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Last weekend was our final chance for a while to get over to the Lakes for a walk so we headed for the Whinlatter Pass to bag the five Lord’s Seat fells. It was a fine if somewhat overcast as we set off along the forestry road past Darling How. The first mile or so couldn't be simpler for this round with a very gradual ascent on a surfaced road. Things took a dramatic change following this simple start however as we needed to get up a steep bank of forestry land to gain access to the open fellside. Some internet reports on other websites had great swathes of the trees on this fellside having been cleared, unfortunately much of it has been replanted and strong young saplings are sprouting up hindering progress. There are traces of a path next to a broken down wall but despite this we still had to force our way past some springy branches on our way up to the fence that marks the start of Whinlatter’s heathery upper slopes.
An Easy Start by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
On the way up Whinlatter by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
An initial attempt to cross the unstable fence almost ended in yours truly suffering a mischief
so we continued further up and found the broken wall had been modified to provide a makeshift stile. The going was still quite arduous for a while as we made our way up the pathless heather that characterises this fell before we stumbled across a trod that took us up to the Wainwright top, Brown How. This isn't the highest point of Whinlatter but in AW's defence he did point out in the chapter devoted to this fell that the Eastern top looked higher despite what the ordinance survey showed on its maps of the era.
Hughie in the Heather by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
On the way up Brown How by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Grace and Hughie on Brown How by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Brown How on Whinlatter by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Looking up Hobcarton Gill by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
We continued over the real top of Whinlatter before making our way back into the forestry land. Following a few inevitable wrong turns (is it only me that has bother in forestry land?) we made our way onto the boggiest section of the walk towards the truly bizarrely named Barf.
Barf, it turned out, was the highlight of the whole day with a quite magnificent summit view which we enjoyed for a while before retracing some of our steps on the boggy trudge to the high point of the day, the grandly named Lord’s Seat.
Lord's Seat catches some Sun by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Barf by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Basenthwaite by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Looking towards Derwent Water by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Causey Pike Mono by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
View from Barf by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Lords Seat with a strange adornment by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
It might be grandly named but it’s a fairly ordinary fell in all honesty. Today it was sporting an unusual device that was something to do with the cycling event to be held on the Sunday. From here the reward for our efforts was a nice easy stroll across the top of Broom Fell and a short ascent up to Graystones.
Broom Fell by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Looking back at Lord's Seat by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Grisdale Pike by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
As with Brown How, Graystones isn't the high point of the fell but it’s certainly the best top with a cracking view across the Vale of Lorton. We admired this, enjoying the sunshine which was now unbroken, before heading down the
very steep descent down to Scawgill Beck.
Grace, Nicola and Hughie on Graystones by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Vale of Lorton from Graystones by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Steeply down from Graystones by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Fields by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Grisdale Pike across the Whinlatter Pass by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
Following this toe crushing, knee shattering fun we followed the short diversion to see Spout Force. This is an impressive falls but the view point provided by the forestry commission leaves something to be desired with trees restricting the view somewhat. Better than Wainwrights day however where he reported being able to see the top few feet of the falls only.
Scawgill Beck by
johnkaysleftleg, on Flickr
These fells are perhaps some of Lakelands most ignored hills with only Barf (understandably) having any real foot traffic during our visit (we saw only two other walkers on the other four fells combined). For those seeking a quiet day they have considerable merit however it’s difficult not to have your eyes wander to the defined ridges and lofty summits across the Whinlatter pass to realise just why you might be alone.