Walk Description

Farleton Fell is the large limestone scar that can be clearly seen just to the east of the M6 between junctions 35 and 36. I have driven past it many times and said "I really must go up there". Today I stopped off here instead of driving straight back home from Cumbria. It was definitely worth the visit.  I crossed the M6 on the A65 towards Kirby Lonsdale and almost immediately turned south onto the A6070 towards Burton in Kendal.  This was a very quiet road that ran parallel to the M6.  I then turned left at the tiny village of Clawthrope and took the very narrow fell road up Clawthorpe Fell.  At the col between Holme Park Fell and Hutton Rough Crags are a couple of lay-bys strategically placed near to the footpaths on to the open land.

We crossed the road and headed north towards Whin Yeats. There are not many footpaths marked on the map but there are plenty of very obvious paths on the ground if you wish to follow them.  This whole area is a delight to explore, whether at extremely close range on your hands and knees in order to investigate the the flora in the grikes or just to stand and take in the wonderful distant views whilst trying to work out the names of the fells.
We walked over the Newbiggin Crags ignoring the obvious wide track around the eastern outside edge of the area which takes you straight to Farleton Fell itself.  We took the time to visit any features that caught our fancy. I always find limestone pavements are wonderful places to explore, with fascinating features around every corner that vary from unusual shaped rocks to lonely twisted and wind-shaped trees.  A final steepish fold in the ground and an easy scramble took us to the summit of Farleton Fell where a large cairn marks the best view point.  After drinking in the views we turned southwards and retraced out steps to the access point on to Holme Fell and made our way to the limestone outcrop that marked the highest part of this limestone area. We followed the main path most of the way back to the car, although we did have a short diversion for one last exploration of the limestone pavement.

Although this had been a very short walk, it had certainly been worth the visit and we will definitely come back another day.  There are also the Hutton Roof Crags to the south of the road which should also be visited. Neither of these walks involves much ascent and either one would be an ideal stroll for stretching weary legs after a strenuous walk on the higher Lakeland fells.