Whinlatter

Whinlatter is a small fell in the north west of the English Lake District, just north of the Whinlatter Pass. It is easily climbed from the top of the Whinlatter Pass, through the Forestry Commission plantations. The Whinlatter Visitor's Centre, a popular tourist attraction, is on the south side of the fell. The hill is part of a horseshoe around the valley of Aiken Beck. The fells name originates from a combination of the Old Norse and Gaelic languages. With the Old Norse word 'hvin' meaning gorse or furze, and the Gaelic word 'lettir' meaning slope, the name translates as "The Gorse or furze-covered slope.".

Attractions

Whinlatter Forest has several attractions for the visitor. The main visitor centre has a cafe, gift shop and children's play area and is the home of live camera feeds from the Osprey nest at Bassenthwaite Lake. There is also a 'Go Ape' ropes course allowing adventurers to slide and climb through the treetops. Finally the Altura Trail, Quercus Trail and Cyclewise Whinlatter cater for mountain bikers with a fully equipped bike hire centre and shop along with several mountain bike trails. The red graded 'Altura Trail' is 19 km of flowing, mountain singletrack, the Quercus Trail is an easier 7.5 km blue graded trail.