Latrigg | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 368 m (1,207 ft) |
Prominence | c. 70 m |
Parent peak | Skiddaw |
Listing | Wainwright |
Coordinates | 54°36′44″N3°07′04″W / 54.61229°N 3.11788°W |
Geography | |
Location | Cumbria, England |
Parent range | Lake District, Northern Fells |
OS grid | NY279247 |
Topo map | OS Landrangers 89, 90, Explorer OL4 |
Latrigg is one of the lowest fells in the Lake District in North West England, but is a popular climb due to its convenient location overlooking the town of Keswick and the beautiful views down the valley of Borrowdale from the summit. It is the least mountainous of the Skiddaw fells, the summit being almost entirely devoid of rock. The slopes of Latrigg are partially wooded, and logging work is currently being undertaken. One lone tree just south of the summit is prominently viewed in silhouette when approaching Keswick from the west along the A66. It also has petrified trees on top.
The name Latrigg is first attested in 1220, in the form Laterhayheved; this name was succeeded by 1666 by the form Latterig. In the assessment of Diana Whaley, the origins of the name "are doubtful". Laterhayheved ends with the Old English word hēafod (literally "head" but in place-names meaning "summit, top, high place"); the hay element of the same name might come from Old English gehæg or hege (both meaning "enclosure"). Evidently this had come to compete with an alternative form deriving from Old Norse hryggr ("ridge"), which underlies the modern form Latrigg. But the origins of the shared first element of both names are uncertain: Whaley suggested either Old Norse látr ("lair") or Old Irish lettir ("slope"). [1] : 207
The name Mallen Dodd, first attested in 1867 and denoting the steep, rounded spur that is the northern part of Latrigg, contains the dialectal word dodd, whose origins are uncertain but which in local usage denotes a rounded hill-top. The element Mallen may come from the personal name Mal(l)in, a nickname for people called Mary, in which case the name once meant "Mary's hill-top", or from Old Irish maoilinn ("bare round hillock"), in which case the Irish name was once independent but was later supplemented by the tautologous English word dodd. [1] : 230
Latrigg is the most southerly top of the Skiddaw massif and of the Northern Fells as a whole. It takes the form of a rounded hump at the terminus of a long descending ridge, and would be unremarkable if not for its location. To the north of Latrigg summit is an unnamed depression at about 970 feet (300 metres) and rising beyond is a grassy rigg, climbing up to Jenkin Hill and the top of Skiddaw Little Man. Latrigg itself sends out a narrow ridge to the east, about a mile long and ending at Brundholm.
The fell is bordered by the two streams falling from the northern col. Gale Gill runs west to join the River Derwent between Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lake. The unnamed eastern stream joins Whit Beck and then flows into the River Greta, bound again for the Derwent via Keswick.
The steep southern slopes are cloaked in the mixed woodland of Brundholme Wood and Whinny Brow, Latrigg's only crags being hidden in the trees. A public road from Keswick contours across this slope at around 600 feet (180 metres), giving access to the farms of Lonscale and Brundholm. Further mixed woodland has been planted on the north eastern slopes above Whit Beck. To the north west, on either bank of Gale Gill, are the conifer plantations of Birkett Wood and Mallen Dodd. A single track road climbs up the slope beside the wood, giving access to a car park on the depression to the north of the fell.
In common with much of the Northern Fells the Kirk Stile Formation of the Skiddaw Group predominates. This is composed of laminated mudstone and siltstone with greywacke sandstone and is of Ordovician age. [2] Two rock-slope failures exist on the southern slopes of Latrigg northeast of Keswick. [3]
The top of the fell is sheep pasture, falling gently to the north and quite steeply to the south. Some stumps remain at the top of the southern slope as evidence of past deforestation, together with few small trees, bent down by the prevailing wind. A ditch and parapet run across the top. The parapet was the base of a fence, long since decayed, and the ditch was the source of the earth for its construction. [4]
The view northward is of the high grassy flanks of Skiddaw and Blencathra, impressive but lacking detail. To the south the contrast is total. Looking out over Keswick and down the full length of Derwentwater, the eye is drawn to Borrowdale and the high fells of Central Lakeland. Wainwright was moved to describe "a panorama of crowded detail, all of it of great beauty: indeed this scene is one of the gems of the district...The far horizon is a jumbled upheaval of peaks, with many dear old friends standing up proudly." [4]
Computer generated summit panorama.
Atop the summit, is a distinctive tree known as The Witch, given its shape which resembles a person riding a broomstick.
Commonly Latrigg is ascended from Keswick, the route beginning along Spooney Green Lane near the old railway station and then either making direct for the top or swinging north via Mallen Dodd. Threlkeld is another starting point, first crossing the Glenderaterra Beck and then climbing up the east ridge. The easiest way is to park at the end of Gale Road, from where the summit is a simple 10‑minute stroll on grass, the most accessible of all the 214 Wainwrights. This car park is commonly used as the starting point for the ascent of Skiddaw, although the purist will first climb Latrigg from Keswick before setting foot upon its parent. A recently constructed path allows disabled access to the summit of Latrigg from the car park.
Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its 931-metre (3,054 ft) summit is traditionally considered to be the fourth-highest peak but depending on what topographic prominence is thought to be significant is also variously ranked as the third- and the sixth-highest in England. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the simplest of the Lake District mountains of this height to ascend and, as such, many walking guides recommend it to the occasional walker wishing to climb a mountain. This is the first summit of the fell running challenge known as the Bob Graham Round when undertaken in a clockwise direction.
Skiddaw Little Man, also called Little Man, is a fell in the English Lake District; it is situated four kilometres north of the town of Keswick and reaches a height of 865 metres (2,838 ft).
