Never in all our years of visiting the Lakes have we had a weather forecast as good as at the end of April. Typically, mid-week, we ended up having to take Coal on an emergency trip to the vets, where they diagnosed him with potential uveitis. While the vet said he was fine to go on walks, we doubted she meant full days in the fells. And so, our planned walk up Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike turned into a quick jaunt up Hallin Fell.
A change of plans – Hallin Fell
Hallin Fell is 388m high, making it one of the smaller and easier to bag Wainwrights. Don’t let its small stature put you off – it still has panoramic views of Ullswater. People usually do Hallin Fell with the Fusedale Round in a lopsided figure of eight, but we’d always planned to do it on its own. I just don’t have the psychological strength to carry on past the car and up another hill!
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Quick logistics (and a very bendy road)
We’d picked a route from our Pocket Mountains guide to the Lake District. At around 4.5 miles, the route climbs the fell and then loops along the shore of Ullswater. Parking is free at St Peter’s Church in Martindale, which can be very busy at the weekends. Fortunately, we didn’t have any problems mid-week in April. The road up there is the definition of windy: make sure you’re prepared for hairpin bends!. I was extremely glad we didn’t meet anyone coming the other way.
“The Climb”
Setting off up the grassy path opposite the church, I immediately dismissed the notion that this was an ‘easy’ walk. Short, yes, but also steep! And to add insult to injury it was cloudy and windy rather than sunshine as forecast. I comforted myself with the thought that I’d be on a 5 hour walk somewhere if not for Coal – silver linings, I guess?
It didn’t take more than thirty minutes to get to the top: like Binsey and Great Mell Fell, Hallin Fell is perfect if you don’t have much time. The cairn at the top feels a bit disproportionate for a diminutive little fell like this, but it’s impressive nevertheless. With a bitingly chilly wind whipping at our faces we didn’t hang around for long. Happily, the descent didn’t feel as steep as the ascent, and we were back to the car in no time. Altogether this part of the walk took us about 50 minutes.
(Another) change of plans
At this point we made the decision to cut the walk short. Although the vet had said Coal was fine to go on walks, his eye was looking sorer than it had first thing, and we decided to call it a day. Perhaps the wind was irritating it – who knows? Ullswater will still be there another day and making sure he didn’t over do it was our top priority. Ultimately we ended up doing this walk on WalkLakes. Until next time, Ullswater.
Dog friendly rating: Hallin Fell
Dog friendly rating: 3/5. There were no stiles on this walk, but you can expect to see sheep throughout. Potentially there may be swimming opportunities along Ullswater, but as we didn’t make it that far I can’t say for certain!
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