The Nab 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 ...

. It has a moderate height of , and lies in the quieter eastern high ground between

Ullswater Ullswater is a glacial lake in Cumbria, England and part of the Lake District National Park. It is the second largest lake in the region by both area and volume, after Windermere. The lake is about long, wide, and has a maximum depth of . I ...

and

Haweswater Reservoir Haweswater is a reservoir in the valley of Mardale, Cumbria in the Lake District, England. Work to raise the height of the original natural lake was started in 1929. It was controversially dammed after the UK Parliament passed a local act o ...

. The Nab is included in

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 ...

's list of Lakeland fells and many walkers feel compelled to climb it to complete their list of 'Wainwrights' even though it is not a significant fell and is awkward to reach.

Topography

The Nab is a top on the northern ridge of

Rest Dodd Rest Dodd is a fell in the England, English Lake District. It is situated in the quieter Far Eastern Fells, far eastern region of the national park and reaches a height of . Rest Dodd is a fell that is often by-passed by walkers as they travel th ...

, one of the horseshoe of fells surrounding the Martindale catchment. It divides the valleys of Bannerdale and Rampsgill, which meet below the nose of the ridge to form How Grain. The sides of the ridge are steep and rough, but the top is broad and level. It is scarred by

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

hags, some deeper than a man.

Access and history

When Alfred Wainwright wrote his pictorial guide to the Far Eastern Fells in the 1950s The Nab, as part of the Martindale Deer Forest was strictly out of bounds. He wrote in the chapter on The Nab: The Nab is open access under the

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), also known as the CRoW Act and "Right to Roam" Act, is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000. Right to roam The Act impleme ...

although this is part of the red deer conservation area and this fell is a sanctuary for the animals away from people. Walks here should be avoided particularly during the calving season between May and mid-June. Further advice should be sought from Dalemain Estate to see if walking is possible. Access to the summit is from Dalehead Farm and past Angle Tarn. It is not possible to go through the fields below to the north east of the fell. Anybody approaching from the north will see 'The Bungalow' in Martindale which was formerly a shooting lodge built in 1910 by the

Earl of Lonsdale Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 (becoming extinct in 1802), and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Lowth ...

for the visiting Kaiser Wilhelm and is now a holiday cottage available to rent. A report from the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

found that Martindale deer may be the only pure blooded Red Deer left in England as many herds become cross bred with genes from the

Sika Deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south t ...

Summit

The grassy dome of the summit is marked by a small

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 ...

. Although the view is obstructed by higher ground southward there is an end to end view of the

Helvellyn range The Helvellyn range is the name given to a part of the Eastern Fells in the English Lake District, "fell" being the local word for "hill". The name comes from Helvellyn, the highest summit of the group. The Helvellyn range forms a ridge exte ...

above

Angletarn Pikes Angletarn Pikes is a fell in the England, English Lake District near the village of Patterdale. Its most notable feature is Angle Tarn (Patterdale), Angle Tarn from which it derives its name. Topography Angletarn Pikes stands on the western arm ...

.Wainwright, A:''

A 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 ...

, Book 2'':

Ascents

The route from Martindale to the summit follows a well engineered stalkers path which zig-zags up the fell and avoids any difficulties by-passing the crags of Nab End just below the summit. Most walkers who reach the summit of The Nab do not risk the wrath of the Dalemain Estate and avoid Martindale altogether, attaining the highest point by approaching and leaving along the boggy ridge which links with the neighbouring fell of

. This route has the added attraction of seeing the herds of

Red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

on the open fell. The best starting point for this uncontroversial ascent of The Nab is

Hartsop Hartsop is a small village in the English Lake District. It lies in the Patterdale valley, near Brothers Water, Hayeswater and Kirkstone Pass. It consists of 17th-century grey stone cottages, like so many of its neighbours. Hartsop retains it ...

village in

Patterdale Patterdale (Saint Patrick's Dale) is a small village and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It is in the eastern part of the Lake District, and the name is also used for the long valley in which the villa ...

, just off the A592 main road, where there is a large car park; this circular walk also takes in the 'Wainwright fells' of

Brock Crags Brock Crags is a fell in the English Lake District, standing above Hartsop in the Far Eastern Fells. It forms part of the perimeter of Martindale, lying on the long ridge from Rampsgill Head to Place Fell. Location of summit Wainwright g ...

and

before descending back to Hartsop.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nab, The Fells of the Lake District Martindale, Cumbria