Remember: Press F11 for a full screen view of this page.
 

" Yewbarrow for Jo's 428 "

Date & start time: Saturday 14 th June 2014, 12.15 pm start.

Location of Start : The Overbeck Bridge car park, Wasdale, Cumbria, Uk ( NY 168 068 )

Places visited : Dropping Crag, Great Door, Yewbarrow, return via Overbeck valley.

Walk details :  4.1 mls, 1925 feet of ascent, 4 hours 20 mins.

Highest point : Yewbarrow   2,058ft - 628m.

Walked with : Jo, Neil, Ann and the dogs, Amber, Harry and Dylan.

Weather : Overcast with cloud touching the tops of the high fells. Dry with sunny periods.

" Yewbarrow for Jo's 428 " at EveryTrail
 

[ Alter the settings to zoom or change the Map, use Everytrail to download the Gps route ]

 

It was a spur of the moment decision to climb Yewbarrow today.

Neil and Jo were over in reasonable time and fancied a nice walk and the weather seems set for a dry day,

so a walk in Wasdale to complete Jo's 2nd Round of Wainwright fells seemed a good idea.


The view as we drove up Wasdale.

Yewbarrow was clear but most of the others were not . . . but then we weren't going to climb those anyway.

A rare self-timer photo due to a handy flat surface about the right height.

Neil, Harry, Ann, Dylan, myself, Jo and Amber . . . in that order.

A flat surface for the camera . . . on top of the stone collecting box.
A new sign alongside . . . now that's a reasonably priced request.

The prospect of the climb ahead as we leave the car park

and head up the path which was being repaired when we were here last year.

The views of Wast Water and the Wasdale Screes improves as we climb.

That's Bowderdale Farm with the bulk of Middle Fell behind.

The climb up alongside the fence . . .
. . . with a reasonable ladder stile when the wall is reached.

The view from the wall across to Wasdale Head Hall Farm on the other side.

Over the stile and we have the big climb ahead.

There's a path up the gully but we don't know how far the nice pitched stone steps will extend and when the loose gravel will start.

So far so good . . . it is easy walking if quite steep.
Amber leads the way up the new(ish) steps.
   

 

A late morning start meant it would be a late lunch on the top.

A little boost to the blood sugar levels

seem to make the climb a little easier

even though we divided the energy bar into four !

 

Neil . . . fortified with a little of that energy !
The steps extended up into the crags themselves.

This solitary sheep was very intent on checking out the landscape as we continued on our climb.

Do you think she was studying for some sort of qualification   . . . perhaps a "B.Aaaa in Geography" ?

Once above the wall the path had not been improved.

Timely use of the hands aids good balance.

After a short time we reach the ridge and were able to enjoy a view over towards the lake once again.

We are now high enough to get a glimpse of Burnmoor Tarn in the distance too.

The path we took missed out on the direct climb to 'Great Door' . . . so I back-tracked slightly.

I'm standing at the the top of the Bell Rib Crags.

A view of the Scafell Crags, as the mist clears for a moment.
The classic view down through Great Door.

On the way back up I had a better view of Brackenclose, the campsite and car park are far below.

The others had waited for me to return . . . how considerate.

The path scrambles up the next section and the views back down to the lake, as Ann reached one flatter section, was quite impressive.

Jo and I reach a slightly less steep section too as we near the top of the crags.

Time for a little rest after a rather humid climb . . .

Hold your cursor over the picture to check out the length of those tongues.

We can see the top . . . not far now !

The final, false summit is ahead and the true one appears in the distance.  It has a drift of cloud across it at present.

Oh . . . a lovely peaty puddle to cool down . . . says Harry !

Delightful . . . I hope it doesn't smell too much over lunchtime.

- - - - o o o - - -

Over recent years Jo has steadily been ticking off the remaining summits she needed to complete

her second full round of the 214 Lake District Wainwright Fells.

We provide a little incentive to encourage her up the last few yards to the top.

She gets the idea . . .

Fell number 428, Yewbarrow, on the 14th June 2014 . . . well done Jo.

