Lancashire’s Highest Point

Until the 1974 county boundary changes of 1974, Lancashire had a highpoint worthy of such a great and historic county, but The Old Man of Coniston was wrenched from the grasp of the red rose and placed firmly within the manufactured county of Cumbria.  The new highpoint was Gragareth, a much less worthy mountain, only a stone’s throw from Lancashire’s arch-rival – Yorkshire.

In recent years, there has been some debate as to the true county top with Green Hill claiming the honour with a published spot height just 1 metre superior to that of Gragareth.  But a recent GPS survey has conclusively determined that Gragareth is actually the true top.

The Three Men of Gragareth

From the parking area just short of Fell House I could see The Three Men of Gragareth and set off towards them, avoiding the worst of the boulder fields.  Close to them was an impressive alcove shelter which could be likened to a hollowed-out cairn but it was too early to consider using it for a rest.  As the mist enveloped me I aimed for the trig point and soon reached it.  But this is not the true summit.  I walked east for 100 metres to a small cairn marking the top and felt a tinge of disappointment that a county summit could be marked by such a small pile of stones.

Gragareth summit cairn

The impressive drystone wall that follows the county boundary led to the summit of Green Hill, an equally unimpressive summit that I soon left behind.  The junction of the old counties of Lancashire, Westmorland and the West Riding of Yorkshire is marked by the “County Stone” which is almost overwhelmed by the walls that meet at it and if you didn’t already know about it, its significance would easily be overlooked.  Great Coum was only a short distance away and quickly bagged as was Crag Hill, its trig point looming out of the mist amidst a promise of clearing skies.

Crag Hill trig point

I contoured around the head of the Ease Gill valley and despite the recent freezing conditions still managed to go knee deep into bog !  Resisting ticking Green Hill again, I took a bearing from the col between it and Gragareth to the shooter’s track clearly marked on the map.  Many brace of grouse flew away as I disturbed them while trying to avoid the worst of the groughs.

The track is one of the worst I’ve walked and would be a challenge for all but the hardiest 4x4 but the last kilometre or so was rewarded with a magnificent sunset over Morecambe Bay.

Morecambe Bay sunset