Summit of Black Combe (600 m.)
Hike up to the rounded summit of Black Combe (600 m.), we followed Moorgill Beck up from Kirkbank to Townend Knotts, which is the rounded end of the ridge that you see from the A595 south from Bootle in West Cumbria. Various marks in the turf suggesting this climb had been the route of a fell race recently. We paused in a scrape at about 300 m. and decided to go onwards in to the mist, despite a brisk wind and even though the cloud wasn’t lifting as forecast.
The trig point was well in the chilly dark grey cloud, the rock and fell reminded me of Snaefell (621 m.), the highest point on the Isle of Man that sometimes you can see over the Irish Sea to our west. We paused for a few minutes’ chat huddled in the summit shelter with a group of three whom we had seen hiking in front of us, but came back down quite quickly and ate our provisions out of the wind in the shelter of the scrape at 300 m.
Then down to the cute Herdwick lambs, hazy sunshine and the crocuses at St Mary’s Church, Whicham. Pevsner’s guide notes the South door is said to be Norman.
Great to hike with Samuel again.
Black Combe summit shelter
Black Combe trig point at 600 m.
St Mary’s Church, Whicham
Colourful dawn in Keswick