On the Friday the 3rd of July Alison D posted on the club WhatsApp Group thet she was intending to go for a scramble the next day at Mosedale Force in Swindale on the eastern fells of the Lake District. Adam H and Dave M both responded to the message and a plan was cobbled together to set off early for an enjoyable walk in a less frequented area of the Lake District and have a go at the grade 2 scramble if conditions were right.
The circular route was started at the car park beside the dam at Wet Sleddale Reservoir just a few miles southwest of Shap. There is a decent car park here and the car journey time was about 30 minutes less than it would have been to drive around the corner into Swindale. Sleddale Beck was crossed at the footbridge to the west of the reservoir and a well-made track then followed up the hill to Sleddale Hall and beyond to the moorland which is part of Shap Fells between Sleddale and Swindale.
After passing abeam White Crag the path that we expected to see in front of us was the only feature not visible. Undulating, mixed terrain, boggy in places and criss-crossed with faint animal tracks and irregular quad bike tracks made up the view ahead. The contour lines on the OS map of the area looked rather like the lines of a jigsaw puzzle and with low, grey cloud and no sun it was a challenge to maintain a sensible route towards our exit point abeam Gouther Crag. At one point Adam even took out his map and compass. This piece of moorland is ideal for anyone practicing or teaching navigation skills.
Our descent into Swindale was via Gouthercrag Gill. We climbed at Gouther Crag a few years ago. The resident and well documented Peregrine Falcons appeared to have had a good year and were making plenty of noise and flying above us. A group of bird-watchers had gathered in the valley and were enjoying the spectacle as the rain and grey clouds started to break up into brighter, showery weather. Before reaching the river our path turned left towards Mosedale Force, passing under the crag.
The showers did not relent and although the rain was only light, the rock was never going to dry. At the base of Mosedale Force we took a brief look at the scrambling route, testing for any kind of friction on the wet moss and unsurprinsingly found none. Fortunately, the route can be easily bypassed and there are points all the way up the path where you can rejoin the scramble. We did not venture far onto the rock but were able to have a good look at the route, waterfalls and pools and figured that the the falls would be well worth another visit on a dry, sunny day with less water cascading down.
At the top of Mosedale Force we continued with our circular route back towards the car park. Navigation was easier now although to cross the deep Mosedale Beck we initially had to head away from our preferred direction. The track was followed back to Sleddale Hall where we dropped down, retracing our steps to the reservoir and car park.
The walk was about ten miles and the ascent gain about 650m. It was a relatively easy, quiet and interesting walk even without scrambling the grade 2 Mosedale Force. Thanks to Alison for suggesting it and to Adam for joining in for the day. Great company! Tea and cake at Kirkby Stephen on the way home was smashing too!
Cheers!
Dave M