Harwood Common

About Harwood Common

Rising above the B6277 on the wild fringes of the North Pennines, this high, sprawling plateau offers a sense of immense isolation. Classified as a Nuttall, its peat-covered slopes provide a rugged, untamed experience for walkers seeking the solitude of the Eastern Fells far from the busier Lakeland peaks nearby.

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Did You Know?

• •The name likely derives from the Old English 'hara' meaning hare and 'wudu' meaning wood, suggesting that these high moorlands once supported scrub or forest at lower elevations where mountain hares are still frequently spotted.
• •The summit provides a clear, industrial-tinged view of the white radar dome on Great Dun Fell to the west, contrasted against the massive, dark silhouette of Cross Fell, the highest point in the Pennines.
• •This area was historically significant for lead mining; while the high plateau is desolate, the surrounding valleys are marked by 'hushes'—man-made scars where water was used to wash away soil and reveal mineral veins.
• •Harwood Common is often traversed as part of a long, boggy circuit including Burnhope Seat, crossing the high watershed that divides the headwaters of the River Tees from the River Wear.
• •Navigating this terrain in mist is a fine art, as the rounded, featureless nature of the slopes ensures that every direction looks remarkably similar to the one you have just decided to leave.