WetherlamA family ascent of Wetherlam from Tilberthwaite on a perfect autumn day.
11th October 2020We decided to take advantage of the excellent weather forecast and head into the hills on Sunday – it’s not often that you see visibility described as ‘superb’. After a bit of discussion, which included Pavey Ark and Bowfell, we plumped for Wetherlam from Tilberthwaite.
The day dawned bright and clear, and we managed to get away at a reasonable hour, quite an achievement in our household. As we headed west, Coniston Old Man and the nearby hills came into view – quite stunning in the early morning sunshine.
Despite being reasonably early, the car park at Tilberthwaite was already filling up. We parked in one of the remaining spaces and were ‘on the hill’ at 0930. Tilberthwaite is a particularly lovely spot, lush green meadows surrounded by woods, crags and quarries, and is a great place to go for low level walks, full of interest, as well as being a good starting point for Wetherlam and the Coniston fells.
Viewranger route HEREWe had visited Tilberthwaite earlier in the year, and had walked up the south bank of Tilberthwaite Gill, through the quarries. This time we took the north bank, a well made miners track cutting up the hillside, quite steep at first, but levelling off as the track traverses dramatically above the deepest part of the ravine. The gorgeous view unfolding behind us gave us the perfect excuse to take a break.
Tilberthwaite from the miners track that cuts up the hillside to the north of Tilberthwaite Gill. Fairfield, Red Screes and Ill Bell are the three most prominent hills in the background.The track passes below the steep southern end of Blake Rigg – crags, scree, bracken and a scattering of trees against a stunning blue sky.The miners track levels off as it passes the deepest part of Tilberthwaite Gill. There was a huge drop to our left.The track emerges into more open country after passing above the ravine. We took the right fork at a junction, and climbed up the beautiful valley beyond, passing more copper mines. There were quite a few other people heading up the track, and we said a few Hellos – everybody happy to be out on such a perfect day.
One of the many disused copper mines in the area, a reminder of the Lake District’s industrial past.Wetherlam towering above the upper part of the valley. Beautiful autumn colours, bracken and wiry moorland grass.At the head of the valley, a stone staircase took us up past more old mines onto the summit ridge of Birk Fell, where the view to the north was dramatically revealed. There followed a pleasant walk along the ridge towards Wetherlam Edge, the northern slopes hidden in the shade. Plenty of time to take in the view before the hard work began.
Looking back down the valley from the foot of the stone staircase. The shallow tarn is not named on the OS map.Helvellyn and Fairfield were suddenly revealed to us as we reached the crest of Birk FellCrinkle Crags, Bowfell, Pike O Blisco, Glaramara and the Langdale Pikes from Birk FellWetherlam Edge – “We’re not really going up that way, are we?”I had come this way
earlier this year, on the night of the epic thunderstorm, and had had a miserable time on Wetherlam Edge due to the weight of my pack and the jungle like humidity. This time I enjoyed the climb, at times taking a more direct route up the rocks (losing the path, in other words). Tess was off the lead as there were no sheep about – she is quite good at finding her own way up rocky bits, but did have to be helped up one steep section. Quite a number of people were on their way up, bunched up a bit on the steep ground, but queuing not required, thankfully – this isn’t Snowdon!
Looking back down Wetherlam Edge from near the summit, the Birk Fell ridge and Little Langdale Tarn far below.The ground eases off after the steep section, and shortly afterwards we reached the summit – time to enjoy the wonderful view. It was only 11:30, but we decided to find some rocks to sit on and take an early lunch – we had earned it.
And what a view! To the South West was nearby Coniston Old Man and the adjoining fells, to the north the Scafell range, Bowfell and the Langdale Pikes, glimpses of Skiddaw and Blencathra beyond. The Helvellyn range dominated the scene to the north east, with Fairfield and Red Screes further south, High Street and the Troutbeck hills beyond. Far to the east we could see the Howgills, and even flat topped Ingleborough, before the land drops away towards the Forest of Bowland and Morecambe Bay – I even spotted Blackpool Tower!
The Scafell range and Bowfell from WetherlamI am beginning to suspect that Tess is a closet Wainwright bagger!Quite a few options were open to us for the descent. My wife and I quite fancied heading on, perhaps going up Prison Band onto Swirl How, and descending north eastwards along the ridge above the lonely Greenburn valley; my sons wanted to get back though, so we decided to go down Wetherlam’s broad south ridge before cutting north eastwards across moorland back to Tilberthwaite, a nice circular route. Nobody wanted to go back down Wetherlam Edge!
The south ridge is a very pleasant way down, descending gently at first so we stayed high. We lost the view of Scafell and the Langdale Pikes though, but the views to the east, south and west more than compensated for this.
Looking down on Birk Fell from the south ridge of WetherlamThe largest of the three small tarns on the south ridge, a lovely place to spend the night.Coniston Water with Morecambe Bay beyondConiston Old Man and Levers Water, scene of a sublime wild swim earlier this year.Swirl How to the west, Black Sails to the right – hills for another dayTowards the end of the ridge, the path steepened and descended boggy ground, not so pleasant underfoot, but we pressed on and soon reached the good track that cuts across the moors from Coppermines Valley to Tilberthwaite. The colours were lovely in the autumn sunshine, bracken and wiry moorland grass turning a lovely rich brown, but our enjoyment was spoilt by the roar of scrambler bikes approaching – they tore past us at speed, not even bothering to slow down. They disappeared into the distance at speed, but we could see them climbing up the valley towards Birk Fell. But it was impossible to stay annoyed for long in such beautiful surroundings, and peace soon returned to the fells.
Heading back towards Tilberthwaite across bracken covered moorlandThe last mile or so back to the car was delightful, bracken covered moors gave way to the steep hillside to the south of Tilberthwaite Gill, and we descended past disused quarries to the meadows below. A lovely varied 5 mile circuit, highly recommended for a short day on the fells.
The path traversed across the southern edge of Tilberthwaite GillClimbers were at play in the quarryThe meadows of Tilberthwaite