Bowscale Fell: Height, Walks and Northern Fells Views

Bowscale Fell brings together two familiar Northern Fells characters: broad, grassy upland and a sharply cut glacial hollow. Its 702m summit stands north of Blencathra, with Bowscale Tarn tucked beneath its northern crags. Walkers often include it alongside Bannerdale Crags, but the tarn gives it a strong identity of its own. This is a fell worth knowing beyond a tick on the Wainwright list.

A broad summit above two valleys

Bowscale Fell rises between the valley of the River Caldew to the north and the Mungrisdale side of the Northern Fells to the east. Its upper slopes are broad and largely grassy, but that gentle outline does not tell the whole story. Beneath the northern edge, the ground falls steeply into the corrie holding Bowscale Tarn. The contrast between open fell-top and enclosed tarn basin is its defining feature.

At 702m (2,303ft), Bowscale Fell ranks 87th among the 214 Wainwrights. Its summit grid reference is NY333305. Blencathra is a substantial presence to the south, while the outlook also takes in the neighbouring northern uplands and the lower country beyond the edge of the Lake District. Clear weather rewards time spent looking across the intervening ridges and valleys, rather than simply identifying distant summits.

Bowscale Tarn and its literary connection

Bowscale Tarn occupies a glacial corrie on the fell's northern side. Ice carved the hollow, leaving a steep-backed basin that feels quite different from the rounded ground above it. Seen from the tarn shore, the crags give Bowscale Fell a more imposing face than its grassy approaches might suggest.

The tarn was a recognised destination for visitors during the nineteenth century. It also has a literary association: William Wordsworth referred to the local legend of two immortal fish living in its waters. That story belongs to the tarn's folklore, not its natural history, but it remains one of the best-known details attached to Bowscale Fell. The combination of glacial landscape and an established place in Lakeland writing gives the tarn interest beyond its setting.

Bowscale Fell in the Northern Fells

Bowscale Fell appears in Book Five of Alfred Wainwright's series, The Northern Fells. It belongs to the group of uplands around Blencathra, with Bannerdale Crags and Mungrisdale Common nearby; Carrock Fell lies across the Caldew valley to the north. These relationships help explain its appeal as part of a longer fell day.

Mungrisdale is a familiar starting point for walks linking Bowscale Fell with Bannerdale Crags, while Bowscale provides access to the tarn side. The different approaches show contrasting aspects of the same fell: open ridges, valley slopes and the corrie beneath the summit. Dedicated route guides are the right place to compare distance, ascent and terrain before choosing a walk.

Where Bowscale Fell stands

Summit at grid reference NY333305 · open full map

The real Bowscale Fell

Walking Bowscale Fell

We make artwork, not route guides — these are the guides we'd point a friend to:

• Lake District Walk: Bowscale Fell - Mungrisdale (walklakes.co.uk)
• Bowscale Tarn & Bowscale Fell (thehikinghousehold.com)
• Bowscale Fell & Bannerdale Crags Walk (Wainwright) (weekendwalk.co.uk)

Weather on Bowscale Fell

Conditions estimated at summit height (702 m) via Open-Meteo. For a walker's forecast, use the Mountain Weather Information Service.

Bowscale Fell on your wall

A painting of Bowscale Fell can recall the open summit or the darker enclosure of the tarn beneath its crags. As a print or canvas at home, it offers a familiar point of return: a particular fell, and the memory of time spent there.

Own “Snowy Bowscale Fell and Stone Barn” — our painting of Bowscale Fell → or browse all Fells & Mountains artwork

Neighbouring Wainwrights in The Northern Fells

• Bannerdale Crags 684 m
• Blencathra 868 m
• Carrock Fell 662 m
• Mungrisdale Common 632 m

Part of our guide to all 214 Wainwrights — see the full index.