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Binsey's Faraway Heights

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Our view

"This distant outpost of the Lakeland fells makes for a lovely circular ramble with grand views all around."

Walk directions

From the roadside parking area, walk down the quiet lane. There is very little traffic here and ample space at the side of the road to avoid it, but do keep an ear open for oncoming traffic.

In a mile (1.6km) or so you’ll come to the farmyard at Fell End, where you should turn right, through a gate by a well. In the steep field beyond, stay with the left-hand boundary for a few hundred yards before striking off on a similar line towards a gate in the wall at the head of the field. You’ll find it more convenient to pick the left-hand gate of the two you may be able to see. Through the gate, turn left, soon picking up a narrow trod contouring around the fell, initially about 10 paces up from the wall, then maintaining its height as the wall slips away to the left. Continue on this line, indistinct in places but always traceable, eventually beginning to round the flank of the fell.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Road, moorland paths and tracks

Landscape - Upland farms and moorland

Dog friendliness - Under control in sheep country, particularly at lambing

Parking - At roadside pull-in on a minor road near to Binsey Lodge, off the Ireby to Castle Inn road

Toilets en route - None on route

Walks in Cumbria

About the walk

Binsey is not often on the itinerary of the casual visitor to the Lake District, and many of those you will meet as you complete this walk will be here for one reason alone – to tick off the summit in their relentless pursuit of the 214 fells Alfred Wainwright listed in his Pictorial Guides. The... old man himself described it as an ‘odd man out’, ‘a dunce set apart from the class’, before going on to praise it as a gentle walk, with a very fine view. Pick a good day for this, perhaps when the northern Lakes are feeling a bit crowded, and you will be rewarded with exceptional vistas and not a little solitude. Volcanic Binsey The geology of Binsey is different from the Skiddaw massif that dominates its horizon to the south. Skiddaw, and the high, rolling fells that once made up its hunting forest, have a rock name to themselves. Skiddaw slate, a hard, metamorphosed sedimentary rock, is green in colour and can be seen in nearly every building in Keswick. Binsey’s origins are volcanic, being largely made of basaltic andesite and rhyolite from a group of rocks known as the Eycott group. Eycott Hill is an undistinguished hill, squished between the limestone uplands of Greystoke and the great boundary fault at Mungrisdale. Blink at the Troutbeck turn on the A66 and you will have missed it to the north. According to computerised imagery, the view from the summit of Binsey on a clear day should extend to the tip of Slieve Donard, a mere 115 miles (185km) away across the Irish Sea, but this seems a little optimistic. What is more noticeable, this far north in Cumbria, is the proximity of Criffel, just over the Solway Firth. From this far northwestern summit, the top of Dumfries’s favourite hill is closer to hand than the Pennines. Devasting floods Directly south, Bassenthwaite Lake curves gracefully up to Keswick, and Derwent Water beyond spreads before a fine background of high fells – Scafell Pike, the Langdales, Great Gable and Grisedale Pike can all be seen. To the west the Derwent Valley chugs gently down towards Cockermouth, Workington and the sea. This is a good spot to appreciate the vast extent of the River Derwent’s catchment. On one fateful day in November 2009, over 12in (300mm) of rain fell on Seathwaite, at the head of Borrowdale, in 24 hours. Joined by waters from Thirlmere and the valley below you, it swept down the vale, meeting more torrents from Buttermere at one end of Cockermouth’s Main Street. Tragically, one person died that day, but from these heights you’ll be amazed that the floods didn’t claim more victims.

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About the area

Cumbria's rugged yet beautiful landscape is best known for the Lake District National Park that sits within its boundaries. It’s famous for Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake, and Derwent Water, ‘Queen of the English Lakes', but other lesser-known areas in the south, such as the Lune Valley and the coastal towns, are secret gems of wide cobbled streets and rolling hills.

Route details

Difficulty:

Medium

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

2.5 miles (4kms)

Ascent:

722ft (220m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

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Binsey's Faraway Heights

Recommended by

Our view

"This distant outpost of the Lakeland fells makes for a lovely circular ramble with grand views all around."

Walk details

Difficulty:

Medium

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

2.5 miles (4kms)

Ascent:

722ft (220m)

Walk directions

From the roadside parking area, walk down the quiet lane. There is very little traffic here and ample space at the side of the road to avoid it, but do keep an ear open for oncoming traffic.

1 of 4

2 of 4

A lone hawthorn tree marks a path junction. Turn right here, heading up the fell. Bear left when the path splits. Step over a small beck to continue up into a boggy valley below the rocks of West Crag. The track becomes more substantial and is joined by another rising from the left. Continue upwards, the gradient now easing. Keep to the main path until you reach a short trail leading directly to the summit shelter. Take this.

3 of 4

From the rocky shelter, walk past the trig pillar and summit cairn, heading for the dark tarn of Overwater in the valley below. A wide grassy path soon begins to descend through the heather, finally bringing you down to a gate in the wall adjacent to the roadside parking area.

4 of 4

Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Road, moorland paths and tracks

Landscape - Upland farms and moorland

Dog friendliness - Under control in sheep country, particularly at lambing

Parking - At roadside pull-in on a minor road near to Binsey Lodge, off the Ireby to Castle Inn road

Toilets en route - None on route

Walks in Cumbria

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

Cumbria

Binsey's Faraway Heights

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Binsey's Faraway Heights

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