Troutbeck Tongue is a small fell 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 ...

, three miles (five kilometres) ENE of

Ambleside Ambleside is a town in the civil parish of Lakes and the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Westmorland and located in the Lake District National Park, the town sits at the ...

. It is one of 214 hills listed 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 '' Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells'', making it a popular attraction for walkers aiming to complete the "

Wainwrights Wainwrights are the 214 English peaks (known locally as '' fells'') described in Alfred Wainwright's seven-volume '' Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' (1955–66). They all lie within the boundary of the Lake District National Park in Cu ...

". Its moderate height and proximity to a main road mean it is a pleasant half-day excursion that can be done when the higher fells are in cloud.

Topography

Troutbeck Tongue branches off south-westward from the main

Ill Bell Ill Bell is a fell in the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria, standing on the narrow ridge between the valleys of Kentmere and Troutbeck. Topography To the north is Froswick, a strikingly similar lesser copy, while the adjoining ...

ridge, just north of Froswick. It separates

Trout Beck The Trout Beck is a fast flowing stream of the Lake District in North West England. It is one of the main sources of replenishment for Windermere, and is part of the River Leven, Cumbria, Leven catchment. Its name comes from Old Norse and appea ...

from Hagg Gill, its main upper tributary. These two streams almost reconverge behind the fell, the col connecting to Froswick being at only . This depression carries a number of ancient

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 ...

s at the base of the long grassy back-slope of the fell. The character of this side is in marked contrast to the southern tip of the fell, which drops steeply over rocky outcrops to Troutbeck Park.

Ascents

The fell is usually climbed from the village of Troutbeck on the

A592 road The A592 road is a major route running north–south through the English Lake District. The road connects Penrith and junction 40 of the M6 motorway), with Staveley at the southern tip of the lake, Windermere, which is skirted by the A59 ...

three miles (five kilometres) north of the town of

Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...

. From the village it is a pleasant walk to the base of the fell, following the course of the

along Ing Lane which leads to Troutbeck Park Farm. This 1,900 acre (7.7 km²) sheep farm was bought by the children's book author and illustrator

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

in 1923; it was in danger of development and so she decided to purchase it. When she died in 1943, she left the farm and its land to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, along with 13 other farms she owned in the Lake District. The ascent of the fell begins at the farm. It is quite a steep climb with several rocky outcrops and walls and fences to negotiate, but the modest height of the fell makes it a short ascent of less than 30 minutes. There is some evidence of quarrying near the top of the fell, and this is marked on the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

map.

Summit

The summit is grassy with views restricted by the surrounding higher fells. However, there is a good view due south down the Troutbeck valley with England's largest lake,

, well seen.

References

* * {{Far Eastern Fells Fells of the Lake District