Arnison Crag
Encyclopedia
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
.
and having little topographical prominence, Arnison Crag was classed as a separate fell by Alfred Wainwright
in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
. That convention is followed here. In support of his decision he referred to it as "a low hill with a summit worthy of a mountain.".
Birks, which is itself a satellite of St Sunday Crag
, resides on a southwest to northeast ridge. Below the summit and about half way down the main slope, a level spur juts out eastward and then curves around to the north to run parallel with Birks. At the far end of this subsidiary ridge is the rocky summit of Arnison Crag. The slight col where the Arnison Crag ridge connects to the flank of Birks is Trough Head.
To the east of Arnison Crag is the lower portion of Deepdale and the settlement of Bridgend. This flank is rough and includes Aiken Crag and the face of Arnison Crag itself, just below the summit. To the west, separating the fell from the main ridge of Birks, is Hag Beck. This flows northward from Trough Head, passing through the woods of Glemara Park before issuing into Grisedale Beck just above the main road. Glemara Park was once a deer park and now contains much broadleaved woodland. Its retaining wall is still largely intact.
The ridge from Trough Head to Arnison Crag is fairly level and passes over a series of knolls. One of these- about hafway along- is the true summit, being 1,446 ft (441 m) high. Wainwright and later guidebook writers have chosen to ignore this top because it is grassy and too far back to give an adequate view. This is one of the many reasons why Wainwrights are a subjective hill list, in contrast to the more numerically based Hewitts or Marilyns
. North of the summit, the ground drops steeply over two tiers of rock outcrop, the lower one being Oxford Crag. Arnison Crag meets the valley floor directly behind Patterdale village.
due to the lack of available stone. The view is largely restricted by higher fells, but with the Fairfield and High Street
fells well seen.
and Hartsop above How
or swing north around Grisedale, taking in Dollywaggon Pike
, Nethermost Pike
and Helvellyn
.
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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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...
, an outlier of the Fairfield
Fairfield (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.-Topography:...
group in the Eastern Fells
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.-Partition of the Lakeland Fells:...
. It looks down on Patterdale village and the upper reach of Ullswater
Ullswater
Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being approximately nine miles long and 0.75 miles wide with a maximum depth of slightly more than ....
.
Topography
Although properly a north eastern ridge of BirksBirks (Lake District)
Birks is a fell in the English Lake District situated two kilometres south west of the village of Patterdale in the Eastern Fells. The fells summit sits on a shoulder of the north east ridge of the higher and better known fell of St Sunday Crag, by which it is dominated, walkers often pass over the...
and having little topographical prominence, Arnison Crag was classed as a separate fell by Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the...
in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells of the Lake District in northwest England...
. That convention is followed here. In support of his decision he referred to it as "a low hill with a summit worthy of a mountain.".
Birks, which is itself a satellite of St Sunday Crag
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...
, resides on a southwest to northeast ridge. Below the summit and about half way down the main slope, a level spur juts out eastward and then curves around to the north to run parallel with Birks. At the far end of this subsidiary ridge is the rocky summit of Arnison Crag. The slight col where the Arnison Crag ridge connects to the flank of Birks is Trough Head.
To the east of Arnison Crag is the lower portion of Deepdale and the settlement of Bridgend. This flank is rough and includes Aiken Crag and the face of Arnison Crag itself, just below the summit. To the west, separating the fell from the main ridge of Birks, is Hag Beck. This flows northward from Trough Head, passing through the woods of Glemara Park before issuing into Grisedale Beck just above the main road. Glemara Park was once a deer park and now contains much broadleaved woodland. Its retaining wall is still largely intact.
The ridge from Trough Head to Arnison Crag is fairly level and passes over a series of knolls. One of these- about hafway along- is the true summit, being 1,446 ft (441 m) high. Wainwright and later guidebook writers have chosen to ignore this top because it is grassy and too far back to give an adequate view. This is one of the many reasons why Wainwrights are a subjective hill list, in contrast to the more numerically based Hewitts or Marilyns
Marilyn (hill)
A Marilyn is a mountain or hill in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland or Isle of Man with a relative height of at least 150 metres , regardless of absolute height or other merit...
. North of the summit, the ground drops steeply over two tiers of rock outcrop, the lower one being Oxford Crag. Arnison Crag meets the valley floor directly behind Patterdale village.
Geology and Mining
There is evidence of former mining activity on the Deepdale slopes of Arnison Crag. Two levels were worked for haematite just above Deepdale Hall. Geologically the summit of the fell is andesite, with the underlying Deepdale Formation of volcaniclastic sandstone revealed on the north western face.Summit and view
The summit is a low rock tower, attractively seen from the surrounding valleys. There is only a very small cairnCairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
due to the lack of available stone. The view is largely restricted by higher fells, but with the Fairfield and High Street
High Street (Lake District)
High Street is a fell in the English Lake District. At 828 metres , its summit is the highest point in the far eastern part of the national park. The fell is named after the Roman road which ran over the summit.-History and Naming:...
fells well seen.
Ascents
Ascents can be made from Patterdale village, either direct up the nose of the ridge, or by curving round to the west and following the Glemara Park wall. Trough Head can also be reached from either Deepdale or Hag Beck, providing an approach from 'behind' the summit. Arnison Crag is often climbed as the first part of the ascent of St Sunday Crag. From here the walker can either circuit Deepdale via Fairfield, Hart CragHart Crag
Hart Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, being one of the Fairfield group of hills in the Eastern Fells.-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...
and Hartsop above How
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 to Ambleside road.-Topography:...
or swing north around Grisedale, taking in Dollywaggon Pike
Dollywaggon Pike
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.-Name:...
, Nethermost Pike
Nethermost Pike
Nethermost Pike is a fell in Cumbria, England, and a part of the Lake District. At it is the second highest Wainwright in the Helvellyn range, the tallest 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...
and Helvellyn
Helvellyn
Helvellyn is a mountain in the English Lake District, the apex of the Eastern Fells. At above sea level, it is the third highest peak in both the Lake District and England...
.