Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit)

About Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit)

Rising above the western shores of Ullswater, this fell is a delightful mix of wooded glades, craggy outcrops, and open moorland. While most visitors congregate at Aira Force below, the summit offers a peaceful, heather-clad escape with some of the finest views of the lake's middle reach and the high Eastern Fells.

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Did You Know?

• •The name is likely derived from the Old Norse 'gol' (meaning a gust of wind) and 'berg' (a hill or rock), a fitting description for a fell that stands somewhat isolated and exposed above the lake.
• •In 1906, Gowbarrow became one of the first major land acquisitions by the National Trust in the Lake District, purchased following a public appeal to save the area from potential villa development and to preserve public access to the nearby waterfalls.
• •Alfred Wainwright held the fell in high regard, noting that while it lacks great height, its intricate terrain makes it feel much larger than it is; he famously described the lower slopes as 'an arboretum on a grand scale.'
• •The summit provides a celebrated perspective of Ullswater's 'middle reach,' where the lake bends sharply; from here, you can trace the water towards the rugged silhouettes of Saint Sunday Crag and the Helvellyn range.
• •For centuries the fell was an enclosed deer park belonging to the Greystoke estate, and a small herd of dark-coated fallow deer—descendants of the original medieval stock—can still occasionally be seen grazing the eastern slopes.
• •Most visitors spend their entire trip huddled around the base of Aira Force taking photos of the waterfall; by walking twenty minutes further uphill, you effectively trade several hundred tourists for several hundred acres of quiet heather.