Hut Bookings by non-members and Kindred Club members
Non-members may only be booked in by a member.
Kindred Club members may book in but do so by emailing the hut warden – Email warden
Location
Birkness is the FRCC property, consisting of the Barn, Cottage and Coach House, in the Buttermere valley.
Hut Capacities and Facilities
All buildings have food storage and cooking facilities appropriate to their capacity:
Barn: There are 19 male beds, in 2 rooms and 14 female beds in 2 rooms. There are 2 male and 2 female washrooms (1 of each is equipped with a shower).
Coach House: The 3 bedrooms are all mixed. The small Bear Pit holds 2, the slightly larger bedroom which has an en-suite bathroom with shower sleeps 3 and the main dormitory sleeps 7. There is an additional washroom with a bath / shower.
Cottage: The 2 mixed bedrooms each sleep 4. There is a bathroom with bath / shower.
Lost Property
Small items are placed in the middle drawer in the chest of drawers under the signing in book.
Large items are left in the drying room.
Rubbish collection
A decision has recently been made to reduce the trade waste capacity at Birkness to one wheely bin at a saving of over £400 per year to the Club.
To make this work, we need the full cooperation and support from everyone visiting Birkness. May I remind members to take ALL recyclables home and send as little as possible to landfill.
Nearest Telephone/Mobile Connection
Mobile phone reception is poor to non-existent in Buttermere valley. The nearest public phone is behind The Buttermere Court Hotel in Buttermere village. The Buttermere Court also has a payphone.
Facilities in the area
The nearest shop is in Lorton (a small but useful shop, open 9 – 12 & 1.30 to 4.30 Mon, Tues, Fri and Sat, mornings only Wed & Thurs) about 6 miles down the valley. There are plenty of shops, including a Sainsbury supermarket, in Cockermouth (about 11 miles) and Keswick. Milk can sometimes be bought from Syke farm in Buttermere, where there is also an excellent ice-cream shop. The campsite shop in Braithwaite is also pretty good and opens long hours in summer.
There are two pubs in Buttermere, The Buttermere Court Hotel and The Bridge. These tend to close for up to two months in January and February. Both do meals. There is also a reasonable cafe during the daytime in summer.
From March to October, the little Honister Rambler bus (77/77A) does a circular route from Keswick via Portinscale over Honister, on to Lorton and back over Whinlatter. There are 4 buses each way during the day. Timetable here. Times may also be checked on the Traveline or Stage Coach websites.
Climbing and Walking
Buttermere is a valley somewhat hidden from the mainstream buzz of the Lakes with a few gems of crags. There are some easily reached crags (Yew Crags, Buckstone Howe), higher crags in fine positions (High Crag) and the high mountain crags in Birkness Combe (Eagle Crag and Grey Crag). For those days when only the coast has fair weather, St Bees Head is within easy reach.
Both Borrowdale and Newlands are a very short drive away and the Gable and Pillar crags are accessible with a longish hike.
History
The Birkness buildings, which were purchased in 1951, were once the cottage, barn and stables of the Hassness Estate. As with the earlier huts the purchase and conversion were financed by loans and donations from members and there was no electricity. However the barn and cottage were made ready for basic use and the two buildings were officially opened in June 1952.
The barn needed extensive conversion but the arrival of electricity in 1962 speeded up the work. The outside stairway, which was the only means of access to the upper floor was demolished and the doorway replaced by a window into the ladies’ dormitory. On the ground floor the space was divided to create an entrance hall with indoor access to the men’s washroom, a staircase to the dormitories, a drying room and a separate common room. The old black stove was replaced by a fireplace in the dividing wall.
The old stables continued to be used for storage but a derelict portion of the building above the stables was not used until much later when it was converted into a separate cottage. In keeping with the spirit of the property this was named the Coach House and was officially opened in November 1993.