Words & Photos Andy Stothert

December 03 2009

Devoke Water to Black Combe (or the other way) is one of those natural lines to walk along in the Lakes, but after nearly 40 years of bumbling about in the fells I’d never previously got round to crossing these mammoth prairies in one fell swoop.

It’s a logistics thing, and the only way to take this lot in a single day means relying on public transport by getting the train from Silecroft to Ravenglass, then walking back across the fells. It’s a long way but it is feasible. Especially when you’re young and fit, which of course if I’d done this when I first thought about it I would’ve been.

Another option is to drop a bike off at the Duddon end, drive to Birker Fell, then go and reclaim y’r push iron by walking to it. It looks like a hell of a pedal back, but, well, when you’re young and fit, challenges like these are the very essence of life. And indeed, if I’d done it when the idea first sprung to mind, then it may well have been.

The third possibility is to take two vehicles and leave one at each end, and this is obviously the easiest way on the legs. The trouble with that option is that many moons ago (when I was young and fit) I’d signed the pledge not to use the planetary polluter unless there was no alternative – so the two-vehicle option has always been a non-starter for me. Thus, for years I’ve been procrastinating, mulling things over, and weighing the options on walks like this one.

Now (and seemingly so suddenly) I find myself not so young and fit, but with these fellwalking desires still unfulfilled. The upshot is that my latest crackpot upland project is to tackle all these slightly offbeat but natural lines on the fells – starting with this one, Birker Fell to Whicham, via anything and everything in the way. Despite none of these fells quite making it to the 2000-foot contour (Black Combe comes closest at 600m/1970 feet) this is one of England’s wildest and highest chunks of hilly ground. So just how was I going to do it? A man who has signed the pledge, but isn’t quite able to live up to it?

It would have to be the bike, so last spring with long hours of daylight to cushion my incapability, I hid the Dawes in the churchyard at Whicham, and then drove over to the Devoke Water track on the Birker Fell road. After that it’s just a matter of walking the miles to the bike, then cycling back to the campervan at Birker Fell. All I can add is that the walk is tougher than it looks on the map, paths come and go, and have y’r knees greased before pedalling back. Oh, and leave a drink with the bike for Ron. Later on.

Distance: 13 miles/21km walking; 15 miles/24km cycling Ascent: 2850ft/870m Time: 10-13 hours Start/finish: Junction of Devoke Water track with Birker Fell road (GR: SD 171977) Map: OS 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 96 (Barrow-in-Furness & South Lakeland) Information: Broughton-in-Furness TIC, 01229 716115 Travel information from Traveline: 0871 200 22 33, www.traveline.org.uk

Technical Spec
From start (after leaving bike at Whicham church) SW track to Devoke Water, ascend S to White Pike, E to Yoadcastle, then S to Stainton Pike and Whitfell. SW to Burn Moor, S to Buckbarrow, descend S to Corney fell road, SW to Stoneside Hill, SE to then ascend pathless tussocky wastes S to Stoupdale Crags. SW on path to Black Combe, descend S back to Whicham, then pedal along A595 to Duddon Bridge, N on Duddon Valley road to Ulpha then Birker Fell road to start.