Lake District
Sleddale Forest
429M
1407FT
About Sleddale Forest
Tucked away above the quiet Wet Sleddale Reservoir, this high moorland expanse offers a rugged, solitary experience away from the tourist paths. Its peat-scarred plateau provides a raw perspective of the Far Eastern Fells, overlooking the remote Wasdale Pike and the long, rolling silhouettes of the Shap Fells.
Key Statistics
Rank
541st Highest in Region
Parent Range
Far Eastern Fells
Prominence
?
116m
Nearest Town
Sadgill
Geology
You are walking across the Bannisdale Formation, a landscape built from alternating layers of mudstone and siltstone.
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NY487015
Latitude
54.4071°N
Longitude
2.7910°W
Did You Know?
- •The name Sleddale derives from the Old Norse 'slétta', meaning flat or level, and 'dalr', for valley. The term 'Forest' refers to its medieval status as a royal hunting ground rather than a collection of trees.
- •The hill features in Alfred Wainwright’s 'The Outlying Fells of Lakeland' as part of the Sleddale Horseshoe, a circuit he praised for its peace and quietude compared to the busier central fells.
- •The eastern slopes overlook Sleddale Hall, the isolated farmhouse that gained cult fame as 'Crow Crag' in the 1987 film Withnail and I.
- •As a listed Synge summit, it is a point of interest for peak-baggers seeking the quieter, less-trodden heights of the Lake District's eastern fringe.
- •Labeling this terrain a forest is a piece of historical irony; a walker is significantly more likely to lose a boot in a bog than find a tree to shelter under.