Dale Head is a fell in the north-western sector of the Lake District, in northern England. It is 753 metres above sea level and stands immediately north of Honister Pass, the road between Borrowdale and Buttermere.
Cat Bells is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It has a height of 451 metres (1,480 ft) and is one of the most popular fells in the area. It is situated on the western shore of Derwentwater within three miles of the busy tourist town of Keswick. Its distinctive shape catches the attention of many visitors to the Lakes who feel compelled to climb to the summit after seeing it from the viewpoint of Friars' Crag on the opposite side of Derwentwater. The Lake District writer and walker Alfred Wainwright acknowledges the popularity of Cat Bells among fellwalkers of all abilities by saying:
"It is one of the great favourites, a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together, a place beloved. Its popularity is well deserved: its shapely topknott attracts the eye offering a steep but obviously simple scramble."
Clough Head is a fell, or hill, in the English Lake District. It marks the northern end of the main ridge of the Helvellyn range and is often walked as part of the ridge walk. The fell stands south of the village of Threlkeld and the A66 road, and it forms the steep eastern side of the tranquil valley of St John's in the Vale.
Causey Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the Newlands Valley, 5 kilometres south-west of the town of Keswick. Even though it has a modest height of 637 metres (2,090 ft) it is one of the most distinctive fells when viewed from the Derwent Water and Keswick area due to its distinguishing summit "knobble" which catches the eye. The fell is one of 214 fells described by Alfred Wainwright in his series of Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells: Causey Pike features in Book Six, The North Western Fells.
Knott is a mountain in the northern part of the English Lake District. It is the highest point of the Back o'Skiddaw region, an area of wild and unfrequented moorland to the north of Skiddaw and Blencathra. Other tops in this region include High Pike, Carrock Fell and Great Calva. The fell's slopes are mostly smooth, gentle, and covered in grass, with a few deep ravines. It stands a long way from a road and requires a long walk across the moor top get to it; this, as well as the fact that it is hidden from the rest of the Lake District by the two aforementioned giants, make it one of the most unfrequented tops in the Lakes. When it is climbed it is most often from Mungrisdale or from the north via Great Sca Fell. The word Knott is of Cumbric origin, and means simply "hill".
Great Mell Fell is an isolated hill or fell in the English Lake District, north of Ullswater and adjacent to the Eastern Fells. It rises from a level plain to a height of 537 m. Its top is a viewpoint for many of the surrounding higher fells. The fell is now owned and managed by the National Trust and offers a place of quiet refuge.
Castle Crag is a hill in the North Western Fells of the English Lake District. It is the smallest hill included in Alfred Wainwright's influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, the only Wainwright below 1,000 feet (300 m).
Walla Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, near Keswick. The fell is a short walk from Keswick and overlooks Derwentwater.
Carl Side is a fell in the English Lake District, forming a part of the Skiddaw "family" near the town of Keswick and prominently visible from its streets. It is listed in Alfred Wainwright's Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells as one of the Northern Fells.
Mungrisdale Common, pronounced mun-grize-dl, with emphasis on grize, is a fell in the English Lake District. Although Alfred Wainwright listed it as one of the 214 featured hills in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells it was his least favourite. He commented that it "has no more pretension to elegance than a pudding that has been sat on". There is some speculation that Wainwright included the fell in his guide simply as a way to fill space, but that has never been proven. Mungrisdale Common is oddly named, as it is a number of miles from the village of Mungrisdale, which lies in a different river catchment.
Watson's Dodd is a fell in the English Lake District, a minor rise on the main ridge of the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells, but a prominent shoulder on the west side of that range.
Hart Side is a subsidiary top on one of the east ridges of Stybarrow Dodd, which is a mountain in the English Lake District, west of Ullswater on the main Helvellyn ridge in the Eastern Fells. With a height of 2,480 feet (760 m) Hart Side rises above the col separating it from Green Side by 75 feet (23 m).
Glenridding Dodd is a small fell in the English Lake District, at the end of a ridge descending from the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells. It stands above the village of Glenridding and on the western shore of Ullswater. Although small and not of great elevation, its top is a fine viewpoint for Ullswater and for the fells clustered round the valleys above Patterdale.
Great Calva is a fell in the Lake District, England. It is in the Northern Fells, lying roughly at the centre of this region of high ground. As a result, it is distant from roads and quite remote by Lakeland standards. Great Calva stands at the head of a major geological fault running through the centre of the Lake District, and so from the summit it is possible to see all the way south over Thirlmere. The subsidiary summit of Little Calva lies to the west.
Bowscale Fell is a hill in the English Lake District. It rises above the village of Mungrisdale in the Northern Fells. Bowscale Fell stands at the extreme north east the Blencathra group, connected to this higher fell by the intervening Bannerdale Crags. In common with many fells the western slopes are smooth and convex while the eastern side exhibits crags.
Lonscale Fell is a hill in the English Lake District. Its pointed second top is instantly recognisable, standing at the eastern end of the Skiddaw massif. The fell is easily climbed from Keswick or from Skiddaw House to the north. Although now primarily a sheep pasture, it once saw considerable mining activity beneath the long eastern wall of crag.
The Central Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Reaching their highest point at High Raise, they occupy a broad area to the east of Borrowdale. The Central Fells are generally lower than the surrounding hills, the Lake District's dome-like structure having a slight dip in the middle. The range extends from the boggy ridge between Derwentwater and Thirlmere in the north, to the rock peaks of the Langdale Pikes in the south.
The Northern Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Including Skiddaw, they occupy a wide area to the north of Keswick. Smooth, sweeping slopes predominate, with a minimum of tarns or crags. Blencathra in the south-east of the group is the principal exception to this trend.