With Storm Freya pushing north I only had a few hours during the morning to plan a walk before the storm arrived in the early hours of the afternoon. I'm still aching to walk both Hencomb and Mellbreak but I need to leave those fells for a brighter day. So I flicked through the pages of the Birkett Fells and found this walk which ticked all my boxes with five summits collected in a little under four hours.
The walk gains Wet Side Edge from the Three Shire Stone which I guess could be called cheating but its the quickest and easiest way and I can see why Birkett included it into this walk. Once Wet Side Edge is gained Hell Gill Pike is first collected which I have passed on many occasions without actually visiting the summit cairn. Next up is the summit of Little Carrs found just below its great cousin Great Carrs, a route that traverses close to the edge and care must be taken.
Birkett then recommends to pay a visit to the Halifax Bomber Memorial before crossing the top of Broad Slack then going onto summit Swirl How. From Swirl How I tracked west over Fairfield col before the steady, and final ascent on Grey Friar before returning to Wet Side Edge via Wether How. This is a fabulous excursion which I knocked an hour of the recommended time which I put down to the gale force winds I encountered across the summits. |