Ling Fell is a small hill in the north west of the

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 ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is close to the village of Wythop Mill, from where it can easily be climbed. The fell is shaped like a wide dome, with no particular dangers. Its name derives from the fact that it is largely covered in heather, also known as "ling". The summit has good views of the town of

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...

Topography

The

North Western Fells The North Western Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Including such favourites as Catbells and Grisedale Pike, they occupy an oval area beneath the Buttermere and Borrowdale valley systems. The North Western Fells are chara ...

occupy the area between the rivers Derwent and Cocker, a broadly oval swathe of hilly country, elongated on a north-south axis. Two roads cross from east to west, dividing the fells into three convenient groups. The most northerly sector, rising between

Whinlatter Pass The Whinlatter Pass is a mountain pass in the English Lake District. It is located on the B5292 road linking Braithwaite, to the west of Keswick, with High Lorton to the south of Cockermouth. To the north the pass is flanked by Whinlatte ...

and the Vale of Embleton, includes Ling Fell. Ling Fell and its near twin companion to the east,

Sale Fell Sale Fell is a small hill near Cockermouth in the English Lake District. It is one of the smallest Wainwrights, but is nevertheless popular with locals, as it offers gentle walking and lovely views across Bassenthwaite Lake to Skiddaw. Topog ...

, are the final hills with any lakeland character in the north west of the district. Continuing northward across the Vale of Embleton is a final group of very low tops on either side of the Derwent Valley which are ignored by most guidebooks and hill lists.

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 ...

: ''

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 6, The North Western Fells'': Westmorland Gazette (1964): Bill Birkett: ''Complete Lakeland Fells'': Collins Willow (1994): Guidebook writer

devoted a chapter to Ling Fell in his influential ''

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 ...

''. He described it as "an isolated rounded hill...its unattractive appearance on all sides being accentuated by a dark covering of heather that makes it look gloomy and sulky even on the sunniest of days." To the south of Ling Fell is the morass of Wythop Moss, and beyond this is a ridge of fells running east to west. These are

Lord's Seat Lord's Seat is a fell in the English Lake District. It is the highest of the group of hills north of Whinlatter Pass in the North Western Fells. The slopes of Lord's Seat are extensively forested. Topography The North Western Fells occupy the ...

Broom Fell Broom Fell is a small hill in the English Lake District. It lies on a ridge connecting Lord's Seat and Graystones, but is rarely climbed. Alfred Wainwright did however accord it the status of a separate fell in his influential guidebook series, ...

and

Graystones Graystones is a fell in the English Lake District. It lies in the North Western Fells region and is one of the peaks on the ridge which encircles the valley of Aiken Beck. Name According to Alfred Wainwright the name Graystones properly ref ...

and they block all drainage in this direction. The basin of Wythop Moss therefore empties slowly via Tom Rudd Beck around the western flanks of Ling Fell. Ling Fell and Sale Fell, despite standing side by side, have no topographical connection. Ling Fell's 'parent' is Broom Fell, while Sale Fell is an outlier of Lord's Seat. They are separated by the stream of Wythop Beck which drains a catchment to the east. The two fells act as portals to this shy valley as it descends into the Vale of Embleton. Ling Fell has no forestry, and the remains of grouse butts demonstrate its former use for country sports.

Geology

The mound of Ling Fell is predominantly composed of

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

rocks of the Loweswater Formation. This consists of

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

turbidities. The southern flanks are of the laminated

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

and

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...

of the Kirk Stile Formation. There is also a small intrusion of

dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...

on the northern side.British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 29'': BGS (1999)

Summit

The summit of the fell is smooth and rounded, the highest point marked by an

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 ...

triangulation In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...

column. The view southwards is cut off by the higher Broom Fell, although the

Skiddaw Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its summit is the sixth-highest in England. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the ...

and

Grasmoor Grasmoor is a mountain in the north-western part of the Lake District, northern England. It is the highest peak in a group of hills between the villages of Lorton, Braithwaite and Buttermere, and overlooks Crummock Water. Grasmoor is distingui ...

fells are well seen. The best of the panorama is northwards to the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in ...

and the hills of

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or i ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Ascents

The village of Wythop Mill is nearby to the north. From here the road can be followed up the narrow wooded valley between Ling and Sale Fell. Half a mile up, a good path breaks right onto the slopes of Ling Fell. After taking a contouring course around the northern flanks of the fell a direct line can be taken to the summit.

References

External links

Lake District Fells entry - including photos
{{North Western Fells Fells of the Lake District