Surprise view image

A love of the Lakes

One family's Lakeland Fell Walking blog
by Rob Marsh


"Many are those who have fallen under the spell of Lakeland, and many are they who have been moved to tell of their affection in story, verse and icture"

... A. Wainwright

Black Combe

Walk          : Black Combe (1,970 ft) from Whicham Church

Date          : 6th Mar 2024

Weather    : Variable Cloud @ 8 degrees, dry, sunny

Distance    : 2.5 miles

Dificulty     : Between a 2 & 3
(1=easy 5 = hard) 
Terrain Overview

Terrain image

Walk Overview

Walk No.2 of our Wainnwright Outlying Fells journey and we decided to tackle the second tallest in the list, that being Black Combe which lies just off the Duddon Estuary in the Whicham valley. The walk (for a so called little one) is quite steep in parts, but the track from Whicham Church is very well defined, safe in mist and leads unerringly to the summit which has a very fine shelter cairn

The Car Park

The car park at the start of the walk at Whicham Church just off the A595

The Honesty box in the car park

There is a honesty box in which to make a donation towards the Church upkeep

The track

Leave the Car Park down a path that cuts between the Church and the old School

Path leading to the open fell side

At the end of the short path turn left and set off along the track that leads to the open fell side

The right hand fork in the road

After about a quarter of a mile take the right hand fork in the road

The path to the base of Black Combe

The path swings right and heads towards a gate

The gate

The gate at the start of the steep pull upwards

The steep path

Prepare yourself for around a 30 minute vigorous workout until you reach
the midway point that thankfully flattens out a little. Its impossible to go
wrong now from here

Looking West over the Irish Sea

Looking West over the Irish Sea

The col

The path climbs towards a Col where after it becomes less steep for a short spell

The flatter part of the path is still very easy to follow

The flatter section of the climb is still very easy to follow and provides an early view of the summit of Black Combe

Looking back towards the Irish Sea

Looking back towards the Irish Sea

The path cuts diagonally across the West face of Black Combe

The path cuts diagonally across the West face of Black Combe

The cairned path

Towards the upper reaches, the path is cairned to assist with navigation

Towards the latter end of the climb the path swings round to the right and leads directly to the big summit shelter cairn

Towards the latter end of the climb the path swings round to the right and leads directly to the big summit shelter cairn. A very welcome sight

The summit of Black Combe

The trig column on the summit cairn. Click here for a 350 degree view from the summit

Me and the Spud Meister on the summit of Black Combe

Me and the Spud Meister on the summit of Black Combe and it was Baltic !!

The Irish Sea

Throughout the walk the views were hampered by the haze, Im not qute sure what the big ball of light was but thought it worth capturing

A pint of Loweswater Gold

One of the best parts of fell walking is the post walk pint, and they dont come any better than the Loweswater Gold in The Lily at Ambleside