North Pennines
Swarth Fell
681M
2234FT
About Swarth Fell
Sitting as the high point of the expansive Baugh Fell plateau, this broad, peat-crested dome offers a solitary alternative to the busier Dales peaks. Its grassy slopes lead to a vast, exposed summit where the views are dominated by the velvet-like ridges of the Howgill Fells across the Rawthey Valley.
Key Statistics
Rank
31st Highest in Region
Parent Range
Yorkshire Dales
Prominence
?
80m
Nearest Town
Westmorland and Furness
Geology
You are trekking across layers of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. These hardy rocks form the rugged gritstone foundation that makes up the bulk of Swarth Fell.
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SD755966
Latitude
54.3643°N
Longitude
2.3786°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is rooted in the Old Norse 'svartr', meaning dark or black, which describes the sombre appearance of the deep peat hags and heather that mantle the summit area.
- •Standing on the summit provides an unobstructed view across the deep trench of the Rawthey Valley to the western Howgill Fells, with the distinctive flat top of Wild Boar Fell visible to the north.
- •While the hill was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, administrative changes in 1974 moved it into Cumbria, though it remains firmly within the boundaries of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
- •The ascent is a study in Pennine moorland, characterized by 'shake holes'—natural depressions in the limestone—and the West Baugh Fell Tarns, which sit tucked into the plateau just west of the main summit.
- •On a misty day, the features of the plateau are so uniform that the only reliable way to know you have reached the top is the sudden realization that every direction now leads downhill into a bog.