Brae Fell

The Uldale Fells end to the north in Brae Fell, a big grassy shoulder of Great Sca Fell facing the Solway Firth. The name comes from a Scots word for a hillside. It rises only a little above the col behind it, so you are more likely to climb it as part of a round than on its own.

A minor road runs along the foot of the northern slopes, unfenced for much of its length, and you can start climbing almost anywhere along it. A faint path through the grass leads up to the top. The better known start is Longlands, where there is space for about four cars at the gate marked for the Cumbria Way. From there a loop goes over Longlands Fell and Lowthwaite Fell to Brae Fell and comes back down beside the deep ravine of Charleton Gill, about 7 km with 450 metres of climbing. Overwater, to the west, has easier parking and adds a stretch of lane.

It is grass and moss underfoot, with some tussocks and soft ground between the tops. There is no rock to speak of, but paths are faint, and Walk Lakes advises against the round in poor visibility.

A big cairn of boulders, with a windshelter, sits on the summit and can be seen from far off. Northwards the view crosses the Eden valley and the Solway to the Scottish hills, and you can count 27 Wainwrights from the top, Skiddaw and Grasmoor among them.

Old spoil heaps on the eastern side, above Roughton Gill, are left from lead mining in the 1800s.