The Tilberthwaite Fells
Date: 31-Jan-2012
Map: Landranger 96
Weather: Very cold and bright blue skies
From the car park next to Yewdale Beck up Horse Crag and Tilberthwaite Gill. Around to Dry Cove Bottom and up to Hawk Rigg. Across to Birk Fell Man andalong to Birk Fell Hause. Up Wetherlam Edge to the summit and down to Swirl Hause. Up the Prison Band to Swirl How, around to Great Carrs and across to Grey Friar. Retrace steps from Grey Friar and make a beeline for Little Carrs. Down the long descent of Wetside Edge to Greenburn Beck. Cross the beck and up the other side to Great Intake hause then back down to the car park: about 8.3 miles as measured on memory map.
I’m coming to the end of walking the Wainwrights (5 left)
and have started to revisit walks where I didn’t get any
views so I can have a complete record of all the Wainwrights
on my website. So after revisiting Loughrigg and the
Fairfield Horseshoe last week, today was a return fixture
with the Tilberthwaite Fells from Low Tilberthwaite. I was
on my own which was OK as I was knackered and really slow in
the snow. I donned crampons for the icy side of Wetherlam,
and left them on for going over to Swirl How via the Prison
Band. I could have got away without them but they were
reassuring in several scrambly bits, where ice lay beneath
the snow.
The route took me up Tilberthwaite Gill and around to Dry
Cove Bottom – which isn’t dry as it’s on the margin of a
boggy moss. From there the path ascends passing old mine
workings to Hawk Rigg before turning up to Wetherlam Edge –
the crampon bit. Up on top of Wetherlam there was a bitter
wind and it must have been about -5deg at least. Not a place
to wait around on, but the views were extensive and the sky
blue – my favourite colour.
From Wetherlam it was a long descent through powder snow,
occasionally swallowing a leg up to the knee. Across the
Prison Band and up to Swirl How was another stiff ascent. On
the way up I met an elderly gent clad in plus fours, bare
legs, no gloves, a ruddy face smoking a pipe – he was happy,
apart from the cold hands and we had a good chat – you get
to meet some characters up on the fells and I always take
time out for a good chinwag. Up on top Swirl How’s cairn was
frozen as it usually is in winter, and there is a great view
looking along the wide ridge leading to the Old Man of
Coniston. I later met another gent at the end of the walk
who was living in the NT cottages – he used to be a slate
splitter up on the Old Man and had to walk up everyday to be
at the top by 6:30!! He started when he was 15 – try telling
that to the youth of today.....they won’t believe you
He’d lived in the NT cottage at Tilberthwaite for 20 odd
years and all the efforts at diverting water away from the
paths had led to the river behind taking more water, and
subsequently washing out some of the footings at the
cottage. This led to the roof timbers dropping, and a lot of
wet coming in. The NT put up scaffolding over the roof last
October, but nobody has been around to start work
yet...lovely views from there though.
Oh yes the route....up on Swirl How I dropped slowly down
across the slopes towards Grey Friar, which we didn’t see
anything of last time – just got soaking wet. Up the slopes
to Grey Friar led to another great view over to the Scafells
beyond Hard Knott, Bowfell and chums a little further around
to my right. Boy it was cold, so I put my ninja outfit on
with only eyes showing, and thankfully there wasn’t a lot of
spindrift flying around so ski goggles stayed in my pack.
Back down off Grey Friar I made a straight line up towards
the Halifax bomber memorial and the summit of Great Carrs –
wainwright #4 for the day. What a slog that was through shin
deep powder snow – I was knackered by the time I got to the
top.
Onwards from there was the long descent to Little Carrs,
Hell Gill Pike and Wetside Edge to the Greenburn Beck. Down
below was the ancient scheduled monument of the Greenburn
Mine, with the old dam not fully silted up yet. Crossing the
beck at a small wooden bridge I marvelled at the ability to
sink a leg up to the shin in seemingly frozen bog – left leg
a lovely brown colour. Then it was uphill once more to the
hause between Great Intake and Birk Fell before dropping
down to the start and a long chat with the slate splitter.
The views back to the Langdale Pikes were superb, with Jacks
Rake on Pavey Ark showing up clearly as a diagonal snow line
in the distance.
A cracking day out and I think I'll return to walk Great
Intake and Birk Fell another day. Here’s a ton of pictures
for your perusal.
the initial route up, looking back to the Kentmere Horseshoe in the distance
the way up to Birk Fell Man - frozen ground
old tree stumps with Wetherlam as a backdrop
looking back to Blake Rigg
Dry Cove Bottom....which is next to a mossy bog
looking down on Birk Fell Man.
Ascending Wetherlam Edge
across
to Greenburn with the Pike of Blisco in front of the Langdale Pikes
the last flog to the top
the summit view
from Wetherlam out over Little Langdale, The Langdale Pikes to Helvellyn beyond
Swirl How and Great Carrs, my next destination
Wetherlam casts a dark shadow over Greenburn
Swirl How and Great Carrs from Wetherlam
The Old Man of Coniston and Great How Crags
Wetherlam from the Band
looking down on Levers Water, with Coniston Water
Swirl How cold cairn
The Old man
of Coniston in the distance
Grey Friar down from Swirl How
the last pull up to Grey Friar
Grey Friar cairn with the Scafells in the background
Pointy Harter Fell
great views to the north
the killer powder back up to Great Carrs
a very cold Halifax Bomber memorial
the whole memorial
looking back to Great Carrs and Wetherlam
Great Carrs, Grey Friar and the Old Man of Coniston
Cold Pike in front of the Scafells
a steep gully down to Greenburn, with the dam a little further along the valley
the long route down Wetside Edge
the view back up to Little Carrs, Great Carrs, and Swirl How
Little Langdale Tarn down in the valley
another view of Cold Pike
an arty view of a weather bent tree
this bit is usually wet, as in Wetside Edge
Great Carrs at the head of Greenburn
the view back across to the Langdale Pikes right and Cold Pike left
Birk Fell with Wetherlam behind
my favourite hills - the Langdale Pikes. Spot Blea Tarn...just
the Crinkle Crags behind Cold Pike
looking down to High Tilberthwaite
the route down from Great Intake
nearly down to the road
