This is a rare occurrence, 2 walks in 2 weeks but we wanted to make the most of the summer we have been having before we both take our holidays later this month.  We had already decided to head over to Wasdale so it was an early start.  Peter came for me at 6.00 am on the dot and we set off for the west coast.

As we drove down the A1 towards Scotch Corner, it was raining quite heavy but with a huge rainbow and a little sunshine.  We realised it was going to be a day  of mixed blessings with the weather.  Its a long drive over to Wasdale, even when you pass Blencathra you know you still have about an hour to go.

We arrived around 8.45 at the car park next to Overbeck bridge, there was only one other car here.  We had our pies and set off walking at exactly 9.00 am.  Leaving the car park from the far right hand corner we began walking in dense ferns, eventually arriving at a couple of newly built gates and also a newly laid path.

Our task today was clearly marked out in front of us, simply follow the wall up to just below the crags and then move around to the left of the crags, climbing towards the summit.

It was immediate climbing too, making for a very tough first half hour or so.  As we reached the second stile we followed the path away from the wall around to the left of Dropping Crag.  Once we got onto the crags we began scrambling.  It was also getting windier the higher we got.

It was worth the effort as we reached the summit about 15 minutes later.  It was very windy as you can see from the picture above but it was clearing and we could see some of the bigger tops right next to us.  Kirk Fell, Great Gable and in the far distance Skiddaw.  The Scafels were right next to us but the summits were shrouded in cloud all day.  Likewise Pillar was on the other side of Yewbarrow but also had a covering of cloud.

We dropped off the top, down towards Dore Head.  We could see Red Pike in between the clouds but we could also see the steep drop to begin climbing again.  So we decided Yewbarrow was enough today and found an excellent bait stop looking straight at Kirk Fell.  We sat here for 10 or 15 minutes before setting off over the crags to the grassy slopes below.  Once we got down the the grassy slope we turned left and followed the path back towards the car park

Whilst Yewbarrow is one of the smallest mountains in our quest, it was  not without its challenges.  A steep ascent at first, scrambling over crags, an excellent view to reward our climb, wind and then further crags on the way down.  All in all another great day on the fells and number 45 out of 71 done!

We plan to be back in September.