Forbidden: the Lake District’ s private Marilyn
Stan Abbott recounts a first ascent of the“ forbidden” Swinside Hill, a Marilyn he likes to call Mount Swinside …
Our Lake District home sits at the heart of the Newlands Valley, a relatively quiet corner, albeit only a couple of miles from the honeypot of Keswick.
From the front door I have a choice of three modest fells: Causey Pike, Barrow, and Catbells. Each one rewards the walker with panoramic views that bely its relatively modest height( Causey Pike is the tallest, at just a whisker over 2,000ft).
The ascents of Causey Pike and Catbells also offer scrambling options that allow you to imagine you are tackling something much bigger, and – in the case of Catbells
– this is just one feature that makes it among the most popular short climbs in the Lakes.
The entry to Newlands Valley, however, is guarded by a hill of rather more modest proportions, but somewhat more mystery. To the eye, Swinside Hill is unremarkable, being of less lofty proportions( 803 feet or 245 metres) and quite regular in shape. Its intrigue for me had always been that it is a“ private hill”, its enjoyment not available to the general public.
Unlike any of three aforementioned more senior peaks, Swinside just qualifies as a Marilyn: that’ s to say it rises more loftily above its surroundings than the others. The land falls steeply from its summit to the encircling road, at 120 metres above sea level, but then more slowly right down to the shores of Derwentwater, at 82 metres, and the boggy Newlands Valley floor, just a little higher, to its other flank.
Officially, it has a prominence of 151.9-metres. So, it’ s a Marilyn by a margin of no more than my own height! It is a club of which its slightly more distant and more loudly fêted neighbours, Skiddaw and Blencathra, are both members. Sadly, belonging in such austere company does not bring with it any automatic rights of access.
The” right to roam” in England, was granted as part of the 2000 Countryside and Rights of Way Act. However, the limitations of this legislation, when compared with Scotland or Scandinavia, are well known to the rambling community, and the particular exception of“ enclosed land” is the one that
renders Swinside Hill“ out of bounds”. It is enclosed for the purpose of rearing pheasant, partridge and other birds for shooting.
In this regard it seems quite unusual: while there are many areas upon which roaming is not permitted( reservoir catchments spring to mind), you can, seemingly, climb up most hills without judicial impediment, the most common exception being military ranges.
10 OUTDOOR FOCUS Autumn 2025