Cold Pike
Encyclopedia
Cold Pike is a fell
in the English
Lake District
. It is a satellite of Crinkle Crags
and stands above the Upper Duddon Valley
.
is the last of the high cirque of fells forming the head of upper Eskdale. It sends out a trio of ridges to the south, running parallel like the prongs of a trident. Working from the west these ridges culminate in Hard Knott
, Little Stand and Cold Pike. The Cold Pike ridge begins indistinctly in an area of rocky knolls and small tarns
beneath the Fifth Crinkle. Gradually gaining definition it descends to a broad grassy saddle before rising again to the summit plateau of Cold Pike. To the north of the saddle is Great How (2,283 ft). This top is considered by most guidebooks to be a subsidiary of Crinkle Crags rather than the nearer Cold Pike. Beyond the summit the ridge continues for another half mile south eastward before falling steeply over the many tiered crags of Wrynose Breast.
Wrynose Breast stands above the nascent Duddon and the Wrynose Pass
road, which provides the only vehicular link between central Lakeland and the Duddon Valley. Together with Hardknott Pass
to the west, Wrynose is the latest incarnation of the Roman
road from Ambleside
to the port of Ravenglass
.
To the west of Cold Pike is the Gaitscale Beck, the watercourse separating it from Little Stand. To the east across a wide low col
is Pike of Blisco
, a conical fell with its footing firmly in Langdale. The source of the River Duddon flows south from this col, curving westward around the foot of Wrynose Breast. To the north is Red Tarn, a feeder via Oxendale of Great Langdale
Beck. Red Tarn is an elongated pool whose stony bed can be seen through clear shallow waters, reputed to hold trout. It forms a focal point for walkers as the wide path from the summit of Wrynose Pass down to Stool End runs beside it, a further path branching off across the outflow to Crinkle Crags.
lava
flows with the volcaniclastic sandstone
s and tuff
s of the Blisco Member outcropping to the south.
The main Red Tarn path was originally made to serve Red Crag Mine. This consists of a series of pits and trial borings for iron
, concentrated about 300 yards north of the tarn. It was worked from 1860 to 1875 but never achieved commercial success.
maps, but are generally referred to as Cold Pike West Top and Cold Pike Far West Top. The true summit is itself one of a series of three outcrops in a mild echoing of Crinkle Crags. Each has a cairn
, the highest being a fine example. The top is an excellent place from which to survey Crinkle Crags, the Langdale Pikes, and the northern end of the Coniston Fells across Wrynose Bottom; there is a fine distant prospect of the Pennines
above Windermere
, and Morecambe Bay
above the Duddon Valley
.
or Wrynose Bottom, first ascending Wrynose Pass. A direct route from Wrynose Bottom is also possible although pathless, skirting around the left of the crags. A consideration here is that the Duddon will need to be forded when starting out. Cold Pike is often seen as a worthwhile detour en route to Crinkle Crags.
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...
. It is a satellite of Crinkle Crags
Crinkle Crags
Crinkle Crags is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It forms part of two major rings of mountains, surrounding the valleys of Great Langdale and Upper Eskdale. The name reflects the fell's physical appearance as its summit ridge is a series of five rises and depressions ...
and stands above the Upper Duddon Valley
Duddon Valley
The Duddon Valley is a valley in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Duddon flows through the valley, rising in the mountains between Eskdale and Langdale, before flowing into the Irish Sea near Broughton in Furness...
.
Topography
When travelling clockwise Crinkle CragsCrinkle Crags
Crinkle Crags is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It forms part of two major rings of mountains, surrounding the valleys of Great Langdale and Upper Eskdale. The name reflects the fell's physical appearance as its summit ridge is a series of five rises and depressions ...
is the last of the high cirque of fells forming the head of upper Eskdale. It sends out a trio of ridges to the south, running parallel like the prongs of a trident. Working from the west these ridges culminate in Hard Knott
Hard Knott
Hard Knott is a hill in the English Lake District, at the head of Eskdale.-Topography:The headwaters of the River Esk and the Duddon are separated by a ridge falling south west from the summit of Crinkle Crags. This line of high ground continues over many twists and turns for , finally meeting the...
