Alston Moor [Middle Fell]

Rising above the historic lead-mining village of Nenthead, this high North Pennine moorland offers a stark, windswept experience. The terrain is typical of the region's plateaus—a mix of peat and heather—providing wide-reaching views toward the Great Dun Fell radar station and the bulky mass of Cross Fell to the west.

• •The name Alston stems from the Old English 'Aldeneby', meaning Alden’s farmstead, while 'Middle Fell' describes its central location amidst the extensive upland grazing and mining tracts of the Alston Moor parish.
• •The surrounding landscape was once the domain of the London Lead Company; walkers can still spot 'hushings' on the hillsides—artificial gullies where miners used torrents of water to strip away soil and reveal lead ore veins.
• •On a clear day, the summit provides an uninterrupted perspective of the Cross Fell range, including the distinctive white radome on Great Dun Fell, which serves as a navigational beacon for miles across the Pennines.
• •Though categorized here alongside the Yorkshire Dales, the hill belongs to the North Pennines AONB, a landscape defined by 'Big Sky' vistas and some of the most remote peatland in the country.
• •Navigating the summit plateau often requires the nimbleness of a mountain goat to avoid the 'hags'—deep, wet peat trenches that can swallow a walking pole and a hiker’s dignity with equal ease.