Dunwalloght Castle, Newbiggin, Cumrew Fell, Cumbria..
[13.5 km] Tue 04 Nov 2014

OS Grid Ref: NY 55413 49854
Lat/Long: +54.841504, -02.695791

It was raining when I set off but by the time I reached the start of my walk the sky had cleared. The temperature was just above freezing at 1degC with a slight ground frost. The first part of my walk was towards high ground at Thorn Hill. My map shows a public footpath but the access gates to the field were chained and locked.

Google Earth view taken a few years ago shows a path sign but only a single gate. It appears the gate access has been widened to a double gate and the signpost ripped out. I climbed over and headed up the field. I left the path for a while to investigate the site of Dunwalloght Castle that is shown on the map.

There was a stone barn and pile of rubble stone strewn around. Some of the ground had grassy humps but nothing to indicate ancient ruins. I looked over the piles of stones but none seem to have to have been dressed for building. Some records say there is nothing to prove the site is that of Dunwalloght Castle. The only thing I had to go on was the Ordnance Survey map. I returned to the path and found signs and gates taking me to the road at Newbiggin.

The road only lasted a 100m before a gate and access track to the moors. A sign showed the land as Open Access but further up was another sign saying the Open Access was closed. There were some dates, the last being in July so I pressed on. When a Shooting Hut came in to view I followed its access track and sat for a while at the table and benches outside.

The hut was in good condition and recently painted with creosote. Doors to both rooms were unlocked. I continued up the track and into mist. Over Cumrew Fell I didn’t have much to see due to mist. The track took me all the way to the trig post by a stone wall. It isn’t quite at the highest point.

The cloud parted for a while and I had some nice views. To the SW I could see Carduneth Pike but there was no easy access from where I was. I had to cross some difficult and rough ground to get there. For parts I was wading through deep heather. At the cairn was a large pile of stones and a cairn in the middle. A carved stone in the north face said “Rebuilt by Thomas Armstrong 1961”.

I followed a faint path to the NW and back to the wall. I was heading down towards Albyfield Plantation and originally intended following the wall steeply down. I noticed an old track descending diagonally so followed that instead. It was an easy descent to the lower wall. I reached the wooded plantation and followed a quad bike track along the top side below the fell. My next objective was Marble Well but in the way I was saddened to see that wire snares had been set by the track. I thought they were illegal.
Unfortunately the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 seems vague about what type of snare is illegal and what isn't.
I reached the well which is a spring issuing from the hillside. It has sensibly been tapped into and feeds a large cistern below.

Presumably Albyfield Farm below is fed from it. I descend to the wall below and re-joined the quad track into the farmyard and official footpath. I continued straight ahead along a farm track though fields all the way to the road at Cumrew. I followed the road through the village and into the church yard of St Mary’s.

The path goes through the church grounds but there weren’t any signposts. The church was locked so I couldn’t check the interior. Round the church was a gate through the wall to re-join the path through a couple of fields and back to the road and on to my car. Just as I reached the car the rain started.