We had always done this popular walk from Fellfoot, up Parlick first, as described by Graham Dugdale in the Lancaster Guardian years ago. Today, to be different, and way after it could have been done easier when parking was allowed at Bleasdale opposite the Post Office, (yes , we are that old, closed 2002), we did it anti-clockwise to include Bleasdale Church. There is space for one car at the start of the track to Blindhurst, near Lower Core Farm on the main road to Chipping. Go through Blindhurst turning left by the house and through a gate signposted on a wall before it. The track/path leads to a bridge over the infant River Brock, not a ford as the OS would have it, and up to Bleasdale primary school, to the left of the obvious church. The plantation before the school is also not there now. Visit St Eadmer’s if you wish, there probably aren’t any others around, and on to Holme House by road/track. At Vicarage Farm you could, best outside of winter, visit the Bleasdale circle by a path from here. It is a Bronze Age earthwork with originally a wooden circle also, gone now but marked by concrete stubs. Curve round Holme house and north to the fell, leaving the track just after a cattle grid. The good path gently climbs the side of Winny Bank to Fiendsdale Head, where turn right and the deteriorating path by the fence goes along, up and over and through peat hags and hummocks, good for breaks out of the wind. Eventually a cairn is passed and it can be seen on a snowed up day like today that a popular path from the East joins, probably coming from Chipping via Saddle Fell. A much easier passage leads to Fair Snape Fell cairn, shelter and trig point, and an easy descent towards Parlick. At the col, take the path that veers right and contours/gently climbs then descends round Parlick. After a wall joins from the right, an old sunken track choked with rushes descends diagonally to the right (the “path”, not on the map, continues round to Fell foot). This choked track can be followed by its sides down to the edge of the Open Access land, then a path goes west over a small hump in a field and down to a definite track. where this meets another track go over a stile and down the marked permissive track to Blindhurst and back. This makes a good 8.5 miles, with 1500ft of ascent. Plenty of hares about, no dead ones, although we believe myxomatosis has come to haredom recently.
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