Wainwright Routes - Yewbarrow Route One

Yewbarrow - Route One

Start - Overbeck Bridge NY 167 068

Distance 1.3 miles

Ascent 1,830 feet

Time - 1 hour : 30 minutes

Warning This route diverges from the usual path on the south ridge to make a pathless ascent to the foot of Bell Rib then continues via a grade three scramble to rejoin the normal path at Great Door. It should not be undertaken by walkers with little or no experience of rock scrambling.

The weather forecast today was for a gradual clearance of early fog to give a bright and sunny day. Whilst it did improve, low lying cloud rolled in from the west every so often obscuring the view. Yewbarrow makes an appearence through the gloom on the approach alongside Wastwater

The small National Trust car park by Overbeck Bridge in Wasdale is ideally situated for the start of this walk

The south ridge of Yewbarrow from the car park. A hastily taken photo as I could see a great mass of cloud descending the slopes of the fells on my left to fill the valley. For almost two hours the cloud level remained at about the level of the solitary tree on the ridge. After driving such a long distance to reach Wasdale I thought it it was worthwhile waiting to see if conditions improved

Gradually the cloud began to lift and thin although it remained troublesome for the rest of the day. At the back of the car park a path leads via a gate and a couple of stiles to the foot of the south ridge

Looking back to the car park from the field gate

Bell Rib from the first stile

Looking back to the car park from the second stile

Zooming in on Bell Rib from the top stile indicating the route. There are two scrambling routes on Bell Rib, this one is the least difficult of the two. The line of approach to the grass shelf below the final tower leading to the scramble can be varied. Wainwright describes Bell Rib as a bad trap for the unwary walker and so it is; it has been the scene of at least one very serious injury and a fatal accident in recent years. Experienced rock climbers will certainly have no difficulty with either of the scrambles to the summit

Looking across to Bowderdale Farm from the foot of the ridge

Bell Rib from higher up the ridge with Dropping Crag on the left. The route that AW recommended makes a rising traverse from this point towards Dropping Crag then climbs between it and Bell Rib to reach the ridge line at Great Door

A closer look at Dropping Crag, a popular climbing crag. A walker can be seen on the scree slope at its foot about to start up the path to Great Door. The path has degenerated over the years and its ascent is now loose and unpleasant which is a pity as it spoils what is otherwise a very good route

Looking down the lower part of the ridge from the point where the usual path turns towards Dropping Crag

A faint path continues to climb beside the wall, which is probably just a sheep trod. It vanishes beyond the wall corner and the ascent continues towards a rocky gully between two broken crags. It is steep but no more so than the normal route alongside Dropping Crag

Bell Rib is defended by a belt of low crags above the gully which can be easily turned at either end. Go left at the top of the gully for a closer view of its steep prow or right for a quicker approach to the scramble

Looking back from the top of the gully

Turning the right end of the belt of low crags below the upper tower of Bell Rib

Looking across to Seatallan with the craggy north ridge of Middle Fell in front of it

Above the belt of crags is a wide tilted grass ledge that curves around the east side of Bell Rib

Further along the wide ledge another grass ledge mounts a broken rock wall. The start of the scramble is quite near now and any preparations for it should be made here. The upper ledge narrows to become little more than two feet wide and both it and this lower ledge soon come to a sudden end above a steep drop over the end of a crag, no place to begin rummaging in your rucksack! Pack away any walking poles or camera now. It is difficult to give an impression of scale without any point of reference such as a person in a photograph but if it helps, the heather faced rock at the base of the ledge is about five feet high. Step onto the ledge and follow it for a few yards

Lingmell, Broad Crag, Scafell Pike and Scafell from the lower grass ledge as another bank of cloud moves in

Near the end of the upper grass ledge a deep groove in the rock face above it is the key to further progress. About fifteen feet high, it breaks through a steep wall to gain the upper buttress. Climb the groove to its end and make a slightly awkward step left onto the slabby face of the buttress, there is an enhanced sense of exposure at that point. Resist an early temptation to move towards easier looking ground that appears on the right, it requires a traverse of a lichen covered slab on widely spaced and inadequate holds. The slabs above the groove have excellent holds and the rock is sound. Their angle eases quickly as height is gained and they soon merge into a grass and heather slope which leads easily to the summit of Bell Rib

Looking down to the lower half of the ridge from the top of Bell Rib. Normally its summit provides a wonderful view over Wastwater, not so today as the thin mist in the valley continues to hang around

A hazy Red Pike across the valley of Overbeck from the summit of Bell Rib

The scrambling is not quite over yet. The summit of Bell Rib is completely isolated from the rest of the ridge by the deep cleft of Great Door which lies just beyond the heather in the left foreground. The scramble down to it looks a little daunting but is quite simple. Turn in to face the rock, the descent is longer but much easier if started well to the left down an obvious shallow gully

The view through the portal of Great Door to Scafell and Slight Side which for many is the highlight of this walk. The path coming up from Dropping Crag is joined at this point

Looking over Great Door to the top of Bell Rib. Two walkers are making the short crossing to it to take some photos from its summit. The lady is about to step over a deep rift in the arete onto the rock face while her partner is conveniently pointing to the easier scramble via the shallow gully. They are descending Yewbarrow and will return to Great Door to continue their descent. It is foolish to attempt a direct descent via Bell Rib as it is absolutely vital to locate the exact position of the deep groove, not an easy task from above

Three photos looking back from the climb up the ridge as distant views were almost non-existent! Bull Crag to the north of Bell Rib

Bell Rib beyond Bull Crag, its isolation from the rest of the ridge by Great Door is more apparent from this higher viewpoint

A last look back to Bell Rib as the ridge begins to widen

A prominent cairn appearing above marks the end of the steeper part of the ridge

From the cairn the summit comes into view for the first time appearing in the background to the right of another rise along the ridge

Approaching the distinctive summit of Yewbarrow

Yewbarrow's summit cairn with Kirk Fell on the left and Great Gable to the right. In normal conditions, as AW remarked, you can see all of the Lake District's 3000ft summits from here but today the distant views are very limited, Glaramara to the right of Great Gable and only 2.5 miles away is barely visible. Yewbarrow - page 7