The Shap fells



If one examines a large scale map of England it seems that there is a large gap between the Yorkshire dales and the lake district. Indeed there is one between the national parks.

On the ground however the hills are, near the howgill fells, only separated by the narrow valley of the Lune through which both the motorway and railway pass. The hills which nearly link the two parks are often known as the Shap fells.

For some reason the valleys within the area often share names with much better known lake district valleys and include both a Borrowdale and a Wasdale. Other valleys include Swindale and Wet Sleddale.

In a nutshell the area contains outlying valleys and fells from the lake district which were not included within the national park. While the area is not spectacular the fells are gently rocky and offer good views of the howgills and into the lake district. Finally some of the valleys such as (little) Borrowdale above are truly pretty.

However with the twin attractions of the Lake District and Yorkshire dales so near the area seems likely to remain very quiet. It thus represents a good choice for a fairly gentle walk on a bank holiday.