Terrain Overview
Walk Overview
Overall, a gentle walk with some boggy areas underfoot to contend with. Ideally best done
after a prolonged period of dry weather. Be prepared to climb over fences and walls, we
counted 7 along the route. 2 out of the 4 summits had no cairn, Whatshaw Common and
Little Yarlside, however its an easy task to just find the obvious high point and stake your claim.
Very remote but by and large easy walking
Travelling North along the A6 from Kendal, lookout for the large layby on the
Southbound side of he road, there is free parking space for a dozen or so cars
Just over the road from the car park a large entrance with a steel gate signifies
the start of the walk
Setting out on the farm track
The track climbs gently towards the grassy lower slopes of Whatshaw Common
On a day where we envisaged not seeing a single soul, we had the great pleasure
of bumping into Sue and Dave from Berkshire who had just completed the
Crookdale Horseshoe, which left them with only around 15 Outlying Fells to complete.
Dedicated and extremely knowledgable Fell walkers it was really nice to
stop and chat for a while. Good luck with the rest of your Outlier journey
Anyway, back on with the walk and a quick look behind to the A6
Further on down the track and looking across to the granite quarry works
Upon reaching the higher ground a reasonably well defined grass trod follows
the fenceline towards the summit of Whatshaw Common
The ground is very boggy in parts, here though crossing is assisted via the planks
As we journey towards the summit Lords Seat and Robin Hood
(part of the Crookdale Horseshoe) come into view
Just as we approach the summit of Whatshaw Common we get a good view of
the second and third fells of the day Little and Great Yarlside
OK, so I`m laying claim that the high raise you see to the right of the fence
in the centre of the picture is the summit. The choice is yours really.
Click here for a 360 degree view from the summit of Whatshaw Common
From the summit, we turn right to try and follow the line of the wall as closely
as possible towards the second fell of the day, Little Yarlside. The ground is boggy in parts
Looking across to High Weather Howe from the track to Little Yarlside
The heavy ground is unavoidable, it's just a case of picking the dryest route
and making a beeline for the stone wall
Approaching the start of the climb to Little Yarlside which is reasonably steep
but nothing too onerous
Looking across the adjoining valley to the Crookdale Beck
On the summit of Little Yarlside, again it's a case of picking out what
you think is the highest point. Click here for a 360 degree view
We now set off for Great Yarlside. The advice here is to make an early
crossing of the wall / fence as soon as its suitable, as the summit trig
point (if you wish to visit) is on the left hand side of the fence
We chose this obvious crossing point
Once over the fence / wall a grassy trod is very easy to follow up to the summit
Looking back towards the fells in the Crookdale Horseshoe from the climb
to Great Yarlside summit
The summit trig point on Great Yarlside. Click here for a 360 degree view
Climbing over the wall and fence to set out for Wasdale Pike
What follows now is a pathless trek towards the line of the fence. Aim for the
corner in the upper left of this shot
Looking south from the fenceline
Here there are a number of fences to get over. We chose to climb over the
second fence in the middle of the shot so as to walk on the easier ground,
but in the main keep to the fenceline as a guide
We eventually arrive at the higher point of the path and what follows is some fairly
level walking now towards Wasdale Pike
Keep an eye open on the left for an area where its possible to crawl underneath
the fence to get on to the other side. In so doing you pick up the final track
that leads straight to the summit of Wasdale Pike
Sue sets off along the track towards the summit
Fairly soon, the summit cairn on Wasdale Pike comes into view
Sue on the summit of Wasdfale Pike. Click here for a 360 degree view
Looking across to the Wet Sleddale Reservoir from the summit of Wasdale Pike
Setting out on the return path to the A6. Go through the gate and swing left
For a while there is a grass trod to follow
The grassy trod slopes gently downwards off the fell. This does eventually vanish
When the grass trod disappears, you can just aim towards the communication
mast (left of centre) OR make your way right towards the line of the fence
As we head towards the fenceline the old ruined farm building comes into view.
Head towards that
At the very bottom of the slope near the farmhouse a wall stile helps
greatly with getting over the fenceline
Approaching the old ruined farm house. Beyond which a sketchy path leads
towards higher ground where a track can be picked up that leads towards
the A6 and the start of the walk
Passing the ruined farm house that Wainwright sketched in the
Wasdale Horseshoe chapter of the guide book
Pass the small copse on the left and follow the track back to the A6
We emerge back on the A6 with a short walk back to the lay by that passes
the old Camping Barn / Bothy
