Cracker of a fell - Cracoe fell

13-11-12

Gargoyle

Start - Park Top - SE 03777 55576

So, just like a week ago, I have repeated a hill in the environs of Skipton. Who needs to travel long distances to find new hills in northern Scotland or on the European mainland when Skipton has so much to offer?
My occasional walking companion, Cliff, still has Marilyns to do in Yorkshire - so today's mission was to add another tick to his list.
We started at Park Top and followed a drivable track past lower Barden reservoir and then another track up on to the grouse moors of Barden Moor.

Trig point - Thorpe Fell

We made an unorthodox tramp across unpathed moor to the original Marilyn/Dewey trig summit of Thorpe Fell (506m).
When the Marilyn was revised to be the rock on which the Cracoe war memorial obelisk (507.8m P310) stands I recall a number of people grumbling about having to revisit. What I fail to undrestand is why anyone who visited the trig was not curious enough about the obelisk to pay it a visit anyway - especially as it is better served with a path, than is the trig.

Old and new

War memorial on Cracoe Fell

Admittedly there is not much of a path from the trig across the disused Threapland peat pits down to the dip between the two tops. Once we got to the path by the wall it was a muddy mess.
Cliff got his list tick by standing on the summit rock and then we headed back to the wall and followed it for a while northwards, before turning left at an arbitrary point to walk across grouse moors to pick up another track on Yethersgill Head. This track took us past the Upper Barden Reservoir, over Lump Gill Head and neatly back to the start point. A good 18km circular on a reasonable day.

Rylstone fell

Distant view of Cracoe fell across typical grouse moor