The Wythop and Lorton Fells | 12 Miles

April 25, 2024 LAKE DISTRICT WALKS

This walk in the Wythop and Lorton Fells ticks off 7 Wainwrights in one walk: Graystones, Ling Fell, Sale Fell, Broom Fell, Lord’s Seat, Barf and Whinlatter. Although these aren’t huge summits, this is a challenging 12.5 mile walk exploring the peaceful North Western Fells. The North Western Fells are characterised by soaring east-west ridges and an absence of mountain tarns, and are wilder and less explored than some of their neighbours.

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This walk is based on Route 28 in Walking the Wainwrights by Stuart Marshall, a great book which gives you routes to walk the 214 Wainwrights in 36 walks.

This walk explores the Wythop and Lorton Fells to the east of Bassenthwaite Lake and visits the 7 Wainwright summits of

Graystones (Birkett) (455 m)
Ling Fell (374 m)

Sale Fell (359 m)
Broom Fell (510 m)
Lord’s Seat (552 m)

Barf (469 m)
Whinlatter Top (525 m)/Whinlatter (517 m)

We parked in a small lay-by just off the Whinlatter Pass and followed a footpath as though we were going to Spout Force (we should have had a small detour to view this waterfall but didn’t!). We crossed the bridge and turned left, heading along the river bank a short while before passing through a gate and starting the REALLY steep climb up to Graystones.

It’s so steep!

At Graystones summit we stopped to catch our breath, then headed north-north-east over Wythop Moss towards Ling Fell. This was a wet, boggy slog to Tom Rudd Beck before another steep climb up to the trig point on Ling Fell.

The views from Ling Fell are pretty amazing over Bassenthwaite and Skiddaw. We had a quick snack and then continued north, down the hill to pick up the Corpse Road that joined the road. After 200m we turned down the hill towards Brumston Bridge, and not long after the farm gate we started to climb again up to Sale Fell, following the wall before striking out east to the summit.

Sale Fell with Bassenthwaite Lake behind

Sale Fell summit looking towards a misty Skiddaw

At the summit we continued east a short distance to meet a stile, and then followed the track downhill to the main road. On the road we turned left and soon picked up the footpath over the fields and Wythop Beck towards another road at Old Scales. Here the route instructions were a bit vague – we ended up walking a short distance along the road before climbing over a “stile” into a really steep field. I think the route actually meant for us to go through the farmyard and pick up the footpath which turns into a track that runs into the same field. The GPX file has the OS Map so that’s the one to follow! The Komoot map is the one we actually did.

The footpath is next to the gate – we were having a well deserved stop off on a bench when I took this snap!

The path leads out through the wooden gate and then into the farmyard across, before heading up the hillside.

Anyways. The path runs up the fields and reaches a pine plantation, and then continues climbing south before turning south-east and reaching the summit of Broom Fell. There is a cairn and a shelter but this isn’t the true summit, which is a short distance to the south-east.

What should be the summit…

What is the actual spot height summit on the OS Map…!

From Broom Fell we wandered along the broad ridge to Lord’s Seat, with what looks like the remains of some machinery or something on top. I’ve no idea what it is.

We then set off along a pretty decent track to the summit of Barf, from where you can see Skiddaw, Longside and some of the Southern Fells. We didn’t see the famous Bishop of Barf though as this was lower down the eastern slopes and we didn’t venture that far. The Bishop is a 7ft rock which is painted bright white, thought to be the resting place of the Bishop of Derry who fell from his horse and died in 1783, according to local legend, after drunkenly betting he could ride up the hill. Both the Bishop and his horse are said to be buried near a smaller stone known as the Clerk at the base of Barf.

The path to Barf

The route is an out-and-back to Barf, so we retraced our steps and set off to the south along the flanks of Lord’s Seat, passing through the forests on Ullister Hill before emerging near Drycloff Gill and climbing up to Whinlatter Top, then round to Whinlatter and Brown How.

Yes, the forest was as muddy as it looks.

Brown How, Whinlatter

Whinlatter Top summit

It was thought originally that Brown How (517m) was the summit of Whinlatter however Alfred Wainwright surveyed the area and discovered the summit to be further to the south-west at Whinlatter Top (525m). We went to both, just in case.

From Brown How there is a path running off the summit to the north-east which eventually joins the forestry track, and we followed this back to the car park.

This is a challenging walk, with lots of elevation gained, but it makes for a great day out in the fells. These fells feel wilder and more remote than some of the other ones and are great if you want to escape the crowds!

Looking for holiday accommodation near Bassenthwaite? I can highly recommend The Cottage on the Farm in Bassenthwaite, which makes a great base for hiking in the area. We had a 3 night stay there and it was amazing.

Wythop and Lorton Fells Walk Details: