Black Combe

About Black Combe

Standing in isolation on the edge of the Irish Sea, this massive fell offers a sense of scale rarely found in the central Lake District. Its broad, grassy slopes rise steeply from Whicham, leading to a summit where the transition from Cumbrian coastline to high mountain peaks is stark and immediate.

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Did You Know?

• •The name derives from the dark, brooding glacial corrie—or 'combe'—on its eastern face. This hollow sits in stark contrast to the neighbouring, lighter-coloured Whitecombe, giving the fell its distinctive appearance when viewed from the Duddon Estuary.
• •William Wordsworth was a noted admirer, famously claiming that the summit provided the 'amplest range of unobstructed prospect' in Britain. On exceptionally clear days, the panorama spans four kingdoms, stretching from the Isle of Man and the Galloway hills in Scotland to the peaks of Snowdonia in Wales.
• •In the early 19th century, the hill served as a vital station for the Ordnance Survey’s Principal Triangulation of Britain. Surveyors used the clear sightlines to connect the Cumbrian fells with survey stations as far afield as North Wales and the Isle of Man.
• •The fell’s eastern flanks are home to the Swinside stone circle, also known as Sunken Kirk. It is one of the finest Neolithic monuments in Western Europe, featuring over 50 stones arranged in a near-perfect circle tucked into the shadows of the fell.
• •Due to its position right on the coast, Black Combe is often the first thing the Irish Sea weather hits; it is the only place in the Lake District where you can realistically expect to get a tan and hypothermia on the same afternoon.
• •Alfred Wainwright included the fell in his Outlying Fells guide, praising its unique perspective. From the summit, the 'landward' view includes a rare lineup of the four 3,000ft peaks of the Lakes: Scafell Pike, Scafell, Helvellyn, and Skiddaw.