Black Combe from Whicham
Start Whicham, A595 layby
Getting here Parking: Whicham (layby), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Parking & buses ↓
Hardest part Hard steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 27% around the 1.1 km mark.
Before you choose
- The first and last 0.45 km or so are on a short drive and a lane open to traffic; OpenStreetMap records no pavement on either.
- About 0.4 km at the top, between about 3.45 and 3.85 km (the grass path to the trig pillar and back), follows a path that OpenStreetMap does not record as a public right of way, and so does the short drive at the start; the rest is the public bridleway and the lane. The top itself is open access land in Natural England’s access layer. That is a map-data note, not a ruling on access: check the access land and rights of way maps before relying on this stretch.
Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 Black Combe
Easy 39%Moderate 56%Hard 5%Severe
Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Whicham, A595 layby → Black Combe (3.6 km, 563 m)
From the layby at Whicham, follow a short drive and a lane north-west for about 0.45 km; OpenStreetMap records no pavement on either. At about 0.5 km the public bridleway leaves the lane along a track, through gates at about 0.6 km, and climbs steeply north up the hillside; the steepest climbing is about 27% between about 0.8 and 1.3 km. It keeps on north-north-east and north, climbing all the way, and crosses Millergill Beck at about 3.4 km. A grass path leads north-east for the last stretch to the trig pillar and cairn on Black Combe at about 3.65 km.
WaypointsWhicham layby, the lane, the public bridleway, Millergill Beck, the trig pillar on Black Combe (600 m).
If you need to get offThe way off is back down the bridleway the way you came, never more than about 3.65 km to the layby.
Black Combe → Finish (3.6 km, 13 m)
Turn round at the trig pillar and go back down the grass path to the bridleway at about 3.85 km, then follow the bridleway back down the way you came up, now heading south and south-south-west. The steepest descent is about 29% over 250 m near 6 km. Leave the bridleway at the lane at about 6.8 km and follow the lane and the drive back south-east to the layby.
WaypointsBlack Combe, Millergill Beck, the public bridleway, the lane, Whicham layby (finish).
Decision pointSeveral paths leave the top; the way back is the grass path you came up, back to the bridleway.
If you need to get offThe descent is the line itself: the bridleway back down, about 3.65 km from the top to the layby.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (1)
- 1Black Combe600 m
More about this walk
The start is a layby on the A595 at Whicham. Black Combe from Silecroft station climbs the same public bridleway from the train; this walk starts nearer the hill, about 0.6 km shorter each way, and comes back the same way too.
Conditions and timing
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
Getting there and back
Parking
2 more places to park near the start
Positions are approximate.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
If the parking is full
There is no real plan B here. Every place we know beside this route serves the same walks and sits close together, so expect them to fill on the same mornings. Worth starting early, or having a different walk in mind before you set off.
- Whicham church, Silecroft road (verge) — at the start
- Whicham (layby) 2 — joins the loop at about km 6.9 of 7.3: a 600 m walk to the line, climbing about 30 m, and you walk the round from there
- Whicham (layby) — at the start
We never say whether anywhere has spaces today. Walks to the line are measured along mapped paths (OpenStreetMap), not in a straight line. How we choose these places.
No signal when you get there? RoutePark keeps this list on your phone: choose this walk’s GPX at home, keep it, and it opens offline.
Buses
No bus we hold serves this start. The nearest stop we hold is the 505 at Coniston, outside John Ruskin School, 29.1 km away on foot: a walk of its own, not a way to the start.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival A free layby on the A595 at Whicham is at the start. 4 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 18 October 2026)
- Toilets No toilets are mapped within 500 m of the start. (OpenStreetMap contributors, via Overpass, 18 October 2026, checked 18 October 2026)
- Refreshments No café or pub is mapped within 500 m of the start: bring what you need. (OpenStreetMap contributors, via Overpass, 18 October 2026, checked 18 October 2026)
- Limitation A steep hill bridleway and a grass path to the top: not a pushchair route. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 18 October 2026)
Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Hard overall — hardest: Steepness; terrain not assessed; exposure not assessed on the ground
Five independent axes, not one score. None of them was set on the ground: they are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Black Combe | 3.6 km | 563 m | 1:40–2:13 |
| Finish | 7.3 km | 575 m | 2:25–3:13 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: No mapped stiles, but the ground underfoot has not been assessed; not a buggy line on what we know.
- Knees: A sustained ~29% descent over 250 m around the 5.9 km mark — a little jarring on tired knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: drops and exposed ground (estimated from the map). The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 27% around the 1.1 km mark.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Moderate. 1 mapped crag feature(s) near the line — check the airy sections.
- Stiles and gates: Only gates and kissing gates are mapped: no stile a dog can’t get through. That is the barriers alone; check the route’s steep or rocky ground before you bring a dog. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-18)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Not assessed.
- Ways off early: None recorded for this route.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 2 gates
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-10-18. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).