Terrain Overview
Walk Overview
Our first Fell walk of the New Year. After various interruptions with work / flu
or both, at last a chance to get the old Fell legs going again. Hen Comb in the
remote area near Loweswater stands at just over 1,600ft and route finding
presents no difficulties as it stands on the opposite side of Mosedale Beck facing
Mellbreak. Be aware that crossing the Beck after periods of heavy rain can be
difficult. The final pull up to the summit for a small Fell is quite steep
This walk is dedicated to Jones (the Bastard) our beloved member
of the family who we lost on 1st February 2020. Rest peacefully you stroppy git
From the A66 West bound look for the signs for Lorton and Buttermere after you have
passed the Keswick turn off. From the minor road then follow the signs for Loweswater.
The wall starts at a phone booth (now a defib station) just before you reach the
Kirkstile Inn
Looking over to Grasmoor from the start of the walk
As we set off down the lane towards Church Bridge the North face of Mellbreak
dominates the skyline
The imposing North face of Mellbreak
The lane passes the Inn and the Church and leads out to a small wooded area
Looking across to Whiteside and Grasmoor from the track
The path eventually leads to a gate and swings right. The firebreak between the trees
can be followed if you wanted to climb Mellbreak
From the path through the gate and after about a quarter of a mile, a grass track
branches off to the right which leads down to Mosedale Beck
Crossing the Beck today required removal of the boots
From the Beck follow the grass track that runs parallel with the wooded area
to gain the higher ground and a path leading up to Little Dodd
Looking towards Grasmoor
Looking back to the scree path on Mellbreak
Having reached the ridgeline, swing left and follow the grass track
There is a choice of tracks to follow both heading the same direction. We chose the
lower track which is largely pathless across grass
Looking back to Loweswater
The first clear view of Hen Comb beyond Little Dodd. It`s worth pointing out that if
you initially climb the ridgeline a little higher than we chose to, there is a more
well defined track to walk along. We opted to cross along the flank. Either way
though no navigational issues
Looking South over to the snow capped Red Pike and High Stile range
At the point at which you come to a wire fence running down the slope in the
foreground and Fleetwith Pike (in the far distance) becomes visible, this signals
the point at which to veer right and aim towards the start of the steep pull up
to the summit of Hen Comb
The full extent of Mellbreak across Mosedale Beck
After a tussle up the steep sided grassy flank, a more well trodden path makes
the last few minutes of the walk to the summit a little easier
The summit of Hen Comb looking towards Buttermere
Click here for a 360 degree view
Grasmoor over the top of Mellbreak
Sue on the summit of Hen Comb and yes it was COLD !!
On the return journey we decided to head straight down the slope towards the Beck
which we hoped would be easier to cross - it wasn`t !!
However the level footpath along the base of Mellbreak in an excellent way back
to the Kirkstile Inn
This time we chose not to remove the boots and hence a squelchy tramp back to the car
