Brae Fell is a

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of M ...

in the English

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

, situated north of Keswick it reaches a height of and is regarded as part of the

Caldbeck Caldbeck is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, historically within Cumberland, it is situated within the Lake District National Park. Part of the parish lies within the Skiddaw Group SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). T ...

Fells along with High Pike and Carrock Fell even though it has ridge links to the Uldale Fells. It forms part of the

Skiddaw Group SSSI Skiddaw Group SSSI is a site of special scientific interest in the Lake District High Fells, England. Its shape is approximately a rough circle centred near Great Calva, with an area of . The high ground creates a drainage divide, watershed betwe ...

, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

for its ecology and geology. The fell's name has Scottish overtones and translates from the Scots language as a hillside or slope. Its northern flanks face the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

country across the Eden Valley and

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

Topography

Brae Fell is large and grassy and is really an outlying part of Great Sca Fell being situated on that fell's northern ridge separated by a col with a height of approximately . With a height of less than 2000 feet and

prominence In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...

of around 16 metres it fails to be a fell of real importance.

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright Order of the British Empire, MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalking, fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial ...

gives it a chapter in his

Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells ''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells (the local word for hills and mountains) of the Lake District in northwest England. Written over a period of 13 years from 1952, they ...

, being less than complimentary, saying, ''“If all hills were like Brae Fell there would be far fewer fell walkers”''. It is best viewed from the low ground to the north where it shows off its full height. Brae Fell was mined in the nineteenth century for

Lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, the mine lies on its eastern slopes just above Roughton Gill and there are large spoil tips remaining to this day.

Ascents

Brae Fell is often climbed in conjunction with other fells in the area. A direct ascent of the fell is usually undertaken from the minor road that skirts the northern slopes, there is no fence so the climb can start anywhere along its length. There is a vague path amongst the grass which leads to the summit.

Summit

The top of the fell is strewn with a few boulders and there is a fair sized

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

which is a landmark for several kilometres around. The view from the summit is one of the finest in the

Northern Fells The Northern Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Including Skiddaw, they occupy a wide area to the north of Keswick. Smooth, sweeping slopes predominate, with a minimum of tarns or crags. Blencathra in ...

, with the panorama north taking in the Solway Firth, Scottish Borders and the northern

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

References

* A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, The Northern Fells, Alfred Wainwright * Complete Lakeland Fells, Bill Birkett, {{Northern Fells Fells of the Lake District Caldbeck