A moderate route in North Western Fells. Check the GPS track on Outdooractive for full details of the route, waypoints, and terrain.
Starting Point: Roadside parking, Brumston Bridge (NY 185 292)
Terrain: Road, open fell, steep climb, Dodd Crag path, Sale Fell summit, wild walk descent to track, track past Kelswick, gate, path west, road, bridge, Corpse Road track, fell path, clear track, Ling Fell summit, descent east, tracks, Burthwaite, road return
A neat and satisfying figure-of-eight style walk above Wythop Beck, quietly bagging two Wainwrights that are rarely crowded and all the better for it. The steep opening climb to Sale Fell via Dodd Crag is over quickly and the reward of Bassenthwaite Lake spread below with Skiddaw beyond is immediate. The short wild walk descent to the Kelswick track is straightforward with the destination visible throughout, and the detour past the ruins of Wythop Old Chapel — a primitive 1673 building that served this corner of the Lakes long before St Margaret's replaced it — adds a quiet moment of historical interest to what is otherwise a purely enjoyable fell walk. The Corpse Road section across to Ling Fell has a pleasing ancient character, and the summit delivers a second helping of the Bassenthwaite and Skiddaw view before the descent via Burthwaite closes the loop neatly. Two unassuming Wainwrights that together make a walk considerably greater than the sum of its parts.