Rick M0PCP:
Hi Rick. Just noticed your post on NP2. Firstly, thanks for yesterday’s FB QSO from NP1 on 80m.
On NP2, I don’t feel qualified to comment on permission issues but I can tell you about routes, particularly the northern approach.
I haven’t been up the boundary from the south but one or two have been that way. Unfortunately I can’t remember who but I think M1YAM Clive may have done it a long time ago. It could be a bit rough going if the rest of the terrain is anything to go by.
Some people seem to go from Hilton, Swindale Edge and over Little Fell. Tom did the Pennine Way route in.
Years ago we went from the Byrites Mine at Fish Lake, up to Arngill Force and leftish onto the trig point end of Mickle. We didn’t much like it and never went that way again.
Thanks to James M0ZZO and Ian G7KXV, who ‘pioneered’ it on the same day, the improved condition of the southeastern track from the Grains-o-the-Beck B6276 road at NY 8719 2110, is now well known and generally accepted as standard for SOTA. I was told about this by Bill G3JYP many years ago but didn’t use it until after James & Ian rediscovered it in May 2006.
You can take a bike as far as the locked gate at the top of the track (NY 8287 2432) or all the way to the SOTA if you wish. As told by Ian, the track is well surfaced with stone ‘crusher run’ but its higher reaches are slightly rough and loose. The gradient is only difficult in places. From the gate, a walk to the trig point is completed in 10 minutes and to the summit in about 40 minutes. A bike left at the gate, gives you a ‘free return.’
Here is the northern route detail:
Park in Cow Green reservoir car park (free, 30 cars) NY 81090 30910. Use a Bike or walk down the locked but surfaced reservoir road from NY 81526 30390 to NY 81380 28760. The road becomes a stony farm track a little way after the Dam Wall. Follow the track through Birkdale Farm NY 80380 27850 (Right of way.) Cross the footbridge over Maizebeck tributary at NY 80060 27710 and leave the bike if you took one.
From here, I walk downstream (SE) alongside this tributary to where it joins Maize. The last few times I crossed, I did so at NY 80192 27334. The nearest bridge is a long way upstream at NY 74880 27010. Dry WX should give you an easy & dry passage from rock to rock but you’ll get your feet wet after heavy rain. If it’s wet you’ll just have to follow the Maize Beck upstream and find a suitable crossing point above Maizebeck Force where fewer tributaries have made their contribution but it’s a pain. A possibility is to follow the track beyond Moss Shop and cross Maize to pick up the boundary fence going SE but I haven’t been that far up Maize.
You can get an idea about the state of Maize Beck from near the dam. It can be deceptive so you need to see a lot of rock and not much water. If it’s half and half, you may be thwarted at ‘my’ crossing point.
After crossing, you soon breach the line of MOD notices but years of experience has shown (me) that danger is minimal. I think Mickle is a second backstop for the real business part of the range. There are plenty of holes in the ground but they are all natural sink holes or old mines.
Much of the going is rough tussock in a lot of places but with occasional help from short argo tracks or animal paths. These are hard to find, not too distinct and easy to lose but quite helpful if fed into the GPS. I list them below:
NY 80600 26880
NY 80570 26940
NY 80600 26790
NY 80540 26620
NY 80550 26570
NY 80570 26500
Cross a small valley at NY 80620 26350
NY 80630 26300
NY 80680 26240
NY 80698 26168
NY 80740 26020
NY 80765 25804
NY 80759 25594
There are no more animal paths that I can find so head for the summit. An easy way is via some Stirling Bomber remains at NY 80820 24880 then avoid the rock-fields after that. Summit cairn at NY 80587 24533. It’s about an hour from Maize Beck and walking surfaces generally become easier as you approach the grassy top, which is rock-strewn in places. The cairn is really big and there’s a good low-power VHF path to mainly NE England. Penrith is easily reachable too but Lancs less so.
Stirling impact point is at the South side at NY 80916 24684 and there’s a ruin at NY 81053 24725 but 95% of the wreck was taken to Hendon Museum in 1977. We used to have lunch in the fuselage.
On the way back you could visit Cauldron Snout waterfall which is sometimes audible at the summit, if the wind drops in the middle of the night.
When all points are fed in the GPS, it calculates the one-way route distance of 7.5 km all told. In reality you can add 10% to that. Total ascent and re-ascent comes to around 410m, for the journey there & back. The reservoir road is hard under foot and very annoying on the way back.
Some old Yahoo postings on NP2: Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos
Good luck. Whichever way you go, if it’s fine WX, I think you’ll enjoy it once you’re up there. You may not see anyone all day. I wouldn’t think you’d chose the northern route. Nobody else does!
73, John.