Grasmoor

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Grasmoor
Grasmoor.jpg
The huge bulk of Grasmoor above
the Crummock Water valley
Highest point
Elevation 852 m (2,795 ft)
Prominence 519 m (1,703 ft)
Parent peak Scafell Pike
Listing Marilyn, Wainwright, Hewitt, Nuttall
Coordinates 54°34′16″N3°16′45″W / 54.57115°N 3.27918°W / 54.57115; -3.27918 Coordinates: 54°34′16″N3°16′45″W / 54.57115°N 3.27918°W / 54.57115; -3.27918
Geography
Lake District National Park UK relief location map.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Grasmoor
Location relief map United Kingdom Allerdale.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Grasmoor
Location in Allerdale, Cumbria
Location Cumbria, England
Parent range Lake District, North Western Fells
OS grid NY174203
Topo map OS Landranger 89, 90, Explorer OL4

Grasmoor is a mountain in the north-western part of the Lake District, northern England. It is the highest peak in a group of hills between the villages of Lorton, Braithwaite and Buttermere, and overlooks Crummock Water.

Contents

Grasmoor is distinguished by its steep western flank, dropping dramatically to Crummock Water. This face is however not suitable for rock climbers as there is little clean rock, although Alfred Wainwright describes a challenging route up the face in his Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells . [1] To the east the fell is linked to others by Crag Hill and Coledale Hause. Grasmoor is also home to the most extensive scree slopes in the North Western Fells.

Name

Grasmoor takes its name from the Old Norse element grise, meaning wild boar. This element appears in other Lake District place names, including Grisedale Pike and Grizedale Forest. [1]

Topography

The North-Western Fells occupy the area between the rivers Derwent and Cocker, a broadly oval swathe of hilly country, elongated on a north–south axis. Two roads cross from east to west, dividing the fells into three convenient groups. The central sector, rising between Whinlatter Pass and Newlands Pass, includes Grasmoor.

The highest ground in the North-Western Fells is an east–west ridge in this central sector, beginning with Grasmoor above Crummock Water and then gradually descending eastwards over Crag Hill, Sail, Scar Crags and Causey Pike. Grasmoor has the greatest elevation, although Crag Hill stands at the hub of the range.

From the valley floor near Little Town at the eastern end, the ridge requires four miles (6 km) of gradual ascent to attain the summit of Grasmoor. Starting at the shores of Crummock Water in the west, the same is achieved by a single slope of scree in less than a quarter of the distance. Grasmoor is Lakeland's terminal height par excellence.

The summit is at the west end of a broad, gently domed promenade of moss and short grass, [1] with a narrowing in the middle where the deep bowl of Dove Crags bites into the northern face. To the east of this plateau are broad smooth slopes descending to a wide unnamed col at 2,368 ft (722 m). This connects onward to Crag Hill. At the western end the summit area narrows, culminating at the subsidiary top of Grasmoor End (2,445 ft) which crowns the western face. Great fans of scree descend to the lakeside road below. Grasmoor has one minor ridge which descends south-westward over Lad Hows (1,397 ft) before a steeper fall to the valley floor.

To the south of Grasmoor is the valley of Rannerdale, which flows to Crummock Water between Lad Hows and the neighbouring Wandope. This drainage is supplemented by Cinderdale Beck, separating Lad Hows from the main body of the fell. The northern flank of the ridge stands above Liza Beck, in the valley of Gasgale Gill. This stream also makes due west for Crummock Water, but is diverted northward by the low top of Lanthwaite Hill to join the Cocker after its exit from the lake. An area of lowland to the north-west is thus annexed to Grasmoor from the natural territory of Whiteside.

Geology

The surface rocks of Grasmoor are composed primarily of the Ordovician Kirkstile Formation. These are laminated mudstone and siltstone, typical of the Skiddaw range. [2] There is no history of mining beneath the slopes of Grasmoor. [3] The bowl of Dove Crags is one of the largest glacial combs or cirques in the Lake District, yet has no tarn, but dry hollows noted as curious by. [1] This cavity has originated or been enlarged by a very large landslip (rock slope failure)which over at least the last 20,000 years has been displacing the Liza Beck northwards, narrowing Gasgale Gill valley and provoking the unusually extensive scree slopes of Whiteside. [4]

Summit

The top of the fell lies toward the western end of the summit plateau, marked by a huge sprawling cairn. There are many smaller cairns and the top is characterised by sheep-mown grass. [1] The view is extensive although robbed of some foreground by the extent of the summit. All of the major Lakeland ranges are in sight with the exception of the Far Eastern Fells, with High Stile above Crummock Water perhaps the highpoint. [1] This is best seen from the western end of the plateau. [5]

