Souther Fell

Souther Fell is usually climbed from Scales, just off the A66, where there is a small parking area above the hamlet. The X4 and X5 between Penrith and Keswick run along the A66 past Scales. A path climbs into Mousthwaite Comb, a neat hollow at the fell's southern end, and the steepest, roughest part of the day is the climb out of it to the col. From there the ridge runs north-east for about two miles towards Mungrisdale. A circuit that drops off the ridge before Mungrisdale and returns along the quiet gated road to Scales comes to about 8 km with 340 m of climbing.

From Mungrisdale there's parking opposite the village hall, where a donation is asked for. Wainwright's direct line across the fields behind the Mill Inn is not a right of way, so use the signed paths.

It is mostly grass, with a couple of soggy flat sections on the ridge. There is no scrambling. The western side is rougher, with scree above the River Glenderamackin, which almost circles the fell. Bannerdale Crags rise on the far bank.

The highest point is at the north-east end and is not much to look at: a small cairn on a flat bit of rock in the grass. The southern top, about 30 feet lower, has the better cairn. Nothing higher stands to the east, so the view to the Pennines is open, and to the west you look across to Blencathra, Great Gable and the Scafells.

The spectral army

At Midsummer in 1745, people watching from below said they saw troops, horsemen and carriages marching along the ridge for hours. Twenty-six witnesses later swore to it before a magistrate. When people went up to look, there were no footprints anywhere on the soft ground.