Iron Band

Rising as a sprawling, grassy shoulder on the western flanks of Great Shunner Fell, this quiet Pennine summit offers a wilder perspective on the Swaledale landscape. The terrain is typical of the high fells, characterized by rough moorland and peat hags, rewarding those who stray from the nearby Pennine Way path.

• •The name likely originates from a prominent band of ironstone or iron-rich mineral outcropping on the hillside, a common occurrence in the mineral-rich geology of the North Pennines.
• •Positioned as a western satellite of Great Shunner Fell, it marks a transition point between the limestone-heavy Yorkshire Dales and the vast, gritstone-capped peat moors of the North Pennines.
• •The summit provides a clear sightline south across Garsdale to the towering limestone escarpments of Wild Boar Fell and the steep-sided valley of Mallerstang.
• •Though largely ignored by the crowds on the Pennine Way, the hill is an essential stop for walkers collecting 'Tumps', requiring a short, squelchy detour from the paved slabs of the national trail.
• •Despite the sturdy-sounding name, any iron found here is usually well-hidden beneath several feet of classic Pennine peat and sphagnum moss.