Mickle Fell is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

in the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Common ...

, the range of

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

s and

moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinc ...

running down the middle of

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...

. It has a maximum elevation of . It lies slightly off the main

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of the Pennines, about south of Cross Fell. After Cross Fell, Mickle Fell is the highest Marilyn within the

North Pennines The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north–south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley and ...

designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It is the highest point within the historic county of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. It is part of southern Teesdale, which was transferred from the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

for administrative and ceremonial purposes under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

(taking effect in 1974). It is thus also the highest point within the current unitary council area of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. The highest point in historic County Durham is Burnhope Seat between Teesdale and Weardale. The name of Mickle Fell comes from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

word ''mikill'' meaning great and ''fell'' (or ''fjall'') meaning mountain or hill. The fell lies in the middle of a large area of boggy moorland and requires a long

hike Hike may refer to: * Hiking, walking lengthy distances in the countryside or wilderness * Hiking (sailing), moving a sailor's body weight as far to windward (upwind) as possible, in order to counteract the force of the wind pushing sideways again ...

to get to it from any direction. Mickle Fell's distinctive outline makes it a recognisable object in views from 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 ...

hills, particularly Blencathra, the Helvellyn range, and High Street. South of Mickle Fell the ridge descends to the

Stainmore Gap Stainmore is a remote geographic area in the Pennines on the border of Cumbria, County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name is used for a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, including the villages of North Stainmore and ...

before rising again into the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York w ...

. Mickle Fell and surrounding moorland forms part of the Warcop Training Area, a

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

firing range. As a result, public access to the fell is limited and it is not visited by hillwalkers as often as other well-known summits in Yorkshire, despite its importance. It can be ascended from the Eden Valley to the west, or from Teesdale to the east. Marilyns are rare in the North Pennines because of the relative flatness of the moors, but Mickle Fell is one such hill: it is separated from its neighbours by over 200 m of

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 conto ...

Access

Mickle Fell and surrounding moorland forms part of the Warcop Training Area, a

firing range. As a result, public access to the fell is limited and it is not visited by hillwalkers as often as other well-known summits, despite its importance. It can be ascended from the Eden Valley to the west, or from Teesdale to the east.

View

John Marius Wilson wrote of Mickle Fell in the 1870s that it "commands a very extensive view". It is possible to see the

Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (howe ...

in Lancashire, the Lakeland Fells including

Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif. Scafell P ...

and even the

Galloway Hills The Galloway Hills are part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland, and form the northern boundary of western Galloway. They lie within the bounds of the Galloway Forest Park, an area of some of largely uninhabited wild land, managed by Forestry an ...

. The longest possible line of sight from Mickle Fell is to Carnedd Llewelyn in Wales, 123 miles away.

References

{{Marilyns N Eng Marilyns of England Hewitts of England Mountains and hills of the Pennines Mountains and hills of County Durham Nuttalls Mountains and hills of Yorkshire Highest points of English counties