Skelfhill Fell

Rising above Teviotdale in the Roxburgh hills, Skelfhill Fell offers a classic Borders walking experience of steep, grassy slopes and wide horizons. While less famous than its jagged neighbour, Skelfhill Pen, the summit provides a clear perspective over the remote headwaters of the River Teviot and across to the rounded bulk of Cauldcleuch Head.

• •The name likely derives from the Old English 'scelf', meaning a shelf or ledge, describing the terraced appearance of the slopes in this part of the Teviot valley.
• •The hill sits in the historic heartland of the Border Reivers; the farm of Skelfhill at its foot was once a strategic holding in a landscape defined by 16th-century clan rivalries.
• •It is frequently paired with the nearby Skelfhill Pen, a lower but more distinctive rocky outcrop that provides a sharp contrast to the Fell’s broad, grassy dome.
• •The summit offers a clear view south towards the Anglo-Scottish border, where the skyline is dominated by the sprawling forests and high ridges leading toward Kielder.
• •It is the kind of solitary height where the local Cheviot sheep usually outnumber the hillwalkers by at least a hundred to one.