, Little Stand and Cold Pike. The Cold Pike ridge begins indistinctly in an area of rocky knolls and small 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...
beneath the Fifth Crinkle. Gradually gaining definition it descends to a broad grassy saddle before rising again to the summit plateau of Cold Pike. To the north of the saddle is Great How (2,283 ft). This top is considered by most guidebooks to be a subsidiary of Crinkle Crags rather than the nearer Cold Pike. Beyond the summit the ridge continues for another half mile south eastward before falling steeply over the many tiered crags of Wrynose Breast.
Wrynose Breast stands above the nascent Duddon and the Wrynose Pass
Wrynose Pass
The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale.-Road:...
road, which provides the only vehicular link between central Lakeland and the Duddon Valley. Together with Hardknott Pass
Hardknott Pass
Hardknott Pass is a pass that carries a minor road between Eskdale and the Duddon Valley in the region of Cumbria, England, in the Lake District National Park...
to the west, Wrynose is the latest incarnation of the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
road from Ambleside
Ambleside
Ambleside is a town in Cumbria, in North West England.Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake...
to the port of Ravenglass
Ravenglass
Ravenglass is a small coastal village and natural harbour in Cumbria, England. It is the only coastal town within the Lake District National Park...
.
To the west of Cold Pike is the Gaitscale Beck, the watercourse separating it from Little Stand. To the east across a wide low col
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
is Pike of Blisco
Pike of Blisco
Pike of Blisco, or Pike o' Blisco, is a mountain in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. Located between the valleys of Great Langdale and Little Langdale, its relative isolation from neighbouring fells together with slopes falling away immediately from the summit in all directions mean it has...
, a conical fell with its footing firmly in Langdale. The source of the River Duddon flows south from this col, curving westward around the foot of Wrynose Breast. To the north is Red Tarn, a feeder via Oxendale of Great Langdale
Great Langdale
Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in the county of Cumbria, in the northwest of England. It is often simply referred to as Langdale, the epithet Great distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale....
Beck. Red Tarn is an elongated pool whose stony bed can be seen through clear shallow waters, reputed to hold trout. It forms a focal point for walkers as the wide path from the summit of Wrynose Pass down to Stool End runs beside it, a further path branching off across the outflow to Crinkle Crags.
Geology and Mining
The fell top is composed of daciteDacite
Dacite is an igneous, volcanic rock. It has an aphanitic to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. The relative proportions of feldspars and quartz in dacite, and in many other volcanic rocks, are illustrated in the QAPF diagram...
lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
flows with the volcaniclastic sandstone
Sandstone
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,...
s and tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
s of the Blisco Member outcropping to the south.
The main Red Tarn path was originally made to serve Red Crag Mine. This consists of a series of pits and trial borings for iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, concentrated about 300 yards north of the tarn. It was worked from 1860 to 1875 but never achieved commercial success.
Summit and View
The summit plateau of Cold Pike has three widely separated summits, all of which are listed as nuttalls. The lower two are unnamed on Ordnance SurveyOrdnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps, but are generally referred to as Cold Pike West Top and Cold Pike Far West Top. The true summit is itself one of a series of three outcrops in a mild echoing of Crinkle Crags. Each has a cairn
Cairn
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...
, the highest being a fine example. The top is an excellent place from which to survey Crinkle Crags, the Langdale Pikes, and the northern end of the Coniston Fells across Wrynose Bottom; there is a fine distant prospect of the Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
above 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...
, and Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 310 km².-Natural features:The rivers Leven,...
above the Duddon Valley
Duddon Valley
The Duddon Valley is a valley in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Duddon flows through the valley, rising in the mountains between Eskdale and Langdale, before flowing into the Irish Sea near Broughton in Furness...
.
Ascents
Cold Pike can be reached easily via Red Tarn from the carpark at the summit of Wrynose Pass. It can also be climbed (less easily) from Great Langdale. More "honest" walkers beginning in the south may wish to start from Little LangdaleLittle Langdale
Little Langdale is a valley in the Lake District, England containing Little Langdale Tarn and a hamlet also called Little Langdale. A second tarn, Blea Tarn, is in a hanging valley between Little Langdale and the larger Great Langdale to the north...
or Wrynose Bottom, first ascending Wrynose Pass. A direct route from Wrynose Bottom is also possible although pathless, skirting around the left of the crags. A consideration here is that the Duddon will need to be forded when starting out. Cold Pike is often seen as a worthwhile detour en route to Crinkle Crags.