A walk up Wetherlam from Tilberthwaite

Tilberthwaite car park is almost full when I arrive, late in the afternoon on what has been a lovely warm and sunny Lakeland day. There are a dozen or so cars and three or four vans that I figure will be keeping me company overnight. By 8pm however everyone has departed and I have the place to myself. Dusk turns slowly into the ink black night of the countryside, far away from neon, where stars can shine bright. I enjoy a quiet evening followed by the sleep of the saved and the thankful with only the owls and the comforting sound of the newly born Yewdale Beck to disturb the silence.

It’s still empty when I awake and I have my morning coffee outside by the stream, listening to the dawn chorus and watching the sun rise high over Holme Fell into a cloudless blue sky. All is still in the valley and as the sun warms the ground the mist, hanging ethereally in the green fields melts away and the sheep start bleating, no doubt looking forward to another day of eating grass and looking anxious.

I don’t mention the camper van much in my blog but it’s very much part of my journey through Wainwright’s beloved fells. I use campsites but there are plenty of places to stay off site, in the heart of the mountains, where those rare gifts of silence, solitude and time to think can be enjoyed. It’s life enhancing, especially when I get mornings like this one, with the sun shining, the birds singing and the views all to myself.

My objective today is Wetherlam and the path to it starts straight from the car park with steps leading up to and through the long abandoned slate quarries of Penny Rigg. Once this was a hive of activity but nobody has mined slate here since the early sixties and only the spoil heaps remain, a testimony to a long lost industry.

Beyond the mines the land returns to its pre industrial state and I drop down into Tilberthwaite Gill, a small gorge containing Yewdale Beck. Crossing a wooden footbridge, the path climbs out of the gorge and then contours around Blake Rigg into Dry Cove Bottom.

The walking here is very pleasant, a steady upward gradient on a good path with views across the valley floor to the whale back shaped bulk of Wetherlam. As I walk I try and pick out some of the various named crags on its the steep sided face with varying degrees of success.

On reaching Dry Cove, which to no one’s surprise is not dry, my route to the top, Wetherlam Edge, becomes evident and the path heads steeply up the headwall of the valley to meet the ridge at Birk Fell Man.

After a short descent to Birk Fell Hause the climbing of the day begins in earnest. Wetherlam Edge is a fairly steep worn and scrambly path, not always easy to follow and on more than one occasion hands have to be used to negotiate some small crags and buttress’s. In saying that, the ridge is broad and there is no sense of exposure or real danger.

Eventually, after what feels like a full body workout I reach the top of the ridge and the summit cairn is just metres away. The effort is worth it as the view from the summit is superb. Coniston Old Man, the Scafell range and the Langdale Pikes are crisp and clear under a sea of uninterrupted blue sky with no heat haze. Windermere, Esthwaite and Coniston Waters all shimmer and further away, Morcambe Bay leads the eye towards the Irish Sea.

I spend a bit of time on the summit. Partly because this is a series (not that I purposely planned it this way) of one summit walks so I have more time on my hands and it seems a shame to leave such a gorgeous view. Secondly it’s rare, for me at any rate as I tend to feel the cold, to be able to sit on top of a mountain with only one layer on. It’s dry and warm with just a whisper of a breeze. It’s perfect.

Eventually I stir myself and head down the long ridge of Lad Stones heading south. Walking south means I can continue to enjoy the views of Coniston Water and Coniston Old Man ahead of me. The Old Man is my next walk so I have a good look at the route, which looks pretty steep from Low Water sitting in its bowl to the summit tower, standing out against the clear blue background.

After a game of ‘hunt the path’ in the bracken and heather I reach a small reedy and unnamed tarn At Hole Rake and take a break by the still waters.

From the tarn a good path leads down the valley all the way back towards Tilberthwaite.

In Tilberthwaite Gill there are a couple of difficult step downs where I have to wake up and pay attention. One in particular drops ten feet or so to a small platform just above a much longer drop into a stream gully. A slip here and you could easily fall into the gully which would not be good for your health.

Out of the gill, the path becomes easier, levels off and winds through the slate quarries back to the car park, which once again is bustling with people and cars.

Route Map, Walk Stats, Geolocated Pictures and 3D Flyover Video Below.

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