Blea Rigg
Encyclopedia
Blea Rigg is a fell
in the English Lake District
, lying between the valleys of Easedale and Great Langdale. One of the Central Fells
, it is a broad plateau with a succession of rocky tops. Many routes of ascent are possible, beginning either from Grasmere or Great Langdale, though the paths are often poorly marked and hard to follow.
. A long ridge runs out eastward from here, so that the range as a whole resembles the letter 'L'. This eastward ridge begins as Blea Rigg and then continues over Silver How
and Loughrigg Fell
, before petering out near the head of Windermere
.
Blea Rigg is a broad plateau, around a mile wide and two miles long, climbing roughly east to west. It connects via a narrower section between Stickle and Codale Tarns
to Sergeant Man
and ultimately High Raise in the west. Stickle Tarn is the larger of the two waterbodies, a 50 ft deep corrie tarn with the level increased by a stone faced dam. It is used to supply water to the residents of Great Langdale. Codale Tarn is a shallow pool set amid rough ground, a little to the north east.
Blea Rigg has a number of named tops in addition to the summit. Travelling west to east these are Great Castle How (1,640 ft), Little Castle How (1,581 ft), Swinescar Pike (1,348 ft) and Lang How (1,358 ft) Silver How could also be considered part of Blea Rigg, were it not for Wainwright's
decision to accord it a separate chapter in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
.
Drainage from the southern side of the fell is via a number of feeders to Stickle Gill and Great Langdale Beck. Among the tributaries is White Gill, its ravine being an interesting route of ascent. Water from the northern flanks reaches Grasmere
via Easedale Beck and its feeders. Crags look down over Easedale Tarn and Blindtarn Moss to the north, while further rough ground looms over the Great Langdale road.
and breccia
from the Borrowdale Volcanic series. There is no history of mining within the area of the fell.
sits on rock above a stone shelter. The view takes in the eastern
and southern
fells, plus the nearby Langdale Pikes.
a stone refreshment hut stood on the slopes of Blea Rigg, just above Easedale Tarn. It is hard to imagine the scene today, with food and drink for sale halfway up a fell.
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 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...
, lying between the valleys of Easedale and Great Langdale. One of the Central Fells
Central Fells
The Central Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Reaching their highest point at High Raise , they occupy a broad area to the east of Borrowdale. Perhaps unexpectedly the Central Fells are generally lower than the surrounding hills, the Lake District's general dome-like...
, it is a broad plateau with a succession of rocky tops. Many routes of ascent are possible, beginning either from Grasmere or Great Langdale, though the paths are often poorly marked and hard to follow.
Topography
The main spine of the Central Fells runs north to south from the Vale of Keswick to its greatest elevation at High RaiseHigh Raise (Langdale)
High Raise is a fell in the Central Fells of the English Lake District not to be confused with another High Raise situated in the Far Eastern Fells...
. A long ridge runs out eastward from here, so that the range as a whole resembles the letter 'L'. This eastward ridge begins as Blea Rigg and then continues over Silver How
Silver How
Silver How is a fell in the English Lake District, standing over the village of Grasmere. How, derived from the Old Norse word haugr, is a common local term for a hill or mound.-Topography:...
and Loughrigg Fell
Loughrigg Fell
Loughrigg Fell is a hill in the central part of the English Lake District. It stands on the end of the long ridge coming down from High Raise over Silver How towards Ambleside, and is separated from its neighbours by the depression of Red Bank....
, before petering out near the head of Windermere
Windermere (lake)
Windermere is the largest natural lake in England. It is a ribbon lake formed in a glacial trough after the retreat of ice at the start of the current interglacial. It has been one of the country’s most popular places for holidays and summer homes since the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere...
.
Blea Rigg is a broad plateau, around a mile wide and two miles long, climbing roughly east to west. It connects via a narrower section between Stickle and Codale Tarns
Tarn (lake)
A tarn is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. A corrie may be called a cirque.The word is derived from the Old Norse word tjörn meaning pond...
to Sergeant Man
Sergeant Man
Sergeant Man is a fell in the English Lake District. It is properly a secondary summit of High Raise, but is given a separate chapter by Alfred Wainwright in his third Pictorial Guide nonetheless, as it "is so prominent an object and offers so compelling a challenge"...
and ultimately High Raise in the west. Stickle Tarn is the larger of the two waterbodies, a 50 ft deep corrie tarn with the level increased by a stone faced dam. It is used to supply water to the residents of Great Langdale. Codale Tarn is a shallow pool set amid rough ground, a little to the north east.
Blea Rigg has a number of named tops in addition to the summit. Travelling west to east these are Great Castle How (1,640 ft), Little Castle How (1,581 ft), Swinescar Pike (1,348 ft) and Lang How (1,358 ft) Silver How could also be considered part of Blea Rigg, were it not for Wainwright's
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...
decision to accord it a separate chapter 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...
.
Drainage from the southern side of the fell is via a number of feeders to Stickle Gill and Great Langdale Beck. Among the tributaries is White Gill, its ravine being an interesting route of ascent. Water from the northern flanks reaches Grasmere
Grasmere
Grasmere is a village, and popular tourist destination, in the centre of the English Lake District. It takes its name from the adjacent lake, and is associated with the Lake Poets...
via Easedale Beck and its feeders. Crags look down over Easedale Tarn and Blindtarn Moss to the north, while further rough ground looms over the Great Langdale road.
Geology
The summit of the fell is formed of the Pavey Ark Member, pebbly sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and breccia
Breccia
Breccia is a rock composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock cemented together by a fine-grained matrix, that can be either similar to or different from the composition of the fragments....
from the Borrowdale Volcanic series. There is no history of mining within the area of the fell.
Summit and view
The fell has many rocky tops and a number of sizeable tarns. Added to the network of paths this can make the ridge a confusing place for walkers. It is not always immediately obvious which outcrop forms the actual summit, but a 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...
sits on rock above a stone shelter. The view takes in the eastern
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:...
and southern
Southern Fells
Image:Annotated Scafell range.jpg|thumb|300px|The Scafellsrect 23 372 252 419 Slight Side rect 173 794 560 834 Scafell East Buttressrect 707 787 893 861 Esk Pike or Crag rect 245 303 409 358 Sca Fell rect 408 238 637 280 Mickledore Image:Annotated Scafell range.jpg|thumb|300px|The Scafellsrect 23...
fells, plus the nearby Langdale Pikes.
Ascents
Many routes of ascent are possible from either side of the ridge, with a climb from Grasmere over Silver How also popular. From the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Great Langdale the walker can climb either via Stickle Tarn or up the ravine of White Gill. From Grasmere, Easedale Tarn is the preliminary objective. From here Blea Crag can be outflanked on either side to arrive on the summit ridge to the east or west of the summit. Before World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a stone refreshment hut stood on the slopes of Blea Rigg, just above Easedale Tarn. It is hard to imagine the scene today, with food and drink for sale halfway up a fell.