BB2320 : High Lights and Low Lights

Thursday 29th June 2023

TV Mike confused me. "I’ve never walked the fells to the south-east of Coniston Water" he said.  He went on to mention something about a highlight.

I remembered walking those fells.  With the aid of Uncle Google, I was able to track down exactly when I had been there.  It was in December 2009 with Bryan, Pete and Stan.  The report, BB0940 : A Too Short Walk!, made no mention of highlights.  Nor lowlights for that matter.  The map shown in the report, OS 1:50k, similarly made no mention though it did talk about Low Bethecar and High Bethecar.

It was when I looked at the 1:25k map that Mike's comments made sense.  The hitherto unnamed spot heights, 229 and 263, suddenly had names.  Low Light Haw and High Light Haw.

Our first highlight should have been that the sun, which had strangely deserted us for a few days, was now back in action.  Only it wasn't.  Contrary to forecasts it was actually raining when we arrived at the Oxen Park Reading Room.  An unexpected lowlight.  It didn't last long, though, and soon the sun emerged.  The highlight at the Reading Room was that there was nobody else there.  Did we need to have gotten up so early?

A lowlight soon followed.  The bracken is now very tall and the rain had made it very wet.  As the path was rather overgrown with bracken, fighting a way through it was a dampening exercise.

Next we nearly got into a fight with a bull, a cow and her calf but fortunately managed to find a way round them.

Then we had to fight our way through some devastated woodland before encountering yet another lowlight.  However this one was actually a highlight.  I mean, of course, Low Light Haw with its view over the lake to the Coniston Fells.  

Soon we reached High Light Haw, an even higher highlight!

There again, rather than it being the means for inter-stellar time-travel, perhaps it's just a hill with holes made by worms.  A rather lowlight explanation. We didn't go to find out.  If we had, then maybe this report would be in a parallel universe. Who knows?

Arnsbarrow Hill and Top o'Selside were interesting tops separated by Arnsbarrow Tarn but can't be classed as highlights as these didn't have lake views though the Coniston Fells were more prominent

The heather was quite spectacular.

The return required us dropping down to .....

..... and entering the Satterthwaite Moor forest.

It was pleasant enough but the problem with forests is the trees.  Somehow they conspire to prevent you seeing too much.  Also, the main tracks are hard on the feet.  However the final path descending to Corker Lane was enjoyable.

There was then a long series of paths and tracks, through pleasant countryside and in sunshine.  The only issue was that the sign post saying that Oxen Park was ¾ miles away must have been moved as it seemed much longer.

One more item to report.  The White Hart Inn at Bouth has a beer so good they name it after Stan.  Another highlight!

Don, Thursday 29th June 2023

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STATISTICS

BB2320 : High Lights and Low Lights

Date:

Thursday 29th June 2023

Wainwrights:

Low Light Haw, High Light Haw, Arnsbarrow Hill, Top o'Selside

Distance in miles:

9.3

Height climbed in feet:

1,676

GPX track:

BB2320.GPX

Comitibus:

Don, Martin, TV Mike, Robin (+ Holly), Stan

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