Hart Crag

Last updated

Hart Crag
Hart Crag.JPG
Hart Crag, with a cloud-covered Fairfield behind.
Highest point
Elevation 822 m (2,697 ft)
Prominence c. 50 m
Parent peak Fairfield
Listing Wainwright, Nuttall, Hewitt
Coordinates 54°29′35″N2°58′38″W / 54.49308°N 2.97722°W / 54.49308; -2.97722 Coordinates: 54°29′35″N2°58′38″W / 54.49308°N 2.97722°W / 54.49308; -2.97722
Geography
Lake District National Park UK relief location map.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Hart Crag
Location in Lake District, UK
Location Cumbria, England
Parent range Lake District, Eastern Fells
OS grid NY368113
Topo map OS Explorer OL5

Hart Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, being one of the Fairfield group of hills in the Eastern Fells.

Contents

Topography

The fell stands on the ridge running south east from Fairfield to Dove Crag, at the point where a long subsidiary spur sweeps off to the north east. This is Hartsop above How and, although in reality part of Hart Crag, was treated as a separate fell by Alfred Wainwright in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells . That convention is also followed here.

Being at the meeting point of three ridges, Hart Crag also has a share in three valleys. Despite forming a part of the headwall in each case, the fell is not the true head of any of them. West of the summit runs the long and unfrequented valley of Rydal Beck. This flows almost due south for 3 miles, finally emptying into the River Rothay at Rydal village. The slopes of Rydal Head below Hart Crag are steep, but reasonably free of outcropping rock.

To the north of Hart Crag is Link Cove. This is a hanging valley, discharging via waterfalls into upper Deepdale. Deepdale Beck in turn runs north east to join other streams bound for Ullswater. The main faces of Hart Crag lie on this side, presenting a fine prospect from St Sunday Crag and other fells to the north. Dovedale is the third valley, running broadly eastward and separated from Deepdale by the Hartsop Above How ridge. Immediately below Hart Crag is Houndshope Cove, a high level corrie in upper Dovedale.

The ridge to Fairfield starts north-westward as far as the saddle of Link Hause (2,450 ft). This is the geographical link between Rydale and Link Cove, but there is no practicable walkers' route from one to the other. Beyond here the ridge mounts a rocky step (the end of Scrubby Crag) and then turns westward onto the widening grassy top of Fairfield.

Dove Crag to the south-east is reached across the unnamed col between Houndshope Cove and Rydale. A stone wall runs along the majority of the ridge, providing an aid to route-finding in poor conditions. The Hartsop Above How ridge starts indistinctly from the summit of Hart Crag, a descent across a wide area of rough ground being made before a discernible ridgeline materialises.

Summit

The summit of Hart Crag has a covering of rock with rich turf showing through. Two cairns mark the ends of a short ridge running along the top, with other cairns giving guidance to the viewpoints for Deepdale and Dovedale. The highest point is at the south-eastern end of the summit area, a little to the west of the main path. The view is good westward to the Scafells and also toward the Far Eastern Fells, but Fairfield and Dove Crag obscure much of the District. [1]

Ascents

Hart Crag is most commonly climbed as part of the Fairfield horseshoe. This popular fellwalk makes a circuit of Rydale, claiming 8 Wainwrights over a distance of 10 miles. Starting at Bridgend, Hartsop Above How provides another means of indirect access.

A number of direct ascents are also possible. Rydale can be followed to its head from where the steep climb out of the valley leads to the summit. Alternatively an approach can be made along Deepdale, skirting the worst of the bogs, and climbing onto the Hartsop Above How ridge from the lower part of Link Cove. Dovedale and Houndshope Cove provide a third possibility. [2]

Related Research Articles

Fairfield (Lake District) Fell in the English Lake District

Fairfield is a fell in the English Lake District. It is the highest of a group of hills in the Eastern Fells, standing to the south of the Helvellyn range.

Grasmoor Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England

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.

