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The Great Britain Guide

Mountains & hills · Scottish Lowlands

Barf

Free admission

Barf — Named summit at 469 m.

Barf, mountains & hills in Scottish Lowlands

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
3 h–8 h
Best time of year
Late spring – early autumn (May–Oct)
  • Free entry
  • Dog-friendly

About

Barf is a named summit in the United Kingdom. Wikidata describes it as: "Named summit at 469 m.". Coordinates: 54.6296°, -3.2181°.

Photo gallery

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Bassenthwaite Lake SSSI
  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: River Derwent and Tributaries SSSI
  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Barf and Thornthwaite SSSI
  • National Nature Reserve: BASSENTHWAITE LAKE

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

Barf is a fell in the north-western Lake District in Cumbria, UK. It stands on the south-western shore of Bassenthwaite Lake. Barf is well known for a whitewashed pillar of rock on the lower slopes, the so-called "Bishop's Rock" or "Bishop of Barf". The name is thought to be a derivative of "burgh".

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

Description

On a rocky site at 700 ft and clearly visible from the Cockermouth to Keswick road, is the "Bishop of Barf", a white painted stone marking the spot where, according to local legend, the Bishop of Derry was killed falling from his horse in 1783, after drunkenly betting he could ride up the hill. Both the Bishop and his horse are said to be buried near a smaller stone, the Clerk, at the base of the hill. Sadly, the story, although imaginative, forgets that the Bishop of Derry of the time died 20 years later in Italy. However, this Bishop's colourful life no doubt inspired a tale capable of capturing the imagination. The stone was whitewashed each year by staff at the nearby Swan Hotel, until…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
54.6296, -3.2181
District
Cumberland
Parish
Above Derwent
Postcode
CA12 5SJ
Parliamentary constituency
Penrith and Solway

Sources

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Nearby

More mountains in this region

Frequently asked questions

Where is Barf?
Barf is in the Scottish Lowlands, United Kingdom (postcode CA12 5SJ), in the parish of Above Derwent.
Is Barf a protected site?
Yes — Barf is part of the Bassenthwaite Lake SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the River Derwent and Tributaries SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Is Barf free to visit?
Yes, Barf is free to enter.
How do I get to Barf?
Drivers can navigate to postcode CA12 5SJ. It sits within the Penrith and Solway parliamentary constituency.