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.

• •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.