{{Short description|Fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Grange Fell | image = Grange_Fell_from_Rosthwaite.JPG | image_caption = Grange Fell as seen from Rosthwaite in Borrowdale, King's How is to the left and Brund Fell to the Right | elevation_m = 419 | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = 94 | prominence_ref = | parent_peak = [[Great Crag]] | listing = [[List of Wainwrights|Wainwright]] | location = [[Cumbria]], [[England]] | range = [[Lake District]], [[Central Fells]] | coordinates = {{coord|54.54437|N|3.13253|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | grid_ref_UK = NY268172 | topo = [[Ordnance Survey|OS]] ''Explorer'' OL4 | map = United Kingdom Lake District | map_caption = Location in Lake District, UK }}
{{GB summits start}} {{GB summits entry|Name=Ether Knott|Gridref=NY268172|Height=419 m|Status=[[List of hills in the Lake District#Central Fells|separate hill]]}} {{GB summits entry|Name=King's How|Gridref=NY258167|Height=392 m|Status=hill}} {{GB summits entry|Name=Shepherds Crag|Gridref=NY264185|Height=233 m|Status=hill}} {{GB summits entry|Name=Grange Crags|Gridref=NY256176|Height=194 m|Status=hill}} {{end}}
[[Image:Derwentwater from Grange Fell (Kings How).JPG|thumb|right|260px|Derwent Water with Skiddaw in the background as seen from Kings How.]]
'''Grange Fell''' is a small [[fell]] in the [[England|English]] [[Lake District]] in the county of [[Cumbria]], situated in the [[Borrowdale]] valley overlooking the villages of [[Grange in Borrowdale]] and [[Rosthwaite, Borrowdale, Cumbria|Rosthwaite]].
==Topography== The fell has a summit plateau which consist of many [[Calluna|heather]]-covered hummocks, [[drystone wall]]s and clumps of trees. Well-known Lake District writer [[Alfred Wainwright]] credits Grange Fell as a single fell with three main summits, namely Brund Fell, King's How and Ether Knott.<ref name="wainwright">{{cite book |author=Wainwright, A |author-link=Alfred Wainwright |title= [[Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells|A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells]], Book 3 The Central Fells |publisher= Westmorland Gazette |year= 1958}}</ref> The lesser known '''Ether Knott''' is now identified as the highest point at a height of {{convert|419|m|ft|abbr=off}} <ref name=doBIh>{{cite web|title=Ether Knott|url=http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=7698|work=Online Database of British and Irish Hills|accessdate=20 July 2013}}</ref> and is less frequently visited by walkers. '''Brund Fell''' is at {{convert|415|m|ft|abbr=off}} while '''King's How''' is the best viewpoint and has an altitude of {{convert|392|m|ft|abbr=off}}. On the other hand, another Lakes walking expert [[Bill Birkett]] lists Brund Fell and King's How as separate fells in his “Complete Lakeland Fells” volume,<ref name="birkett">Bill Birkett:''Complete Lakeland Fells'': Collins Willow (1994): {{ISBN|0-00-713629-3}}</ref> while Mark Richards includes all three.<ref name="richards">Mark Richards: ''The Central Fells'': Collins (2003): {{ISBN|0-00-711365-X}}</ref>
There are also two small hills on the fringes of the fell, both unfrequented although they lie on [[access land]]. '''Shepherds Crag''' above the more famous rockface of that name, adjacent to the [[Lodore]] Falls and Hotel, and '''Grange Crags''' above Grange.
==History== Grange Fell is owned by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] and was one of its first acquisitions in the Lake District in 1910; the fell was purchased by public subscription as a memorial to [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|King Edward VII]] at the bequest of the King's sister [[Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll|Princess Louise]], who then was President of the Trust. The magnificent viewpoint of King's How was named after the King as a memorial, and a commemorative slate plaque is situated just below the summit. It reads:
{{blockquote|In Loving Memory of King Edward VII, Grange Fell is dedicated by his sister Louise as a sanctuary of rest and peace. Here may all beings gather strength, find in scenes of beautiful nature a cause for gratitude and love to God, giving them courage and vigour to carry on his will.}}
==Geology== The geology of the fell is complex with outcropping of various members of the Birker Fell Formation ([[andesite]] [[lava]]s), the Eagle Crag Member ([[siltstone]] and [[sandstone]] conglomerates), and intrusions of [[dolerite]].<ref name="BGS">British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 29'': BGS (1999)</ref>
==Ascents== Ascents of Grange Fell can be started from Rosthwaite, Grange in Borrowdale or Watendlath. The Rosthwaite to Watendlath bridleway can be utilised to its highest point before striking northerly to the summit of Brund Fell following a high dry stone wall for much of the way. The climb from Grange goes through the deciduous woodland at the foot of the fell and skirts round Greatend Crag before reaching King's How and is ranked as one of the "loveliest short walks in the Lake District".{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} The two principal summits of Brund Fell and King's How should both be climbed by any visitor{{tone inline|date=May 2019}} to the fell and they are linked by an undulating path through the hillocks.<ref name="wainwright"/><ref name="birkett"/><ref name="richards"/>
==Summit== The main summit bears a number of rock [[Tor (rock formation)|tors]], protruding sharply from the heathery plateau. King's How has a steep sided domed top. Both bear [[cairn]]s. The view from the top of the fell takes in Derwentwater with [[Skiddaw]] in the background, while Borrowdale and the high fells round its head show well in the opposite direction.<ref name="wainwright"/><ref name="richards"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Central Fells}}
[[Category:Fells of the Lake District]]