I had a free weekend to complete two Outlying walks although the weather had other plans which saw me switch Saturdays walk to Sunday with hopefully a drier day forecast. It would seem that almost every Outlier that I have completed so far has been done in cloud, rain or drizzle and it was starting to look that like that I would only walk the Outlying fells when the weather wasn't fair enough to get higher, infact this couldn't have been further from the truth often saying that I had been so impressed with the routes I had already undertaken that I would come back and do them again under better conditions, well today we had them.

Todays walk takes in Whitfell from the top of Corney Fell road collecting Buck Barrow, Burn Moor and Kinmount Buck Barrow along the way all of which I have only ever observed from a distant fell side or from the road side. I guess it's fair to quote Wainwright when he said that these particular fells are often unfrequented even now some forty years since A.W completed the Outlying Fells they remain very much deserted where even grazing sheep will run a mile on the sight at a human alone. Because of how these particular fells are secluded from Lakeland I can relate to them as to what the Shap fells are to the far east of the district and for me to come out with such a statement knowing how particularly fond I am of far east Lakeland can only mean one thing, I think I've found an alternative to the Shap fells and once more, I was hooked so much so I've already planned my return visit but for now, this is Whitfell from Corney Fell Road summit.

We had arranged to meet later than our usual meeting time which saw me arrive at the top of Corney Fell Road a little before at 09:00am where I found David had already parked up and was waiting for me besides his car, as it turns out David had taken a quick walk to the top of Stoneside Hill if only to take in the fantastic views over the top of the summit pass. I however, would have been much earlier and could have possibly joined David had I not have taken a wrong turn which saw me realise my mistake quite quickly but I simply couldn't turn around for a good mile owing to the road being so narrow D'oh!

I arrived with just minutes to spare and greeted David with the usual handshake while feeling a slight nip in the air not helped by the fact that today I am dressed in just shorts and T-shirt, I guess I just couldn't wait to bare skin. Minutes later I am lacing up while chatting and I can see the cold air in David's breath and with that, I add an extra layer. We take in our surroundings while commenting on just how nice the morning was with distant summits seen in full panorama. With the cars locked we head out towards our first Outlying summit of the day in Buck Barrow which soon comes in to view.

From the top of Corney Fell Road it was just a simple case of following the stone wall over a gentle rise all the way towards Buck Barrow summit seen in the right of the photograph.

Incidentally, that's Kinmount Buck Barrow over on the far left which we summit on our return, just as A.W had after he recommended this route in his guide book The Outlying Fells.

There are moments when you are lost for words, when your heart palpitates inside your chest but you say nothing, everything comes together here. with the exception of a distant bird tweeting over the top of a cooling breeze, nothing broke the silence, a time for thought, a time to plan.

With a sudden drop in temperature met with a cool breeze we summited Kinmount Buck Barrow while in cloud which thankfully passed after waiting for a few moments at the summit from where as quickly as they disappeared our views started to return but this sadly this still wasn't the case for Black Combe which had a substantial amount of cloud over its summit.

After summiting Kinmount Buck Barrow we descended back to the top of Corney Fell road via a pathless road observing the cloud over the top of Black Combe knowing full well within the hour we'd be up there and high hopes remained as we each grabbed snacks to eat whilst taking in the drive towards Whicham from where walk two of the day will start all the while still reflecting on a walk that totally blew me away.