Kingdoms, turbines and wind
Offered a lift to the Furness peninsula last Friday, I couldn’t resist the chance to explore a part of the southern lakes I’d never visited before and take in Black Combe.
This is energy landscape: 12 miles up the coast is Sellafield, while out in Morecambe Bay 30 giant wind turbines rise amid the spray and waves. For inmates at HMP Haverigg, near Millom – surely one of the most remote of the country’s prisons – eight more turbines tower above the low slung buildings (see bottom left photo).
Black Combe shrugs its shoulders to this coastal scene but the trees on its lower sections attest to the power of the prevailing south westerly winds (See photos above and below).
The mountain’s 600 metre summit makes a good half day walk, which can be extended. It’s also the only ‘hundreder’ top over 500 m in the Lake District National Park. (There are no 700m, 800m or 900m tops). On Friday there were northward views of the Scafell and Coniston fells, while to the south the sea round Walney Island and off the Lancashire coast shimmered in dazzling sunlight.
Black Combe’s top has the distinction of being the only point in the UK where on a good day you can see five kingdoms – Scotland, Wales, England, Ireland and the Isle of Mann.
Make a note of the walk. It’s well worth the visit on a fine day and there’s an added bonus. Carlisle to Carnforth trains run along the coast stopping at Silecroft, near the start of the climb. It’s just one hour from Workington in the north and about two hours from Carnforth in the south. More details of the itinerary can be found on the Lake District Guide website.
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