Difficulty: Moderate
Wainwright Guide: Book Six – The North-Western Fells
Fells: Barf, Broom Fell, Lords Seat, Graystones
This is one of those walks that has a little bit of everything. You get to experience the etherial beauty of Whinlatter Forest, the last true mountain forest in England, incredible views across Bassenthwaite Lake, Derwent Water and Keswick, and fabulous views out towards the Grisedale Horseshoe and further towards the coast.
Jonny and I undertook this walk with Emi in tow in the backpack, and we were also joined by Vicky and Tinker, who had more energy than all of us put together.
Where to Start?
You can start this walk from multiple locations. We initially wanted to include Whinlatter Fell in our expedition, not realising it’s a separate entity to the ridge. With this in mind we parked at the Whinlatter Visitor Centre, managed by the Forestry Commission and, therefore, a paid car park.
Whinlatter Forest is full of a multitude of walking and cycling trails and is a brilliant day out in it’s own right. The trails are sometimes closed for various reasons meaning the beginning of this walk may well be different each time you go.
We began by heading up to the visitor centre building from the carpark. There is a large map of the forest sign where we picked up a paper map of the trails, just in case, and continued through the gap in the building.
We continued past the bike hire shop and started to head upwards from here.
Whinlatter Forest
The main track was very easy to follow. Unless you are particularly familiar with the trails I would not veer off onto any. You risk straying onto the mountain bike trails and duly getting taken out by them!
The trails within the forest are well maintained and provide a very different kind of scenery to admire than the usual views which greet you on the fells. They also provide great shelter from any adverse weather, be that too hot or too wet.
Continue along this path. There is a point where it splits between an incline to the left and a decline to the right. Carry on along the path that continues to incline.
Part way up this incline you will come across a smaller, slightly more overgrown, path that divides off to the right. There is small warning sign next to it telling you that this path is not under the same maintenance as the previous one. This is the path to take.
As you head further along you start to get views of not only your first summit, Barf, up ahead, but also across to Bassenthwaite on your right.
You will find the path begin to head back into the forest with a beck visible through the trees to the right, blocking the path to Barf.
Take a small path to the right that leads to a stile. From here you can cross the beck safely and continue on the path to the first summit of the Barf to Graystones ridge.
Barf
Immediately upon leaving the forest it feels more like a classic fell walk. There is no change in the incline but the scenery is completely contrasted.
The path snakes through the heather around the outside of the fell. Stopping to admire the view you can see over to Derwent Water and Keswick in the distance.
The summit is visible from a distance and marked by a small cairn.
The views from the summit itself deliver no matter what the direction. The best views are easily those over Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water. Visible fells of note include Catbells and Skiddaw.
Looking behind there are also incredible views over Whinlatter Forest and towards the next summit on the ridge, Lord’s Seat.
Lord’s Seat
A fairly obvious path sets out from the summit of Bath towards the obvious top of Lord’s Seat.
The path zigzags through the heather, for the most part well marked. It diverges at points but always links back up heading in the same direction. In the winter months it can get boggy so make sure you are wearing appropriate shoes!
The summit itself is lacklsutre in comparison to that of the smaller Barf. It is marked by a small cairn with a metal fence post in place. There are views into the forest, back towards, Barf and out towards Broom Fell.
Broom Fell
The next fell along the Barf to Graystones ridge sits slightly lower than Lord’s Seat but is easily visible from a distance.
The path that connects the two summits is not as obvious. It is grassy and not as well trodden as the previous connection.
This is where it can really get boggy but there is under a mile to travel and the height difference is not too off-putting. A pleasant stroll in nice weather.
This summit is marked quite obviously by a large stone column and a windbreak. From here you get cracking views towards the coast and to Sale Fell and Ling Fell as well. It is very exposed on a windy day so I wouldn’t hang around for too long!
Graystones
From here the path becomes slightly more tenuous. Many head back into Whinlatter Forest at this point but we opted to continue and finish the Barf to Graystones ridge. Graystones appears to be a fair way in the distance despite it being only slightly more than a mile away.
The path is again quite grassy and in the wet months quite boggy. As long as there is not mist it is fairly easy to follow though.
After a small descent continue along the side of the plantation before beginning to ascend again.
As you reach the far corner of the plantation you need to cross the fence using a small stile.
For one final push follow the path up a steep grassy path to the summit.
The Graystones summit is again marked by a small cairn. The views extend into the Lorton Valley and back towards the ridge that you have just walked across.
Descent
The descent from the final fell on the Barf to Graystones ridge is very, VERY steep. It starts off quite gently, keeping to the right of a stone wall, heading in the direction of Sawgill Bridge.
The decline does start to get incredibly vicious from here so make sure to take your time. If you want to look out on the view, stop and pause before continuing. The walking poles are also a life saver for your knees!
As you get closer to the bottom you start to see the bridge come into view. A very welcome sight nearing the end of a difficult descent.
Those with extra energy at the bottom can turn left and check out Spout Force Waterfall. Otherwise turn right towards the bridge. Once on the road you want to cross the bridge and follow the road.
This is the Whinlatter Pass and will eventually lead you back to the car park! At some point you could divert to the left and summit Whinlatter Fell, but the path is much easier to follow from Whinlatter Forest itself which is why we never included it as part of this walk.
It is only a short drive from the visitor centre to Keswick to grab a pint. There is also the Coledale Inn on route. Another fantastic destination for a beverage.
Have you completed the Bar to Graystones Ridge yet? How did you find it? Let me know in the comments.
