Whinlatter (Brown How)

The Wainwright summit of this fell is Brown How, 517m, at the western end of the ridge, and not Whinlatter Top in the middle, which is 8m higher. Wainwright checked the summit with his own amateur survey and argued with the Ordnance Survey maps of his day about it, and modern OS maps have come round to his view. Brown How carries a large circular wind shelter and has the better outlook, so it makes a good end point anyway.

Start at the Whinlatter Forest visitor centre near the top of the pass, which has a pay and display car park. A bus also runs from Keswick. The parking place named in Wainwright's guide has been blocked off, and double yellow lines stop parking on the pass itself. From behind the centre, follow the green-marked trail up through the plantation to Horsebox Crossroads, go straight over and follow the forest track to a stile onto open fell. Follow the fence up, then a heather path along the ridge to the cairn on Whinlatter Top, and on through a gap in the wall to Brown How. Out and back is about 6.5km with 280m of ascent. You can also reach Brown How from Aiken Beck, starting at Scawgill Bridge on the western side of the pass.

The ridge is grass, heather and moss, with one sizeable bog just before Whinlatter Top. The only rock is on the flank facing the pass, and most of that is scree.

Lakeland views are limited to close-ups of Grisedale Pike and Hopegill Head across the pass and glimpses of the Helvellyn range and Skiddaw. The better view is north, over the Solway Firth to the Scottish hills.

The lower slopes are conifer plantation, and red squirrels live in the forest.