5: The Northern Fells (Page Two)

1. The EASTERN FELLS
2. The FAR EASTERN
FELLS
3. The CENTRAL FELLS
4. The SOUTHERN FELLS
5. The NORTHERN FELLS
6. The NORTH WESTERN
FELLS
7. The WESTERN FELLS

Wainwright's Northern Fells

The Northern Fells • 2

THE FELLS IN THIS AREA:

BAKESTALL • BANNERDALE CRAGS • BINSEY • BLENCATHRA • BOWSCALE FELL • BRAE FELL • CARL SIDE • CARROCK FELL • DODD • GREAT CALVA • GREAT COCKUP • GREAT SCA FELL • HIGH PIKE • KNOTT • LATRIGG • LONG SIDE • LONGLANDS FELL • LONSCALE FELL • MEAL FELL • MUNGRISDALE COMMON • SKIDDAW • SKIDDAW LITTLE MAN • SOUTHER FELL • ULLOCK PIKE

BOWSCALE FELL
Height: 2305', (702m)
Grid Ref: NY 333304

The fell has one of only two significant tarns in the northern area. This is Bowscale Tarn, a fine corrie tarn set in a north-facing amphitheatre of crags which receive little direct sun, giving the place a wild, moody atmosphere. There is an old legend that the tarn contains two immortal trout which can apparently speak. Even people who believe in the Loch Ness Monster don't fall for this one, however.

In his Northern Fells guide, Wainwright claimed that Bowscale Fell possessed the easiest route to any summit over 2000' in Lakeland. This route follows an old bridle path from the village of Mungrisdale up the southern flank of a ridge called the Tongue. The path passes close to the summit, although the tarn isn't visited.

BRAE FELL
Height: 1919', (585m)
Grid Ref: NY 289352

Brae Fell is located at the northern end of a ridge which descends from Great Sca Fell, and though there is little reascent on this side, from other angles it has a well-defined form. Brae Fell is rarely visited - in fact, the large summit cairn looks exactly the same today as it did when Wainwright illustrated it forty years ago. Most of the fell is relatively uninteresting, its best feature being in the deep valley on its eastern slope. This is the ravine of Charleton Gill, and 'few fellwalkers will ever have seen the place', writes Wainwright. An unusual dog-leg turn in the ravine encloses a narrow ridge, known locally as Saddleback, producing a formation quite unlike any other in Lakeland (grid ref NY 278359 - not named on the map).

CARL SIDE
Height: 2447', (746m)
Grid Ref: NY 255281

CARROCK FELL
Height: 2174', (663m)
Grid Ref: NY 342336

With an Iron Age hill fort crowning the summit and its unique geology, Carrock Fell is the most interesting of the Northern Fells after Skiddaw and Blencathra. The underlying rock is mainly volcanic in origin, rather then the more prevalent slate that constitutes most of this region. Consequently, the fell offers the only significant rock climbing in the region north of Keswick, as slate is not well-suited to the activity. Amongst the rocks found is gabbro, a rough igneous rock found on much of the Cuillin ridge on Skye, and excellent to climb or scramble on. Due to its rich deposits of ores, the fell has been mined for many centuries. Tungsten, lead, arsenic and iron have all been mined here.

The summit is the site of the largest hill fort in Cumbria, though only the foundations of the original wall remain, the ground plan forming a large oval. The summit cairn is on a rock platform located at the western end of the fort.

The summit cairn on Carrock Fell

DODD
Height: 1647', (502m)
Grid reference: NY244274S

The summit of Dodd has changed a little since Wainwright's day - the trees are still there, but now there's a roughly hewn memorial stone, with the inscription:

IN MEMORY OF JOHN LOLE AND IAN SANDELANDS
1st SEATON SCOUT GROUP 1980

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The summit of Dodd

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