Yewbarrow Loop

Overview

About Yewbarrow Loop

Why go

Big Wastwater and Scafell views from the summit ridge
A compact mountain loop with a genuinely hands-on crag section
Proper fell scenery without the length of the larger Wasdale circuits

Heads up

Steep loose ground, scrambling, and exposed crags
Small parking area, boggy return, and difficult cloud navigation

Yewbarrow sits above Wastwater with the Scafell massif, Great Gable, and the Mosedale valley filling the views. The summit ridge gives the walk a proper mountain feel without the extra miles of the Red Pike or Pillar circuits. The traverse below Stirrup Crag avoids making the direct crag descent the defining move, but it still runs close to steep ground and deserves care.

Parkwolf’s verdictThe payoff

Map & elevation

The route

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Full map

Elevation68–619 m

TrailheadYewbarrow Loop54.44998, -3.28503

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Plan your hike

Before you go

Parking

Start at the National Trust Overbeck car park beside Over Beck, grid reference NY 168 068, postcode CA20 1ET. It is a small lot and the correct access for this loop; Lake Head is a different starting point for the Scafell Pike routes. Rural signal can be limited, so use the grid reference and follow the road signs rather than relying only on a satnav.

Best time to go

A clear, settled day makes the route much more enjoyable and keeps the crag sections easier to read. Spring through autumn is the practical season for most walkers. Snow and ice turn the steep rock and exposed ground into serious winter terrain. The ridge and the views toward the Scafells photograph well in early or late light; cloud can erase the main reward quickly.

Safety

The Bell Rib and Great Door section includes a short, steep hands-on scramble above exposed ground. Loose and eroded paths, boggy patches, unprotected drops near the crags, and poor visibility make this a serious mountain walk. Use the traversing path below Stirrup Crag rather than the direct descent, keep dogs close around cattle, and treat snow or ice as a winter mountaineering problem.

8 active Lake District alerts

ClosureChapel Stile footpath closed for retaining-wall riskPart of Footpath 543030 between Chapel Stile and Baysbrown campsite is closed because a retaining wall beside the path could collapse and material it supports could fall across the footpath.Official details
ClosureStanley Ghyll Lower Falls footpath closed for rockfallThe section of Footpath 408037 leading towards Stanley Ghyll Lower Falls is closed because severe rockfall damage has made the path unstable and further rockfall remains a danger.Official details

See all 8 alerts

A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone — Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Lake District Tour Guide

Your drive to Yewbarrow Loop, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this trailhead

Wast Water at Overbeck

0:00 / 1:02

“You're approaching the Wast Water shore at Overbeck, a good place to pause for the steep slopes and dark water that make Wasdale so striking.”

Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.

Hiking Yewbarrow Loop

The routeThis is a 4.1-mile loop from the National Trust Overbeck car park beside Over Beck.

This is a 4.1-mile loop from the National Trust Overbeck car park beside Over Beck. That is the complete loop, including the rough return below the crags. It is the shorter Overbeck route, not the longer approach from Wasdale Head through Mosedale. From the car park, the path climbs the south ridge toward Bell Rib and Great Door, reaches Yewbarrow's summit, then continues north toward Stirrup Crag before traversing below the crags to Dore Head and returning beside Over Beck.

What it feels likeThe distance is short, but the route earns its hard rating with about 592 metres of ascent.

The distance is short, but the route earns its hard rating with about 592 metres of ascent. Expect a steep pitched start, a short hands-on scramble in the Bell Rib and Great Door section, rocky and loose ground, and some boggy patches on the return. The route is usually clear enough in good visibility, but the high ground becomes much harder to follow in cloud. Allow about four hours for a normal outing with stops.

Dogs and accessDogs may use the public paths, but this is open grazing country with cattle and steep drops.

Dogs may use the public paths, but this is open grazing country with cattle and steep drops. Keep a dog close and under control, especially around the crags and on the return path. There is no dependable shelter on the high route, and any water found on the fell should not be treated as a reliable supply.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Lake District

All Lake District wildlife maps

81 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

13 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 6 AMSighting map

76 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map

51 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 8 PMSighting map

233 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting map

176 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.