A 12km jog, walking the uphill sections.Route: Leaving the car on the road over Scarny Brow near Harry Hodgson’s Well and running down the road to turn right onto a rough track and climbing gently, north east, to enter a plantation. At a complicated junction, keeping left close to a fence until a stile on the left gave access to the side of Grike. Now walking up a narrow and fairly steep path to the summit. Then running down to a very marshy saddle (with a transmitter) and walking up a grassy path to Crag Fell. Keeping close to the edge on a path past a subsidiary summit with more open views and then running down to cross the original track. Then following a wall on the left uphill, at a walk, until, near where the wall bends left, a path branches to the right crossing the flank of the hill and then slowly ascending the top of a wide flat ridge. Turning right here to reach the broad summit of Whoap, 50m short of a white sheep-like stone.
Continuing in roughly the same direction at a run downhill to cross a saddle and climb slowly to Lank Rigg. Back the same way to the saddle and then following a clear but narrow path, wet and very marshy in places, along Whoap Beck having to ford one stream (removing socks and insoles and wading) and jump another and then leaving it where it became the River Calder to climb up to the road and run back to the car.
Conditions: cloudy but dry. Frequently very marshy under foot two days after a day of torrential rain.
Pub: the Fox and Hounds, Ennerdale Bridge, for Cumbrian Ales Loweswater Gold, Fox and Hounds Amber and lunch.
