On the 19th May 1923 the Fell and Rock Club purchased 12 lakeland peaks, “the finest area of fell and rock in England” as a memorial to those members who had lost their lives serving in WW1. “An eternal monument in the everlasting hills”.
Personal challenge walks
The FRCC has now created two personal, challenge walks to take in the peaks and beauty of the lakeland fells that was bought to commemorate those who had fallen in WW1 (and also WW2)
The Fell and Rock Remembrance Round is an epic journey through the heart of the Lake District. You’ll cover at least 37kms with 2,900m of ascent as you visit the 12 high summits and a remote lakeland valley.
The Fell and Rock Memorial Round also takes you through the heart and the history of the Lake District. It’s a shorter route but, at around 20kms and 1,200m of ascent through true mountainous terrain it’s still a tough day out in the hills.
The Fell and Rock Memorials:
1.The Great Gable Memorial
In May 1923, to commemorate members who had lost their lives in WW1, the Fell and Rock Climbing Club purchased a large tract of land, including the summits of 12 Lakeland peaks. This land was gifted to the National Trust to safeguard in perpetuity. Previously, access to the high fells was limited but this gift enshrined rights of access for all.
A bronze memorial near the summit of Great Gable has a relief map of the tract of land purchased and the names of the 20 members who lost their lives.
2. The River Liza Memorial Bridge
Sadly a further 10 Fell and Rock members lost their lives in WW2 and they are commemorated by the Memorial Bridge over the River Liza in Ennerdale. The bridge allows passage from Scarth Gap to Pillar Rock.
The Fell and Rock Remembrance Round challenges you to visit the summits of the 12 peaks and the Memorial Bridge over the River Liza in a continuous round.
To complete The Fell and Rock Memorial Round you’ll be taking in the memorial plaques on the summit of Great Gable and at the bridge over the River Liza
“Upon this rock are set the names of men – our brothers, and our comrades upon these cliffs- who held, with us, that there is no freedom of the soil where the spirit of man is in bondage; and who surrendered their part in the fellowship of hill, and wind, and sunshine, that the freedom of this land, the freedom of our spirit should endure.”
Geoffrey Winthrop Young at the unveiling of the Great Gable Plaque June 1924