So a day trip up to the Lakes in very strange times. The Coronavirus concerns are paramount in the country at the moment but going to the Lakes for a walk felt odd. I wondered should we go but then, given the fact we live in a suburb of Manchester I thought we're going to be further away from people in the fells.
We were trying to think which fell to do. When I got up we were going to do haystacks but by the time we got to the Lakes and saw there still big chunks of snow on the higher peaks.
Add in the fact we'd not had a walk for a couple of months, I thought let's go up Souther Fell and tick off another of the Northern Fells.
We parked in Mungrisdale village which has always been full of cars previously but there were only a handful today.
At the start of the walk you cross the bridge (below) and then follow the road for a few hundred metres. You can see Souther Fell as it dominates the view.
Once you get off the road onto the fell side proper it is a joy. An obvious path, grassy underfoot and not horrendously steep (apart from a few yards or so anyway).
There's one depression on the traverse of the fell
but again you can see a clear path as the traverse continues. You can turn left before the water but we decided to follow the path and then ascend via the ridge. Below is probably the only bit of rock you see on the walk. Little bit of care on the way down but easy enough.
And then you see the top!
Except it isn't. You have another 300 yards once you get to the top on the picture above but it is flat!
We got to the top of Souther Fell and what a handsome cairn! Except there wasn't one. So I started it
It might be small but it's there!
And my little buddy made it too.
It was windy on the ridge but not as bad on the summit. We turned and retraced our steps meeting a couple of other peeps on the way down.