Swinklebank Crag [Ancrow Brow] [nameless (Bannisdale Horseshoe)]

About Swinklebank Crag [Ancrow Brow] [nameless (Bannisdale Horseshoe)]

Tucked away in the Far Eastern Fells, this broad, grassy high point is the apex of the Bannisdale Horseshoe. Lacking a name on many maps, it offers a sense of deep solitude and soft terrain, with an expansive, quiet outlook looking down the length of the remote valley of Bannisdale Beck.

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Did You Know?

• •While identified as Swinklebank Crag in the Database of British and Irish Hills, Alfred Wainwright famously left this summit nameless in his 'Outlying Fells of Lakeland', identifying it only by its elevation of 1,819 feet.
• •The name Swinklebank likely derives from the Old English 'swincan', meaning to toil or labour, a fitting description for the steep, craggy slopes that rise from the valley floor to the summit ridge.
• •The summit serves as a fantastic grandstand for viewing the Howgill Fells to the east, whose smooth, velvet-like ridges contrast sharply with the more rugged skyline of the Far Eastern Fells to the north.
• •The hill is often climbed as the midpoint of the 'Bannisdale Horseshoe', a long, quiet circuit that visits several minor tops including Whiteside Pike and White Howe without encountering the crowds found further west.
• •Identifying the true summit can be a test of patience; the top is so broad and gentle that you may find yourself wandering between several tufts of grass before being certain you have reached the highest point.