Ascents

The obvious way is direct up the screes from Lanthwaite on the Crummock Water road, picking through the rock scenery above to appear on Grasmoor End from the north west. This involves 2,000 ft (610 m) of ascent in about half a mile. From the same starting point a detour along Liza Beck/ Gasgale Gill can be used to give access to the northern slopes. A way can then be found almost direct to the summit around the rim of Dove Crags. From Rannerdale a choice of routes arises, either climbing the Lad Hows ridge or following Red Gill a little to the west. Finally Coledale Hause can be used to gain the main ridge between Crag Hill and Grasmoor. This can be reached from Lanthwaite or as the first objective of a longer march from Braithwaite in the east. Coledale Hause connects to Hopegill Head and the fells to the north, providing further indirect possibilities. [1] [5]

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Crag Hill

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Causey Pike

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Mellbreak

Mellbreak is a hill in the Western part of the English Lake District. Despite being surrounded on all sides by higher fells, it stands in isolation. It is surrounded on three sides by a "moat" of deep marshy land, and on the east side by the lake of Crummock Water. The fell forms a partnership with the lake, running parallel to it, falling sheer into it, and regularly providing the backdrop for pictures of it.

Rannerdale Knotts

Rannerdale Knotts is a fell in the Lake District of Cumbria, England. Rising from the Buttermere valley, it is one of the smaller Cumbrian hills and is overlooked by a number of surrounding fells, such as Grasmoor, Whiteless Pike and, across Crummock Water, Mellbreak and the High Stile ridge. Rannerdale Knotts is said to be the site of a battle between the native Cumbrians and Norsemen and the invading Normans in the late 11th or early 12th century.

Low Fell (Lake District)

Low Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It overlooks the lake of Loweswater to the south and to the north is bordered by its neighbour Fellbarrow. It is usually climbed from the villages of Loweswater or Thackthwaite. The fell is largely occupied by grassed enclosures, although there are some rocky outcrops near the top. Low Fell has fairly steep slopes to the south and east.

Grisedale Pike

Grisedale Pike is a fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England, situated 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of the town of Keswick in the north-western sector of the national park. At a height of 791 m (2593 feet) it is the 40th-highest Wainwright in the Lake District; it also qualifies as a Hewitt, Marilyn and Nuttall. Grisedale Pike presents a striking appearance when viewed from the east, particularly from the vicinity of Keswick. It possesses two subsidiary summits: one unnamed ; the other Hobcarton End.

Outerside

Outerside is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is located 6 kilometres west of Keswick in the north western part of the national park and is a smaller member of the Coledale group of fells with a height of 568 metres (1863 feet). The fell is part of a ridge on the southern side of Coledale which descends from the higher fell of Scar Crags and continues over the neighbouring smaller fell of Barrow before reaching the valley at the village of Braithwaite.

Glaramara

Glaramara is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria. It is a substantial fell that is part of a long ridge that stretches for over six kilometres from Stonethwaite in Borrowdale up to the important mountain pass of Esk Hause. The summit of Glaramara at 783 m (2,569 ft) is the central point of this ridge, which separates the valleys of Langstrath and Grains Gill. However, the ridge has two additional fells, numerous subsidiary tops and several small tarns making its traverse an appealing and challenging walk.

Red Pike (Buttermere)

Red Pike is a fell in the High Stile range in the western English Lake District, which separates Ennerdale from the valley of Buttermere and Crummock Water. It is 2,476 ft (755 m) high. The direct ascent of Red Pike from Buttermere is very popular and the ridge walk from Red Pike to Haystacks is regarded as one of the finest in the area, with excellent views of the Scafells, Great Gable and Pillar.

Hopegill Head

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Whiteside (Lake District)

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Wandope

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Whiteless Pike Fell in England

Whiteless Pike is a fell in the north-western English Lake District. It stands immediately east of Crummock Water and forms a pyramid shape when viewed from Rannerdale. In his celebrated guide to the Lakeland fells, Alfred Wainwright called it "the Weisshorn of Buttermere". There are good views of Great Gable and the Scafells from the summit.

Sail (Lake District)

Sail is a hill in the English Lake District, lying between Derwentwater and Crummock Water.

Middle Fell is a hill or fell in the English Lake District. It is a satellite of Seatallan standing above the northern shore of Wastwater. Middle Fell can be climbed from Greendale near the foot of Wastwater, and a fine view of the lake backed by the Wastwater Screes is visible from the summit.

Eastern Fells

The Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Centred on Helvellyn they primarily comprise a north–south ridge running between Ullswater and Lakeland's Central Valley.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Alfred Wainwright: A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book 6, The North Western Fells: Westmorland Gazette (1964): ISBN   0-7112-2459-5
  2. British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, England & Wales Sheet 29: BGS (1999)
  3. Adams, John: Mines of the Lake District Fells: Dalesman (1995) ISBN   0-85206-931-6
  4. Jarman and Wilson 2015 Anomalous terrain at Dove Crags cirque–Gasgale Gill, English Lake District, interpreted as a large pre-LGM rock slope failure complex. Proc. Yorkshire Geol Soc 60, 243-257
  5. 1 2 Bill Birkett: Complete Lakeland Fells: Collins Willow (1994): ISBN   0-00-713629-3