Where is it? Chipping
In which area of outstanding natural beauty? The Forest of Bowland
How tall is it? 1,707 feet (approx)
Write Up
Here is the king of the group of Bleasdale Fells.
Of the group of fells collectively known as the Bleasedale Fells: Fair Snape, Parlick, Saddle, Wolf, Holme House, Burnslack and a few others, Fair Snape Fell is the heighest and widest. A peculiar optical illusion one experiences whilst walking close to the area is to believe that Parlick is the highest of the range, a glance at an ordnance survey proves to the contrary yet the eye’s beliefs persist.
Carrying on from the peat-hag-dominated Wolf Fell, Fair Snape Fell gets a little wilder. The small hillocks that have been created because of erosion are more evenly and more widely spread here and some extend to ten feet and more. This makes traversing the summit something of a thinking man’s hobby or pasttime rather than a thought-free afternoon’s stroll. If Saddle Fell left you feeling a little windswept and Wolf Fell coated your lower limbs in peat then Fair Snape will have you watching every footstep in spite of the fact that on a sunny weekend afternoon you will now be joined by strangers from above – see Parlick for details.
The terrain on the summit of this fell is something with which to frighten freshman fell-walkers. Here we have a mixture of the terrains present on the two previous fells (if this fell is ascended the traditional, anti-clockwise route from Wolfen Hall or Fell Foot) the sweeping grassiness of Saddle and the peatyness of Wolf with added rocks of varying types plus many small hillocks rising out of the red peat.
This fell should feature on the “Hill Bling” section of the site such are the decorations at the summit. Here we have one trigangulation point, one double sided and very effective wind shelter and two summit cairns – one of which is even listed on ordnance survey maps as “Paddy’s Pole”. Peak-baggers should drool, as not only (on the traditional route) four summits to add to the list but now at this fell there are three “tops”. The views are amazing! In one full, 360 degree circle, views of the southern lakes, the Yorkshire Dales, The Howgills, the West Pennines, the Pennines, the majestic Pendle Hill and the impressive stretch of Longridge Fell are all revealed.
Add to this the simply stunning Parlick less than one mile away and you almost have an embarrassment of visual riches to behold.
There, now, wasn’t that worth getting covered in peat, climbing almost 1,700 feet and nearly twisting both ankles for?