Nethermost Pike Fell in Cumbria, England

Nethermost Pike is a fell in Cumbria, England, and a part of the Lake District. At 891 metres (2,923 ft) it is the second highest Wainwright in the Helvellyn range, the highest of which is Helvellyn itself. It is located close to the southern end of the ridge, with Helvellyn to the north, and High Crag and Dollywaggon Pike to the south. Nethermost Pike, along with many of the Eastern Fells, lies between Thirlmere in the west and the Ullswater catchment in the east. The closest villages are Glenridding and Patterdale on the shores of Ullswater, over 8 kilometres (5 mi) away.

St Sunday Crag

St Sunday Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, part of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It is a prominent feature in the Patterdale skyline, with a distinctive rounded shape. Indeed, it figures so finely in views from the upper reach of the lake that it is sometimes referred to as ‘the Ullswater Fell’.

Dollywaggon Pike Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England

Dollywaggon Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands on the main spine of the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells, between Thirlmere and the Ullswater catchment.

Red Screes Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England

Red Screes is a fell in the English Lake District, situated between the villages of Patterdale and Ambleside. It may be considered an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells, but is separated from its neighbours by low cols. This gives Red Screes an independence which is reflected in its prominence.

Stony Cove Pike Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England

Stony Cove Pike is a fell in the Far Eastern part of the English Lake District. It stands on the other side of the Kirkstone Pass from Red Screes, and is on the end of a ridge coming down from High Street. It is separated from its neighbours by the deep col of Threshthwaite Mouth, so is a Marilyn – the sixteenth highest in the Lake District.

Angletarn Pikes Fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England

Angletarn Pikes is a fell in the English Lake District near the village of Patterdale. Its most notable feature is Angle Tarn from which it derives its name.

Gray Crag

Gray Crag is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England.

Dove Crag

Dove Crag is a fell in the English Lake District. Situated in the Eastern Fells of the national park, seven kilometres south-south-west of Glenridding, it reaches a height of 792 metres. The fell is often climbed as part of the Fairfield horseshoe walk but a direct ascent from Patterdale is required to show the fell's full potential, displaying the impressive crags just to the north east of the summit. The highest point was originally unnamed on maps, being just a minor top, but over the years the summit has adopted the name of Dove Crag by mutual accord..

Low Pike

Low Pike is a small fell in the English Lake District. It has a modest height of 508 m (1,667 ft) and is situated three kilometres north of Ambleside. Low Pike is well seen from the streets of the town as the first prominent fell on the ridge which continues northwards for a further four kilometres to Fairfield. This ridge is part of the Fairfield horseshoe walk and Low Pike is most commonly ascended as part of this.

Heron Pike

Heron Pike is a fell in the English Lake District, two kilometres east of Grasmere. It is part of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It should not be confused with the Heron Pike that forms part of Sheffield Pike, although it appears that, by coincidence, both Heron Pikes are exactly the same height.

Little Hart Crag

Little Hart Crag is a fell in the Lake District area of England. It stands at the head of Scandale, six kilometres north of Ambleside, at a height of 637 metres (2090 feet). It is an eastern outlier of Dove Crag in the Eastern Fells, although it does have 34 metres of prominence from that fell making it both a Hewitt and a Nuttall fell. It is frequently climbed as part of the Dovedale horseshoe, an 11 kilometre walk over the neighbouring fells of Hartsop above How, Hart Crag, Dove Crag and High Hartsop Dodd, starting and finishing at Brothers Water.

Hartsop Dodd

Hartsop Dodd is a fell in the English Lake District, standing to the south east of Brothers Water. It is a subsidiary top on the north ridge of Caudale Moor, but was given separate fell status by Wainwright in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. That convention is followed here.

Birkhouse Moor

Birkhouse Moor is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells. It is properly an eastern ridge of Helvellyn, but was treated as a separate fell by Alfred Wainwright in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. That convention is followed here.

Hartsop above How

Hartsop above How is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells. It stands above Brothers Water and the Ullswater–Ambleside road.

High Hartsop Dodd

High Hartsop Dodd is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It stands above Kirkstone Pass on the road from Ullswater to Ambleside.

Nab Scar Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England

Nab Scar is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It stands above Rydal Water.

Arnison Crag

Arnison Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It looks down on Patterdale village and the upper reach of Ullswater.

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. Alfred Wainwright: A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells , Book 1: ISBN   0-7112-2454-4
  2. Richards, Mark:Near Eastern Fells:Collins (2003) ISBN   0-00-711366-8