Sour Howes is a small fell

Fell

“Fell” is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of northern England.- Etymology :...

 in the English Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

. It is situated five kilometres east of Ambleside

Ambleside

Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in North West England.Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake...

, between the Troutbeck and Kentmere

Kentmere

Kentmere is a valley, village and civil parish in the Lake District National Park, a few miles from Kendal in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It is historically part of Westmorland...

 valleys and is one of the two separate fells on Applethwaite Common (the other being Sallows).

Topography

Sour Howes, which reaches a height of 483 m (1,585 ft) is mostly grassy although heather

Calluna

Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...

 grows on the eastern slopes, a high dry stone

Dry stone

Dry stone is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their unique construction method, which is characterized by the presence of a load-bearing facade of carefully selected interlocking...

 wall crosses the top and links with the neighbouring fell of Sallows, which lies just over a kilometre to the north east, and with Sour Howe’s subsidiary top of Capple Howe (445 m, 1,460 ft) which is located 600 metres to the south east.

The fells western flank falls away steeply to the Troutbeck valley, this slope is traversed lower down by the Dubbs Road bridleway which goes north joining the track which crosses the Garburn Pass (Byway open to all traffic) on its way to Kentmere. The disused and now wooded Applethwaite quarry stands on these western slope alongside the Garburn track, it is quite substantial and an interesting place to explore. On its eastern side Sour Howes drops more gently to the Kentmere valley with the stream of Park Beck draining the fell and being a tributary of the River Kent

River Kent

The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. The river originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles into the north of Morecambe Bay. The Lake District National Park includes the upper reaches of the river within its boundaries.The river passes...

. There are some well made grouse

Grouse

Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...

 butts amongst the heather on these eastern slopes.

Ascents

Sour Howes can be ascended from the Troutbeck or Kentmere valleys, it’s ascent can be combined with the adjacent fell of Sallows and also with a visit to the more stirring Yoke

Yoke (Lake District)

Yoke is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It has a height of 706 m and is situated in the far eastern sector of the national park, 7 kilometres north east of the town of Ambleside. Yoke is the southern extremity of the long ridge that runs southwards from the fell of High...

 to Thornthwaite Crag

Thornthwaite Crag

Thornthwaite Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, standing to the west of Haweswater Reservoir. It is a focal point of the Far Eastern Fells, standing at the head of several valleys.-Topography:...

 ridge to the north. The ascents from either valley utilise the Garburn Pass track to its highest point before going south to the summit following the dry stone wall.

Summit and view

The top of the fell is a series of grassy knolls with the highest of these marked by a small pile of stones, the view is extremely fine for such a small fell, there is a fine vista of the high mountains to the west, to the south Windermere

Windermere (lake)

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England. It is a ribbon lake formed in a glacial trough after the retreat of ice at the start of the current interglacial. It has been one of the country’s most popular places for holidays and summer homes since the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere...

 is well seen and beyond that Morecambe Bay

Morecambe Bay

Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 310 km².-Natural features:The rivers Leven,...

.