Sour Howes: 483m Height, Walks and Windermere Views

Sour Howes is a grassy fell above Troutbeck, close to the southern end of the Far Eastern Fells. At 483m, it offers a different sort of outing from the high ridges farther north: rounded ground, an open outlook towards Windermere and a natural connection with neighbouring Sallows. Its appeal lies less in a dramatic summit than in the meeting of working farmland and open fell.

A rounded fell above Troutbeck

Sour Howes rises east of the Troutbeck valley, with Sallows to the north-east and Windermere opening out to the south-west. Its upper ground is grassy and uneven, broken into rounded knolls rather than gathered into a sharp peak. That modest outline is part of its character: this is a fell to appreciate for its position and outlook, not for a towering crag or a knife-edge ridge.

The summit reaches 483m, or 1,585ft, at grid reference NY427032. Views take in Windermere and the surrounding southern Lakeland landscape, with higher fells forming the more distant skyline. The contrast between the settled valley below and the open slopes above gives Sour Howes a clear sense of place. It stands on the gentler fringe of the district, but remains firmly part of its fell country.

Its place among the Far Eastern Fells

Sour Howes appears in Alfred Wainwright’s second volume, The Far Eastern Fells, and ranks 179th by height among the 214 Wainwrights. It belongs to the lower southern ground of a region that extends northwards to much higher summits. Its inclusion is a useful reminder that the Wainwrights encompass rounded outliers as well as the district’s best-known mountain tops.

Sallows is its closest companion in walking terms, and the two are commonly combined in one outing. Beyond Sallows, Garburn Pass separates this lower ground from the rising ridge towards Yoke and the higher western side of the Kentmere Horseshoe. Troutbeck Tongue and Baystones are other neighbouring Wainwrights, though they occupy separate ground around the Troutbeck valley rather than forming a single continuous ridge with Sour Howes.

Walks and the appeal of the lower fells

Walks taking in Sour Howes commonly begin in the Troutbeck area and include Sallows. The pairing offers a compact introduction to this corner of the Far Eastern Fells without committing to the full Kentmere Horseshoe. Its lower height should not be confused with sheltered conditions: the open upper slopes are exposed to wind, and poor visibility can make rounded terrain less straightforward to read.

Sour Howes is not chiefly known for a famous scramble or a distinctive summit monument. Its interest is quieter and more geographical: a view over Windermere, the shape of Troutbeck below, and the transition towards the higher Far Eastern ridges.

Where Sour Howes stands

Summit at grid reference NY427032 · open full map

The real Sour Howes

Walking Sour Howes

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

• Sour Howes & Sallows circular walk (thewalkingdiary.co.uk)
• Sour Howes (ramblingman.org.uk)
• Sallows and Sour Howes (treksandtors.co)

Weather on Sour Howes

Conditions estimated at summit height (483 m) via Open-Meteo. For a walker's forecast, use the Mountain Weather Information Service.

Sour Howes on your wall

A print of Sour Howes can bring home something of those lower fell days: grass underfoot, Windermere in the distance and higher ridges beyond. On paper or canvas, its rounded outline offers a familiar connection to Troutbeck and a landscape worth returning to.

Own “Sunlit Ridge on Sour Howes” — our painting of Sour Howes → or browse all Fells & Mountains artwork

Neighbouring Wainwrights in The Far Eastern Fells

• Sallows 516 m
• Troutbeck Tongue 364 m
• Yoke 707 m
• Baystones 487 m

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