Lake District
Whatshaw Common
490M
1608FT
About Whatshaw Common
Tucked away in the quiet, eastern reaches of the Lake District near Shap, this expansive upland common offers a lonely, wild character. Primarily known as a Wainwright Outlying Fell, its broad, grassy slopes provide a sense of isolation far removed from the busier central fells of the national park.
Key Statistics
Rank
438th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Far Eastern Fells
Prominence
?
71
Nearest Town
Shap Rural
Geology
The ground beneath you belongs to the Coniston Group, a foundation built from layers of sand, silt, and mud that compressed into solid rock.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NY541061
Latitude
54.4491°N
Longitude
2.7079°W
Did You Know?
- •The name likely stems from the Old English 'sceaga', meaning a small wood or thicket, suggesting that these now-barren slopes may once have been more heavily wooded before the intensification of sheep grazing.
- •Alfred Wainwright included this fell in his final guide, 'The Outlying Fells of Lakeland', recommending a circular route from the Wet Sleddale Reservoir that takes in the solitude of the Mosedale valley.
- •From the summit, the view stretches across the wide valley of the River Lowther toward the distant, dark profile of the Pennines to the east, while the High Street range dominates the western horizon.
- •The common acts as a watershed between the Mosedale Beck to the west and the streams feeding the Wet Sleddale Reservoir, a site built in the 1960s to supply water to Manchester.
- •On a particularly misty day, the most prominent landmark is often the faint hum of the M6 motorway, providing a strange sense of scale to this otherwise desolate moorland.