That looks like a true smile of satisfaction if ever I saw one.

Don't hang about  . . . get the cork out and let's all celebrate.

Twist and " POP " . . . Ohh . . . I hate bangs !

A toast then a subsequent top up

helps lunch go down very nicely thank you.

- - - o o o - - -

Jo has just completed 214 fells in six and a half years.

The guy in the blue shirt (and no rucksack) is aiming to complete 42 of them . . . with the help of his friends . . . in just one day.

He's attempting the "Bob Graham Round"  a 66 mile, 42 summit tour of the Lake District in a target time of 24 hours.

We had a brief chat so as not to delay his schedule.

You don't see a Bob Graham attempt for a while . . . and then two come along together !

Ten minutes later a second team reached the summit, assisting this chap on his Bob Graham attempt.

He left Keswick at 2 am this morning and has already walked / run / climbed (amongst others) Skiddaw, Blencathra, the full Helvellyn range,

Bowfell, Great End, Scafell Pike and Scafell and just now climbed up the steep side of Yewbarrow.

At this point he felt he was on time for the 21 hour round trip . . . Keswick to Keswick.

Thanks to one of his support team (Rod from Cockermouth whom we knew) I discovered his name . . . Nic Ogden.

That happy smile lasted all the way round as he completed his Bob Graham round in a very creditable 19 hours 52 minutes.

Well done Nic if you get to read this !

The cloud rolls in as the runners leave and our views are slowly disappearing.

Chance for a quick summit panorama while we can.

Click here or on the photo above for a Loweswatercam extra-special 400 degree annotated panorama.

Lunch over, bottle, glasses and lunch boxes safely packed away it was time to continue north on along the Yewbarrow Ridge.

Rather than descend Stirrup Crags this time, we opted to turn off left at this point and follow the runners route down the side of the fell.

It is a diagonal grassy rake that leads down the fell

but there's plenty of stone, slippery rock and vegetation to trip you up if you are not concentrating.

The path follows on down underneath the crags . . . heading for Dore Head.

For those not wishing to go on to Red Pike and Pillar

there is an option here do leave the main path and head more directly down to the valley.

A steady descent.

Dylan and Harry observe the lower part of the route.

Dore Head is just about out of the clouds . . . but it is all very "atmospheric".

We find the main valley path and head downward . . . but at a more gentle angle.

A slight diversion allows the dogs to have a drink in the beck.

You may just notice a muddier pool and a cleaner Harry . . . a bonus !

The forecasted improvement in the weather seems to be coming true.

Jo passed on the suggestion of going back up to get a better view from the now cloud-free summit.

Looking back, Red Pike is also "head out of the clouds".

For us it is Wasdale ahead.

Almost full circle as we return to the ladder stile

at the top of the straight fence line that was for us the start of the walk.

The Scafells are now clear but there's an interesting cloud layer hanging just below the summits.

A sunny interval brightens the early summer green of the Bowderdale Farm fields.

Neil hold the gate to allow the dogs to go through.

As we near lake level and the car park, the cloud has changed again and that thin layer has almost gone.

There's a slight optical illusion here as the middle summit of the three is the highest, Scafell Pike. 

It confuses the eye by being set back further from the others.

- - - o o o - - -

A great walk needs a extra celebration to finish the formalities so we drive up to Wasdale Head Inn,

parking on the Green within sight of Great Gable.

Just a short walk past the busy campsite and we'll be there.

The sign says it all.
The second celebration outside the famous Barn Door.

A last picture of the setting moon . . . sneaked in here 'cos I didn't have one of the setting sun !

- - - o o o - - -

 

Technical note: Pictures taken with either Ann's Canon Sureshot SX220, or my Nikon P520 digital camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . another fully completed Wainwright log book.

Go to Top . . . © RmH . . . Email me here

Previous event - 9th June 2014 - Loweswater Farmers 2014

A previous time up here - 4th June 2006 The Mosedale Round with Pillar and Steeple

Next walk - 19th June 2014 - Fellbarrow Low fell with Joan