Staying, as we are, at the top of Coniston Water, an obvious Wainwright to get under the belt was Holme Fell. We also wanted to check out Cathedral Cave, Little Langdale. Today we managed to do both.
The ascent was simpler than expected, and knowing the more or less zig zag shape of Wainwright route 1, we were able basically to follow our noses.
We parked at the National Trust car park, at Glen Mary Bridge, and followed the path which follows the eastern side of the main road. A brief nip over the road, and then around the West side of Yew Tree Tarn, before bearing away through the tall trees. A signpost to Holme Fell took us left, and veered right at a junction, heading north for a while, through/towards Uskdale Gap. After following the path fairly steeply up, eventually an outcrop appeared on the right, on top of which was a cairn. We then headed up left, to the higher ground, which yielded a view of the actually summit(s) across a small boggy bit.
The view from the top was very good, with Coniston Water stretching out to the south, and fine views of the surrounding fells.
Setting up for activation was painless - a fibreglass pole, a slim jim, and an FT817. I didn’t even need to guy the pole, which I positioned in a screw-in ground anchor, as there was almost no wind.
I managed to spot myself on the Sota site, and was able to work a few stations before the rest of the party were itching to move on. Highlights included 74km to Canonbie, 117km to West Nab, and a 96km SOTA S2S to GM/SS245.
We then walked on to find Cathedral Cave, which was well worth a visit, before walking back along the main footpath and then minor road to Shepherd’s Bridge, and a footpath behind High Yewdale, emerging by the farm, for a short walk along the main road back to the car park.
