CHARNEY HALL A Walk Up Hampsfell
What better thing to do on a sunny day than walk up Hampsfell on a Bank Holiday Monday! We parked on Grange Fell Road just opposite Spring Bank Road where the main road widens just enough to park 4/5 cars against the verge. It was a beautiful, near cloudless day with temperatures predicted to rise to 23C even around Morecambe Bay. The warm sea breeze from the direction of the south west prevailing wind carried the intense powdery scent of hawthorn blossom across the meadows and the insects were buzzing.... The single track, Spring Bank lane, was narrower than I remembered and we walked briskly up until the gradient eased at the field gate, directly opposite the footpath down to Spring Bank farm. Memories of the Hampsfell race came flooding back as we entered the field, prompting a surge of adrenalin! A limestone rock substrate has several benefits. The ground is better drained - reference the potholes and caverns of the Yorkshire Dales and the acid soil which produces ...