About Maiden Moor

Maiden Moor is a fell in the English Lake District standing 6 km (3.7 miles) south of the town of Keswick and is part of the high ground that separates the Newlands Valley and Borrowdale

It has a modest height of 576 m (1,890 ft) and so fails to be mentioned on many UK mountain lists but it does have a separate chapter in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells.

The fell's main natural features are Bull Crag which lies below the summit on the Newlands side and the hollow of Yewthwaite Combe which stands beneath the col linking the fell with Catbells on the Newlands side.

There is no easy way of discerning the exact highest point as the top is a level grassy plateau but there are excellent views across the Newlands valley to the Coledale fells and beyond.

Maiden Moor stands between two well known fells (Catbells and High Spy) and is part of the popular Newlands Horseshoe walk, so it is often approached along the ridge from other fells by walkers whose main objective is a longer walk.

However the fell can be climbed directly from Grange in Borrowdale and Little Town in the Newlands valley. Both routes climb to the col (Hause Gate) linking the fell to Catbells and then ascend by the northern ridge.

Approaching the top of the fell the path splits with the main path continuing to High Spy without (unusually) going over the highest point of the fell. The right hand fork follows the escarpment above Newlands to reach the summit which is crowned by a small cairn.