winch and sink hole indicating a shaft.

Apparently it was a trial shaft in the search for copper but I don’t know when it was sunk. I little upstream was a timber beam across the river holding a fence below it to keep the sheep in/out. It was an ideal point to cross the river then I climbed the steep fell side to reach the track above by a solitary tree. The track was pleasant to walk along and I now had great views ahead to the Cumbrian Fells across the intervening agricultural land. The descent took me in to the village of Renwick and as a narrow footbridge crossed a small stream and in to the graveyard of All Saints Church I decided to use it. The Church was locked which was a pity as I’d hoped to leave my ruck-sack there while walking back to Croglin to pick up my car.

descending to Renwick

 I walked to the Church gate and decided to leave my pack there. An old man came to sweep the path and we chatted a while. He was local so I asked him about the old boiler but he didn’t know anything about it. I left my pack with a note on it saying when I’d be back to collect it. It was just under 3miles to Croglin and I had a pleasant walk along the lane to get there and collect my car.