Loch Fell

This substantial Donald in the Ettrick Hills offers a classic Southern Upland experience of broad, grassy ridges and occasional peat hags. Often climbed alongside Croft Head, its position near the Southern Upland Way provides a sense of remote isolation, with expansive views reaching across the Moffat Hills and towards the Solway Firth.

• •The name is a linguistic hybrid, combining the Gaelic 'loch' with the Old Norse 'fell', reflecting the layered cultural history of the Southern Uplands landscape.
• •It is most frequently climbed as part of a high-level horseshoe starting from the Selcoth Burn, usually in tandem with the craggier Croft Head and the broad dome of Windfell.
• •From the summit cairn, walkers earn a grand perspective of the Moffat Hills to the north, specifically the impressive eastern face of White Coomb across the deep trench of Blackhope.
• •The hill sits on a major Scottish watershed; rainfall on its western slopes eventually reaches the Solway Firth via the River Annan, while eastern drainage feeds the Ettrick Water on its journey to the North Sea.
• •Despite the name, the only 'loch' a hiker is likely to encounter on the summit plateau is the temporary, boot-deep variety found inside a particularly stubborn peat hag.