White Mossy Hill

About White Mossy Hill

Rising above the Mallerstang valley near Kirkby Stephen, this high, rounded shoulder of Baugh Fell offers a true sense of Pennine isolation. Its terrain is exactly as the name suggests—broad peat-hags and damp grasses—rewarding the effort with a panoramic outlook across to the limestone scars of Wild Boar Fell.

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Did You Know?

• •The name follows a Northern English convention where 'Moss' refers to a peat bog or swampy moorland, while 'White' likely describes the pale, bleached appearance of the bent-grass that covers these high plateaus during the winter months.
• •This summit marks a significant point on the watershed between the River Eden, which drains north through Kirkby Stephen, and the River Rawthey, which flows towards the Irish Sea via the Lune.
• •From the summit, there are clear, unobstructed views across the deep trench of Mallerstang to the gritstone edges of High Seat and the dramatic eastern escarpment of Wild Boar Fell.
• •It forms part of the Baugh Fell massif, a vast gritstone-capped plateau that remains one of the loneliest and least-visited high points in the Yorkshire Dales.
• •The name serves as a remarkably honest piece of cartography; any walker expecting firm, dry ground will find their boots and their optimism tested in equal measure.