BB1324 : The Township Tour

Thursday 4th July 2013

On Whitbarrow Scar there are three plots of land that can collectively be referred to as The Township.  These three areas, The Township Allotment, The Township Plantation and the White Scar Quarry, cover over 500 acres.  A consequence of the Enclosures Act was that these parcels of land were made over to the people of Crosthwaite and Lyth.

The land is managed to conserve its biological and geological character. It is a "Site of Special Scientific Interest" and a "Special Area of Conservation".  

The income derived from the land is used to support local community projects.

The body that looks after the land is a Charitable Trust known as The Landowners of Crosthwaite and Lyth.

The Chairman of the Trustees is a BOOTboy.

Martin, the aforesaid Chairman, offered to take us on a tour of the area.  Most of us had visited Whitbarrow Scar several times but never with someone with such intimate knowledge.

Please don't expect what follows to be a learned evaluation of the territory  It's just a normal, slightly eccentric report which does not do justice either to the character of the terrain or the work of the Trustees.  Nor did the walk remain on or cover all of the Trust's land.

After examining Martin's garden, we climbed up from his house onto the Township Allotment, heading across the limestone terrain for the summit cairn at Lord's Seat, a tremendous view point on a clearer day.

En-route, was an oil spill that had proved controversial but had come accidentally from a farmer's vehicle and was being assimilated back into the ground, disappearing under vegetation.

The oil spill remains

The summit cairn

What had started off as a damp morning was starting to clear but there was still a strong wind blowing so we headed down to Rawson's Wood in the Lyth Valley,

Some feasted on wild strawberries on the way. Sadly, John and I were a distance from the pack at the time and none were saved for us.

Martin intended for call the lunch stop at the White Scar Quarry. However, having had a late start, Tony's tummy led to a sit down protest forcing us to eat at a less impressive place, although the three legged dog that passed by did impress.

The reed bog was interesting but what came as a surprise was the "shop" at the foot of the Whitescar Cliff face with assorted cards.

Reed bog near the cliff

The path to Rawsons' Wood

 

The shop

White Scar itself is visible for miles and this is very impressive especially when you stand on the huge pavement slab, looking up.

White Scar

It would be a fantastic place for rock climbers but sadly too many have defaced the scar with fixed climbing equipment and, worse, defaced the lower slopes with bodily deposits and litter; the consequence being that the Landowners have had to prohibit the activity.

Another case of the stupid few spoiling things for the many.

Across the Kent Estuary

Dropping down through Buckhouse Wood a creature was spotted that I had never previously seen- a slow worm wriggling across the track.  

The slow worm

Tony eyes the cafe

Another surprise was the tiny cafe at Beck Head.  Sadly, as we had just eaten, we were not ready to support the local enterprise.

Whitbarrow Scar from near Hell Moss

On reaching Witherslack Hall School, the debate was whether to climb the scar or continue north through the wood, hoping to find an unmarked path to Fell Edge.  

Witherslack Hall School

What we actually did was to head north but then opt for the steep path up to Bell Rake, at the top of which a cursory examination of the mine's entrance was made.

The mine entrance

Back on the Township

Time pressures then caused us to head back over the Township, now much sunnier than on the outward stage, then down to Martin's where Diana greeted us with tea and biscuits.

Looking over to Crosthwaite

Fisherman Tony's one that got away

Comitibus :  On the Township

It had been an enjoyable, informative tour of the Township with a much more civilised finish than normal!  Thanks, Diana!

Don, Thursday 6th July 2013

This week's competition.  

Identify these two creatures spotted on our way.

 

 

STATISTICS:  

BB1324

Date:  

Thursday 4th July 2013

Distance in miles:

10.7 (Garmin gps)

Height climbed in feet:

1,815  (Memory Map / OS)

Wainwrights:

-

Other Features:

Whitbarrow Township

Comitibus:

Don, John H, Martin, Stan, Tony

 

BOOTboys routes are put online in gpx format which should work with most mapping software. You can follow our route in detail by downloading bb1324

To discover which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing see
Which Wainwright When?

For the latest totals of the mileages and heights see: BB Log.

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