The rugged profiles of Whinlatter rolling away as captured from the slopes of Graystones

Whinlatter

Height525m (1,722ft)

Prominence58m (190ft)

RegionNorth Western Fells

Climbed1 Time

Whinlatter rises as a small but characterful fell situated immediately north of the Whinlatter Pass. The mountain's etymology traces back through a fascinating linguistic hybrid of Old Norse and Gaelic elements: combining the Old Norse word 'hvin' (meaning gorse or furze) with the Gaelic word 'lettir' (signifying a slope), the title translates directly as "The Gorse or furze-covered slope". Along the lower southern flanks of the fell lies the Whinlatter Visitor's Centre, a widely popular outdoor destination owned and maintained by the Forestry Commission, which provides a gateway into the extensive conifer forest trails below.

"Whinlatter the Fell, a lonely sheep pasture, is known to few. The abrupt heathery slopes, streaked with long tongues of scree, form an effective northern wall to the Whinlatter pass, and there is little in this rough and forbidding declivity to suggest the pleasant heights above". — Wainwright 1957, Book Two

The mountain preserves an intriguing spot in cartographic history. Throughout the mid-20th century, official Ordnance Survey maps consistently marked the neighbouring top of Brown How as the absolute summit. Alfred Wainwright discussed this anomaly at considerable length in his guides, utilising his own meticulous amateur surveying methods to argue that the mapmakers were incorrect. Modern iterations of the Ordnance Survey maps have ultimately conceded the argument, officially updating their registers to mark Whinlatter Top as the true, definitive high point of the fell, crowned by a simple stone cairn.

The quiet, rocky high point cairn marking the true summit crest at Whinlatter Top

Trip Reports

A Whinlatter Round05/10/2014

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