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Thirlmere, Castle Crag Fort, Litt memorial, Bleaberry Fell, Smaithwaite, Cumbria.
 [15.4 km] Wed 16 Oct 2013

OS Grid Ref: NY 316 173
Lat/Long: +54.546604, -03.058649

Drove to the bit of old road near the Swirls car park by Thirlmere. This way I save £7 parking fee. It was overcast but thankfully not raining yet. I followed a path down from the lay-bye car park down towards the shore of Thirlmere Reservoir. The paths followed though a thinly wooded area at first then through more mature trees as I neared the Reservoir dam at the northern end. Over a stile I reached the minor road which crosses over the dam.
Wooded path by Thirlmere

Thirlmere Dam

There seemed to be quite a lot of cars passing, which was unusual. There is a nice memorial by the parapet which gives details of the dam’s construction. Further on I saw a United Utilities vehicle and stopped for a while to chat to the operative, who was based a Dunmale Raise. I left the road to follow a steep path up through the woods below Raven Crag. At the summit was a large group of walkers and it looked like they were the ones I’d seen in the cars earlier.
Castle Rock


Fungi in the woods
Castle Crag

I passed them and continued to the area called Castle Crag Fort. I climbed on top of the mound and could see an adjacent ditch but nothing obvious to indicate an old fort. Back on the path and track I had to find a precarious way down to Shoulthwaite Gill and the river at the bottom. It was easy to step across then I started the steep climb up towards Castlerigg Fell. The map is wrong here as it shows the fort site on the wrong side of the beck. One of my objectives was to find the small memorial to J. Litt that I’d seen many years ago. I soon found it and re-took my earlier photos.
Litt memorial

Further up the fell I found some shelter from the wind by a stream to eat my butties. I headed for the summit boundary fence and came across an old MCWW (Manchester Corporation Waterworks) boundary stone. Along the fence I reached the summit cairn on Bleaberry Fell then on to the stone shelter. I started my descent to the NE by following the fence steeply down. Above Goat Crag I started a very steep descent through a lose scree area. Thankfully I reched the wooden bridge over Shoalthwaite Gill without problems. A forestry track continued through the woods to the minor road near Smaithwaite. I crossed over to follow the path Smaithwaite buildings and on to an interesting old stone packhorse bridge over St John’s Beck. At Bridge End Farm I was back on the road that goes over the Reservoir dam. I turned left then right at the main A59 which took me back to the car. On the final approach the rain started and thankfully I got to the car just before it became very heavy.

Below is an extract from Wikipedia
Below Threefooted Brandreth on the eastern slope, sitting on a shallow saddle above Mere Ghyll is the Litt's Memorial. On March 9, 1880 John Litt was following the Blencathra Foxhounds when he inexplicably fell behind and failed to return. A search party found his body at that place the following day. As recorded in the "English Lakes Visitor and Keswick Guardian" for March 1880:

Man found dead on the mountains – Early on Wednesday morning it was reported that two men, named John Litt and John Vickers, who had been following the Blencathra hounds the previous day had not returned. Litt had been last seen on the bog about 200 yards west of Raven Crag where he had been, with other, resting and watching the hounds in the valley below. … Although he seemed somewhat fatigued he did not complain, and the hunters, absorbed in the chase did not look behind. When his absence from home was known a number of willing volunteers went to search for him. … Mr David Powley at once proceeded to Mr Oliver, the shepherd on Castlerigg Fell, who probably was the last person in Litt’s company, and the two immediately struck for the point where Mr Oliver parted from the deceased. They took a dog with them and it found the body not fifteen yards from the place they were making to. The searchers were: Messrs C. C. Thompson, Thos. Hodgson (Station Road), J. W. Grisdale, Thos. Harrison, David Powley, Joseph Bouch, Geo. Atkinson, Isaac Wren, Joseph Bristo, Benjamin Hodgson, A. G. Pettit, and Wm. Wood.

The memorial consists of two upright stones, one bearing a round plate inscribed 'In memory of J Litt who died March 9, 1880'. The second stone bears a faint inscription.