Sale Fell

Sale Fell

Route: Sale Fell

Area: North Western Lake District

Date of walk: 1st January 2022

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly 

Distance: 3.1 miles

Ascent: 800 feet

Weather: Mostly cloudy – blowing a gale on the tops

Standing at a height of 1,170 feet, Sale Fell is one of the lowest lakeland fells as classified by Wainwright, and is also one of the easiest to climb. This makes it a good choice for a walk during the short days of winter. Another bonus of the fell is that it is situated at the very edge of the Lake District and is therefore relatively quiet. Some of the more popular fells are best avoided during holiday periods such as this

We parked by St Margaret’s Church Wythop and followed the public footpath sign at the entrance gate. The path took us through the church grounds, and we exited them via a gate at the rear. 

The gentle climb started immediately and before long there were some good views of Bassenthwaite Lake. The path continued beside Wythop Woods, part of which has been felled along this section. We were keen to revisit Lothwaite and the ridge along it, as there are fabulous views from here, superior to those from Sale Fell itself. We followed the grassy path to Lothwaite and walked along the ridge towards the subsidiary hill of Rivings. The views across Bassenthwaite Lake and into the Lake District were good, but many of the fells were obscured by low cloud

We then continued up the grassy slopes, past Rivings, to the summit of Sale Fell. The Skiddaw fells are well seen from here, but nearby Lord’s Seat conceals most of the mountains of the interior.

It was blowing a gale on the top, and difficult to stand up straight, so without ado we started the easy descent, which continues in the same direction of travel, and followed a wide grassy path. This took us down the nose of the fell, where we joined a lower level path which took us back to the start of the walk – a perfect way to celebrate New Year’s Day

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The day before the walk, a red squirrel in the garden

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