Barf, Lord's Seat and Broom Fell
1 September 2009
Leaving the car park at the Whinlater Forest Visitor Centre, I was
immediatey struck by how I was in a different world, or a different
interpretation of the world. There were no signs, no maps, just
colour-coded blobs on posts (presumably to avoid intimidating those
people who can't get to grips with maps). There was a multiplicity of
paths, few matching the Ordnance Survey (which is a common feature in
lots of forested areas). And there was art.
Making our way through the woodland, desperately trying to find out
where we are
Finally on the "proper" forest roads and I know where we are
Looking across Bassenthwaite Lake to the Skiddaw massif
Looking across Derwent Water to the central fells and beyond them the
Helvellyn range. The weather forecast had predicted a cloud base of
around 550 metres, which is why I'd chosen a relatively low walk, but
even 900-metre Helvellyn is out of the clouds. However, it had rained
almost all the way here, so I was glad that the showers had given up for
the moment.
After our pleasant tour of the forest our first destination is Barf
George still looking clean and fluffy
The Swan in the valley has an historic association with the rock on the
left, which is regularly whitewashed, and is known as The Bishop.
The stony path ascends towards the summit of Barf
George comes back to get me
Hurry up!
A look back at our route around Whinlatter Forest
The view across Bassenthwaite Lake shows that we are on the edge of the
Lake District, with only Binsey left before it becomes all fields
From Barf, looking to the summit of Lord's Seat
Skiddaw from Barf
And after a rather squelchy crossing of the intervening gap, here is
Barf and Skiddaw from Lord's Seat
Broom Fell from Lord's Seat. It was extremely windy up here - the
buffeting was making it hard to stand on the very summit, but even a
small drop in altitude made a huge difference - maybe, despite the
higher cloud than promised, this shorter lower walk was the right one to
chose today.
The impressive pillar cairn on top of Broom Fell
After retracing our steps over the top of Lord's Seat, a pleasant and
easy gently downhill stroll then remained back to the car
Zoom in for more detail, or click to view larger map in new window
With the exception of the boggy bits between Barf and Lord's Seat, an easy and
very pleasant morning's outing.
Total distance 12.0 km and 673 metres of ascent in 3 hours 24 mins.
Lake District holiday, August/September 2009
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