Fellwalking

Fellwalking is action, and fellwalking is fun! Alfred Wainwright

To those in the know, fell is an Old Norse word meaning mountain. The word fjall or fell as it is now seen in England is a result of the Scandinavian insurgence into England during the latter parts of the first millennium. In the south many Scandinavian placenames were obliterated as new waves of invaders entered Britain especially in the Norman conquest. In some areas, particularly in the Celtic fringes of Great Britain (such as Cornwall, Wales, Cumbria and Scotland) many place names survive from earlier periods. In these areas can be found Celtic and Latin place names from the Roman, Iron Age and periods before. The Norman dominance was obviously much weaker further north and as a result some placenames in remote places remained. Some academics and others believe that the last Norman battle on British soil was in Rannerdale, near Crummock Water - and the locals won! In some instances later placenames repeated the earlier such as Pendle Hill. Pen is welsh for hill already so why add another hill to Pendle!

For those interested in the origin of names the word fell or fiall is probably Icelandic. The more modern Norwegian form is fjeld, pronounced fi-ell. The later Anglo-Saxon field is from the same root and has similar meaning. Thus a fell is a place where the ground is on the fall. A field is a piece of ground where the trees have been felled.

Fell is used throughout the Lake District and other parts of Northern England as a synonym for mountain. As an example we have Bowfell.

In this way, fellwalking literally translates nicely into mountain walking. I hope that answers it for you!