Lake District
Base Brown
646M
2119FT
About Base Brown
Base Brown is the bulky sentinel guarding the head of Borrowdale, often treated as a rugged precursor to Green Gable. The ascent from Seathwaite alongside the crashing Sour Milk Gill is steep and rocky, rewarding hikers with a unique perspective of the Glaramara range and the high fells.
Key Statistics
Rank
213th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Western Fells
Prominence
?
38m
Nearest Town
Seatoller
Geology
Base Brown is built from layers of felsic volcanic ash (tuff) known as the Crinkle and Long Top Tuff members.
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NY225114
Latitude
54.4926°N
Longitude
3.1978°W
Did You Know?
- •The fell’s eastern slopes are dominated by the spectacular Sour Milk Gill, a series of white-water cascades where the stream drops sharply from the hanging valley of Gillercomb into the main Borrowdale valley.
- •The name likely derives from the Old Norse word 'beit', meaning pasturage, combined with 'brown' to describe the characteristic color of the fell's vegetation during the winter months.
- •Just below the summit ridge lies the 'Hanging Stone,' a massive, perched boulder that has served as a prominent landmark for shepherds and climbers moving between the valley and the higher Gabel range for centuries.
- •The base of the fell at Seathwaite was once the site of the world's first commercial graphite mines, where 'wad' was extracted to create the very first pencils in the 16th century.
- •The direct ascent alongside Sour Milk Gill is effectively a natural Stairmaster of pitched stone and slippery rock that will have your calves questioning your life choices long before you reach the actual summit cairn.