The Furness Fells are a multitude of hills and mountains in the

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...

region of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

part of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the Furness Fells or High Furness is the name given to the upland part of Furness, that is, that part of Furness lying north of the line between

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...

and Ireleth. The hills lie largely within the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

. The term ''Furness Fells'' is also sometimes used as a synonym with ''Coniston Fells'', perhaps partly as a result of the placing of the words "Furness Fells" on some

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

1:250 000 maps. The Coniston Fells properly form only part of the Furness Fells, albeit with all the highest mountains; other

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 o ...

s in Furness are of lower altitude. The Coniston Fells form part of the

Southern Fells Image:Annotated Scafell range.jpg, 300px, The Scafells rect 23 372 252 419 Slight Side, Slight Side (762 m) rect 173 794 560 834 Sca Fell, Scafell East Buttress rect 707 787 893 861 Esk Pike, Esk Pike or Crag (885 m) rect 245 303 409 358 Sca Fe ...

of the Lake District as defined by

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

Coniston Fells

The Coniston Fells are separated from the

Scafell Scafell ( or ; also spelled Sca Fell, previously Scawfell) is a mountain in the English Lake District, part of the Southern Fells. Its height of makes it the second-highest mountain in England after its neighbour Scafell Pike, from which i ...

and

Bowfell Bowfell (named ''Bow Fell'' on Ordnance Survey maps) is a pyramid-shaped mountain lying at the heart of the English Lake District, in the Southern Fells area. It is the sixth-highest mountain in the Lake District and one of the most popular ...

massif to their north by

Wrynose Pass The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale. Etymology The unusual name of the pass is taken from that of the adjacent Wrynose hill, also called W ...

, and are surrounded on all other sides by lower ground.

Coniston Old Man The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the Furness Fells in the Cumbria, English Lake District and is the highest point (county top) of the historic county of Lancashire. It is at least high, and lies to the west of the village of Coniston and t ...

, the highest summit in the group, is the farthest south 2000-foot summit in the Lake District (using a 30-metre

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

criterion to determine what a summit is). The tops of the Coniston Fells may be climbed from many points, including the village of Coniston at their base, or from Seathwaite in the Duddon Valley, or from Wrynose Pass.

Seathwaite Tarn Seathwaite Tarn is a reservoir in the Furness Fells within the English Lake District. It is located to the south of Grey Friar and to the west of Brim Fell (on the ridge between The Old Man of Coniston and Swirl How) and north east of the vil ...

above the Duddon is the third-largest tarn in the Lake District; Levers Water, Low Water, Goat's Water and Blind Tarn are also located in the Coniston Fells group.

Coniston Fells Summits

, 803m *

Swirl How Swirl How is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands between Coniston and the Duddon Valley in the southern part of the District. It rivals the Old Man of Coniston as the highest point within the traditional County Palatine of Lancashir ...

, 802m *

Dow Crag Dow Crag is a fell in the English Lake District near Coniston, Cumbria. The eastern face is one of the many rock faces in the Lake District used for rock climbing. The name Dow Crag originally applied specifically to the eastern face which l ...

, 778m *

Grey Friar Grey Friar is a fell in the English Lake District, it is one of the Coniston Fells and is situated 13 kilometres west-south-west of Ambleside. It reaches a height of 770 metres (2,526 feet) and stands to the north west of the other Coniston Fel ...

, 773m *

Wetherlam Wetherlam (763 m) is a mountain in the English Lake District. It is the most northerly of the Coniston Fells, the range of fells to the north-west of Coniston village; its north-east slopes descend to Little Langdale. Topography Wetherlam ...

, 763m * Black Sails, 745m *

Great Intake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, 489m. These summits all have more than 30 metres of

(a commonly used criterion for being a separate summit).

included three more tops:

Great Carrs Great Carrs is a fell in the England, English Lake District. It stands above Wrynose Pass in the Southern Fells, southern part of the District. Topography The Coniston (or Furness) Fells form the watershed between Coniston Water and the Duddon ...

Brim Fell Brim Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands to the west of Coniston village in the southern part of the District. Topography The Coniston (or Furness) Fells form the watershed between Coniston Water and the Duddon valley to t ...

and

Walna Scar Walna Scar is a hill in the English Lake District, lying just south of a pass of the same name in the Coniston Hills. Its summit at is only slightly higher than the pass. Walna Scar is the highest of Wainwright's '' The Outlying Fells of Lak ...

, and included mention of White Maiden and White Pike. South of White Pike there is a significant loss of altitude before the Dunnerdale Fells, which therefore while forming part of the Furness Fells may be said to be distinct from the Coniston Fells.

References

* ''The Lancashire Gazetteer'' (1808), Joseph Aston * ''Nuns fret not...'' (1807), a sonnet by William Wordsworth Fells of the Lake District Furness South Lakeland District {{Cumbria-geo-stub