Mooching at Long Meg, Lacey’s Caves et al

Wed 24 February 2021

As I had to spend a whole day away from my house while some disruptive work was being done I decided to hunt the only area with a survivable weather window to walk for several hours in – our area was going to be deluged with heavy rain and all my nearby mountains were too.  It looked to have a small area of light rain all day around Langwathby so (lockdown notwithstanding) I set off over there.  Before people get too upset, I really don’t think I had any other choice and it’s only around a 25 mile drive anyway and I drive 20 miles each way to work many days each week.

Nearly all photos:
my digi-camera – wasn’t worth taking the proper camera in the awful weather!

As it was going to be awful weather, I didn’t take my ‘proper’ film camera but just slipped my digi-camera into my pocket – I have to say I was glad I did and it made a decent job of the photos despite the awful weather (it’s normally terrible for landscape photography).  I decided that, as there would probably be no visitors in such miserable weather, I’d park at the stone circle in the parking there rather than in one of the villages – I left the little Polo looking sad and isolated and wandered off with my map (which should have been in a map case bearing in the mind the constant wet conditions).

I took a couple of photos here as I left and am also including photos from a much earlier visit on a nice day from my film camera…

Some of the trees here are equipped with their own bench seat!

I’d noticed on the map that there was, in addition to the main, spectacular circle of Long Meg, also a ‘Little Meg’ a few fields away – I took the path which went that way to hunt it down.  When I spotted it, I was really delighted with it – it was a little gem! 🙂

Little Meg Stone Circle

stone detail within the circle

I then left the very muddy fields for a series of very nice fenced-off footpaths which bypassed the village of Glassonby, passed through the churchyard and then set off for another mile or so to the road.  Nearing the road the path became very wet indeed but I’d put on my special wet-weather boots which I’d bought from an Army & Navy store back when there were still such things – these were ‘fur’-lined pure ‘wellies’ at the bottom with a goretex gaiter attached as a top – superb boots for mud, snow and wet.  The treads are excellent too…

On reaching the road, I set off downhill for the path alongside the river as I wanted to see Lacey’s Caves – a set of caves carved out of a riverbank sandstone cliff over many years by a hermit called Lacey who lived there.  The weather had been very wet indeed over the last few days though and the river, on approach, looked very full indeed!  Would I get along the riverbank walk?  A notice at the start of the path said not – it also said the path was closed.  I didn’t suppose anyone was looking so set off to take the path…

errr – the river’s grown a bit!

On descending to the river bank, the path was indeed missing for quite a long way in several places.  I could have taken to the fields but there was a barbed-wire fence discouraging such actions.  I persevered along the missing bank in the edge of the river for a way…

I happily waded through some bits until I got to the mud…

Suddenly, my boots started to sink into the thick mud and wouldn’t come out.  As I managed to drag one foot out (nearly ripping the bottoms off my boots), the other would sink deeper.  I floundered around for quite a while before I decided that several miles of this wasn’t really going to work – time to turn back.  They were right after all – the footpath IS closed!

I headed back to the road and walked up to Glassonby village, noting on the map that there was also a ‘cairn circle’ on the way.  I have to say this looked like another small stone circle to me…

Cairn Circle, Glassonby village

The tree behind the circle, strangely, like a few other trees in the area, had a permanent ladder fixed to it!

There were some blasted and dead ash trees – I always find those fascinating so took photos.  There were some great fungus on the second one…

I took the long way round the roads back to the car noting that, as I turned off back to Long Meg, I was less than half a mile above Salkeld village.  It was also too soon to head off back home so I studied the map back at the car and saw what looked like a footpath heading down to the river not long after the path through the farm next to the stone circle.  I left the car again and set off to look for it – the footpath after the farm became muddier and muddier until I was literally wading in deep mud – ugh – thank goodness for the boots!

I reached a stream running downhill to join the river and continued on the main path for a way but could see the ‘path’ I’d seen on the map should have headed downhill in the woodland by the river.  There definitely hadn’t been any path so I studied the map a lot harder.  I decided that what I’d seen wasn’t really a footpath.  However, I was determined to get to Lacey’s Caves and Salkeld Old Mine from this end so headed off down through the woodland.  Near the bottom of the hill, there were various paths which headed down to the riverbank.

As soon as I joined the riverbank, I could see Lacey’s Caves not far away.  I headed for them…

The path round to Lacey’s Caves complete with information plaque

Nice carved gateway

Very fast-flowing swollen river immediately below the path

Lacey’s Caves entrance

River views

Very beautiful sandstone!

Looking out of the far ‘door’ of the caves, the path was eroded to a width of around eight inches and then it was straight down to the madly-flowing river – not a great plan.  I turned back and returned through the caves to take the riverbank back towards the old mine…

The old mine entrance was up a side shoot and was thoroughly blocked, although there is a little cave-in above the blocked entrance…

White boulders blocking mine entrance but a cave-in above

old chimney flue

Section of old mine railway

Looking back to Lacey’s Caves

yes, I was stood in the river!

Every time I pass the caves on the nearby railway to visit my mother, I notice a house situated right by some rapids on the river – I always think it’s in quite a brave situation.  It looked really brave today with the fierce floods!

rather them than me!

I then said goodbye to the old mine and set off for Salkeld village…

I soon exited the woods and joined a lane above the railway – I was treated to one of our trains going past to Skipton (my home town).  I was absolutely delighted to see the old telegraph posts still in situ alongside the line here – these have been gone for at least 50 years now but I always used to love them!

I took some more photos of the floods… there was a van parked amongst them on a little island of grass (you might just see it on the photos – a little white one) – I wondered whether it would ever reach civilisation again!  No idea where the driver was!

the little white van centre right looks pretty surrounded!

I then put the camera away as I’d reached the village and just had the half-mile back uphill to the stone circle.  My legs and I were feeling quite tired by now – when I got back, I found I’d done just short of 10 miles – quite a way for me in winter (although not a great distance admittedly)… I’d also been away long enough on my walking (5 hours) to head off back.  By the time I reached the house it would be after 1700 hours and any self-respecting workmen would have gone home by then!

You’re reading a post by Mountain Coward. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow The Mountain Coward from my homepage