A surprisingly arduous 15km walk on a fine, sunny Autumn day.
Route: unable to reach the Dodd Wood car park because of the closure of the A591, parking instead at Dancing Gate and taking a steep muddy forest track (much evidence of use) uphill to find a faint path marked with yellow paint on trees to reach a clearer track coming up from the road and hence reaching a broad muddy forest road leading to a marked route to the Dodd Wood car park. Then joining a clear path north through the woods breaking out of the trees to mount the ridge at Watches and descend to cross the stream. Then taking a grassy track / path to the head of Southerndale and climbing steeply and pathless to the col and on to the summit of Carl Side. Descending as far as White Stones to turn right on a clear lateral path and then heading down hill at a white cairn. Crossing a forestry road at a stile and then taking a track and then well made gravel path leading eventually to the summit. Retracing the route to the stile and continuing 600m down it to where, a year before, there had been a grassy track behind a wooden hut. Now a large muddy track through felled forest led on with no sign of the previous silvern path down-hill. So picking a route through felled trees, across deep but dry mud and using mats of confer branches eventually to exit forestry operations emerging onto the hillside and down to the road close to Millbeck, turning right back to the car.Conditons: a bright cool sunny day.
Pub: Middle Ruddings, Braithwaite for ** and Barngates Tag Lag but also a free tasting of 7 other beers left over from the Middle Ruddings beer festival which had just finished.
