Route: leaving the car in the small free car park in Caldbeck (almost full at 11:30am on a half term Tuesday) and running east along a minor road towards a campsite. Just before it, following a sign to run uphill at the edge of a muddy field by a stream. Taking a footbridge across the stream but then continuing uphill across fields - soft and wet under foot - through a small wood and across fields again to pass the farm at Rylands and join a tarmac track to the road. Continuing on the road to take a right turn on a track towards a transmitter but turning left, before it, down a track to Fell Hill Farm. Here taking the path to the right to descend across fields with wet feet to reach the c-road at Warnell. Spurning the track by Warnell Beck (which began crossing a field of deep thick mud) to return to a track to Kiln Gate, rather confusingly through the farm (no signs) and finally scaling a gate in nettles to reach and descend the surprisingly busy B5305 to the bridge at Browtop (Sebergham) to join the Cumbria Way.
Sadly, after a little while, finding that this bridleway was closed ahead because of a landslide and so, reluctantly, turning right up a narrow path through trees to dogleg across a c-road at Warnell Hall, briefly climb through a wood and cross fields to High Hartrigg, descending to Parkhead. Not being able to find the bridleway on the OS map back down to the Cumbria Way, continuing on a track signed to Caldbeck, then left through Parson’s Park on an increasingly narrow, flooded muddy path eventually to join the Cumbria Way for 100m and return to the start.
Conditions: low cloud and drizzle becoming heavier after an hour.
Pub: the Oddfellows Hall, Caldbeck, for Corby Blonde.
