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About Greystones | About Broom Fell | About Lords Seat | About Barf
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On a previous occasion we had attempted this route, we had mapped it out and it looks like the perfect hike, get high early on and then flow over the peaks back around in a loop. Unfortunately, at the time, I’d got new boots and blisters stopped me from getting up the steep path to Greystones. This time around, well-worn boots allowed the full walk!
Starting out at the small car park off the forest road we popped down through the fields and off towards Greystone. To get to the bottom of this fell you head down a small path which winds down the steep, almost cliff like face towards the river at the bottom, as you get to the river there is a bridge over which gives you a nice calm feeling due to the forest opposite, the fell to the left and the running water under you. From here you can turn right to see Spout Force, it’s only a small way across but as we had seen this on our previous walk here we just turned left onto the path which heads to the bottom of Greytones.
Not too far in, you soon realise the steepness of the fell, it’s a mass in its own right and although not terribly high, from this approach the path wanders for a few meters up and then is a direct patch up the fell. Once you have gotten over the initial zig zag with some scree the path follows a stone wall most the way up, it’s a dirt path over grass (could be slippy in the wet) and there are foot holes to help you on your way. Along this route, there are 3-4 little side paths off (over the wall) one of which we used last time as a way off, if you start to struggle, it’s great to know these are there.
The climb up from here on is tough, It’s not the height, but the angle you’re approaching with that’s hard, additionally, as all you see is a few feet of grass in front of you it does get a little boring. Eventually, around halfway up, there is an outcrop of rocks we used to rest at which provides you with a slightly different task of going around something! But soon after, the slog starts again. Not too long after this, the height starts to fall away, the angle gets softer and the views start to grow (looking back at this point is just a stunning sight!). On this now easier terrain, you can get a pace going and really start to enjoy the walk. The views start piecing together and once you get to the top of Greystones the walk in front of you is laid bare, it’s striking to see a beautiful ridge walk with surrounding mountains on all sides it reminded me a lot of the great ridge in The Peak District, but with a much grander scale.
From the top, we turn right and head over towards Broom Fell, going via Widow Hause, which runs right alongside the tree line of the forest plantation below. It was odd finally going downhill a bit, and you’re soon back to level land and moving quickly across Widow Huase. Just after you leave the tree line behind there is a particularly boggy section, this wasn’t too bad as it had been quite warm recently, but in the wetter months I could definitely see this being harder to get through.
Broom fell sits like a small hill plonked on top of the mountain range, climbing it via the grassy path is easy and straightforward and at the top there is a lovely cairn built quite high and a little wind shelter too, we met a couple here walking the other way and had a little chat before heading over the stile and continuing over towards Lord Seat. This section is much like the last, you dip down between the two peaks before heading back up the next with a little bit of a bog in the middle. The views are stunning, you can see a vast number of fells surrounding you as well as the forest below. Once the slightly steep top of Lords seat is found you have some of the most wonderful views in the area. Not only can you see across to Skiddaw and Blencathra, but down to Whinlatter and Grisdale as well as everything between. Realising that we could see our final peak, Barf, we wanted to get over as quick as possible as the views would be equally as good there. We set off down Lords seat, but soon realised, even with the heat of the past weeks, this was still going to be very very boggy. People coming the other way were obviously having to take their time, and once down we could see why, there was a lot of deep mud all around. Taken slow, you can easily navigate and won’t get caught out, but you do need to look ahead quite a lot, a few times the obvious path for the next 10 meters would mean going a route that was very boggy in 20 meters. Some of this area also looks worse than it is, but it’s best to be prepared.
Once at Barf, it’s a lovely little peak, you wind your way up to the top and come out onto a summit that is overlooking fantastic views. The mountains are the same as Lord’s seat’s view, but that bit closer and from here you are on the edge of Bassenthwaite lake, a view of Keswick is also quite beautiful from this angle.
Once we had finished taking in the views, we headed back the way we came (yes the bog again!) over to lords' seat, this was a bit easier seeing as we had a rough idea of the direction to go and not too long after we had climbed back to the heights of Lord Seat. From here we followed a woodland path into the main plantation, and these are much as you would expect from a forest walk, you’re still pretty high so it takes some time to get down due to the long sweeping tracks but it’s a great end to the walk, as you get lower and enter the tree lines the world just slips away and your inside your own little bubble. We took a pretty direct route down through a rougher section of woodland which came out by a river, the track follows this river all the way back down to the bottom as it eventually becomes Spout Force. The last stretch is along a road back to the section of the same road we parked on.
This was one of my favourite walks we have done, there was so many different sections, the tall steep Greystones, the amazing views out, the technical boggy sections and the fantastic forest ending all came together perfectly. It’s a route I will do again and again I'm sure, and due to the little routes off here and there, especially in the woodland, I'm sure that we can make some very interesting walks.
