Back at base, the Merry meals teams did their jobs in style and provided hearty lasagnes, both meat and veg, finished off with a fine fruit crumble and custard. The weather forecast was a bit dodgy the next couple of days so I changed the itinerary and decided we would go up Cross Fell next, where the lower option was a circular 8 mile loop from the bunkhouse. As the weather was looking to improve throughout the day we had a later start, drove to the tiny hamlet of Kirkland, and set off up the steady climb at first beside Kirkland Beck and then around High Cap where the terrain levelled a bit, still climbing but now across wet and boggy ground. We found a shelter, as by now we were in drizzle, and had a good coffee stop, then followed the flatter, better path to where the Pennine Way comes down from the summit plateau. Here we ascended quite steeply again and this time into thick cloud, following cairns that led us to the summit shelter, where we sat and enjoyed being in the lee of the wind which by then was pretty chilly, and ate our lunch. Afterwards, two of us got out our compasses and agreed a bearing to take us off the plateau, which was in dreadful visibility, and everyone followed closely until, descending slightly, we came out of the cloud and Great and Little Dun Fells were revealed below and ahead of us. Our bridleway left the Pennine Way a little further down and as the weather improved dramatically, we had fantastic views to the south west of the Lakeland Fells spread out on the horizon, and I took great delight in naming some of them! We contoured down across Wild Boar Scar, Grumply Hill and finally walked back towards Kirkland via the Hanging Walls of Mark Anthony; ancient cultivation terraces marked on the amp and rather underwhelming when we actually saw them. This walk was 9.6 miles and 2323 ft of ascent. The smaller group had had a wonderful walk, encountering meadows of wild flowers, wildlife and a little bit of mud, but rather better weather than we had had up high!

Our final day promised heavy rain, and so the planned walk up Great Dun Fell via Knock Old Man was scuppered in favour of a drive to Dufton and a 5 mile circuit of Dufton Pike, with an option to go over the 481m peak and back to the pub. As we rounded the back of the Pike and split into two groups, the weather deteriorated and the higher group returned rather drenched, but happy. We spent the afternoon back at base, playing darts, doing jigsaws; table tennis and snooker were on offer but not taken up, and relaxing a bit. Our final meal was at the Stag at Dufton, a fabulous gem of a local pub with a great atmosphere, really good beer and excellent hearty food.

We packed and tidied the next morning before hitting the road for the long drive home – all of us for whom the area had been unfamiliar had loved the walks, the villages and views and had all been pleased to discover a much quieter set of hills, as good as some of the Lake District fells, with more to come back again to discover another time.

Sue Waton Trip Leader June 2024.