It is an outlier of the Eastern Fells, standing to the north of Ullswater near the village of Watermillock, and connected to other high ground by a narrow col to the south.

Both appear relatively isolated, both have a smooth, rounded outline, and unlike all other fells in the Lake District, both are composed of the same Devonian age conglomerate rock.

The first element of the name derives from the Common Brittonic word found in modern Welsh as moel ("bare"), and this must once have constituted the whole name of the hill.

All other parts of the fell are drained by various tributaries of Dacre Beck, which joins the River Eamont some 3 km below its outfall from Ullswater.

[3] The fell has a few small areas of broadleaved plantation, but otherwise is bare, the lower slopes being parcelled up into fields for agriculture.

The summit is at the top of a rounded, grassy dome and is marked by an Ordnance Survey triangulation column.

The reddish-coloured rock appears to date from the late Devonian Period, sometime around 375 million years ago.

These should not be confused with the younger New Red Sandstone of the Permian Period, found nearby in Penrith and the Eden Valley.