Lake District
Hen Comb
506M
1660FT
About Hen Comb
Hen Comb is a quiet, rounded fell sitting south of Loweswater. It is often overlooked for its larger neighbors, but it offers a true sense of isolation. Getting there requires navigating notoriously sodden ground in Mosedale, making waterproof boots an absolute necessity even during dry spells.
Key Statistics
Rank
408th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Western Fells
Prominence
?
138.8
Nearest Town
Loweswater
Geology
The ground beneath you is the Kirk Stile Formation, a mix of mudstone and siltstone that forms the fell's base.
Classifications
Find It
Latitude
54.5508°N
Longitude
3.3433°W
Did You Know?
- •Hen Comb is the only fell in Alfred Wainwright’s Western Fells guide that is entirely detached from its neighbors, lacking any high-level ridge connection to the surrounding fells.
- •The name is derived from the Old English 'henn', likely referring to the red grouse, and 'cumb', describing the deep, bowl-shaped hollow on the fell's eastern flank.
- •The fell is composed of Skiddaw Slate, which accounts for its smooth, architectural profile and the relative absence of the rugged crags found further south in the range.
- •The Mosedale valley at its base contains an old 'coffin road,' a historic track once used to carry the dead from Ennerdale over the hills for burial at Loweswater.
- •The approach across Mosedale Beck is so consistently waterlogged that the walk is often described as a slow-motion amphibious assault rather than a standard mountain hike.