Whitbarrow, Lake District, Summer
It was time to continue exploring a “local” fell.
The first time Lisabet and I checked out Whitbarrow was only a few months ago, March in fact. Considering it’s just a few miles west of Kendal, it’s incredible that we’d never hiked up the fell in all our time living round here.
Our spring hike gave us a nice little introduction to the potential of Whitbarrow. Now we’re in the summer, we ventured up once again with a slightly different—and longer—route.
In particular, after summiting Lord’s Seat we took the trail through the Nature Reserve part of Whitbarrow to find a landscape more akin to a tropical jungle!
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using two of my prime lenses: a Samyang 35mm f/1.2 and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Images made 75% in-camera using a customised Classic Chrome film simulation, with some finishing edits afterwards in Snapseed and Affinity Photo.
The area around Whitbarrow seems to be a veritable treasure trove for wild food foragers! Near where we parked, we found a hedge full of sloe or blackthorn, Prunus spinosa. Anyone fancy making some sloe gin?
The hike up and through the Township Plantation to get onto the fell gave us an indication of how fecund Whitbarrow was in comparison to March. Ferns everywhere.
Despite only being the first day of August, some of the abundant fern was already changing into its autumn colours.
A silver birch surrounded by multi-hued fern caught my eye as we approached the open limestone fellside of Whitbarrow.
The soft transition of light between the highlighted ferns and tree trunks compared to the gloom of the inner woodland.
Pretty purple heather is starting to blossom. A sure sign that late summer is coming.
We exited the Township Plantation and followed the trail east up onto the open fell.
Looking back at the woodland we navigated through to get onto the open fellside.
This is where you start to see some fantastic limestone formations and glacial erratics ahoy. My lovely Lisabet providing a sense of scale here. In the distance, a little to the right, you can just make out the unmistakeable shape of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales.
Young cows up on the fell didn’t want to give me and my camera too much attention.
The wonderful contortions of the common juniper, Juniperus communis.
I followed Lisabet on a trail northwards, to see how the views opened up towards the Lake District fells. The clarity was rather lovely.
Lisabet checking out some of the more shapely trees around the northern edge of Whitbarrow. Additionally, a view of the Langdale Pikes could clearly be made out.
We retraced our steps and picked out a trail heading south towards the Flodder Allotment part of Whitbarrow. The path took us through a silver birch plantation near Horse Pasture Wood.
This is the way to the summit of Whitbarrow, known as Lord’s Seat. There were plenty of other hikers around the fell, though certainly not enough to make the area feel busy.
As we gain height the views of the surrounding fells open up. A young family play around the limestone escarpment that forms a natural boundary for the Nature Reserve. In the hazy distance lies the Howgills.
Approaching the wind-blasted summit and cairn of Lord’s Seat, which also serves as a signal to take a rest for water and a snack.
The view south from Lord’s Seat. Rather lovely isn’t it? To the right is the coastal village of Arnside with Arnside Knott above it, and in the far distance is the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.
We closed in on the limestone wall that serves as a natural perimeter of the Whitbarrow Nature Reserve. I couldn’t resist these curving shapes offered by a pair of juniper trees set against the escarpment.
There are plenty of trees that grow out of the limestone wall, which then get blasted by the wind, resulting in remarkable scenes like this.
We finally found the trail that heads into the Whitbarrow Nature Reserve and took it northwards to eventually rejoin our original path. I’ve never seen a place like it! Very much like a jungle.
As we neared the Township Plantation once again, the Nature Reserve opened up and we found this beautiful world of limestone columns, stunted trees, and the floor carpeted in flowers. Like a lost world.
Two pillars of limestone, putting me in mind of a bee hive or something. Incredible.