Dove Crag
Encyclopedia
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 (2,598 feet). 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.
for his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
. He wrote the Dove Crag chapter on 9 November 1952 as he started Book One, after ascending the fell from Ambleside
in the previous weeks, making notes and taking photographs. It would take Wainwright a further 14 years to finish the complete series of seven books and 214 fells.
and the Kirkstone Pass
. The watershed runs south east from Fairfield
, crossing Hart Crag
, Dove Crag, Little Hart Crag
and Red Screes
. Dove Crag shows its unassuming back to Rydale in the west, while great crags command the head of Dovedale on the opposite side of the ridge. A lower tier of crags juts out into the valley with Stangs at its head, dividing Dovedale Beck from its main tributary, Hogget Gill.
Dove Crag throws out a southern ridge which descends over High Pike
and Low Pike
towards Ambleside
.
of the Deepdale Formation is interleaved with andesite
sills and breccia
.
with classic routes such as Extol and Fast and Furious. Lately it has become used by boulderers
with several top class climbs such as Impailed and Pail Attitude on the boulders that have become detached from the main crag. Concealed within the crags is the “Priest's Hole”. This is a cave
, roughly about five metres deep with extra protection provided by a wall built in front, which is often used by walkers and climbers as a rough overnight camp. It is well used and stocked (even having a visitors' book) but it is not easy to find in bad conditions. It is marked on the large scale Ordnance Survey
maps but this is only of limited use. It is not mentioned by Alfred Wainwright
in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
, which suggests that he did not know of its existence.
. The ascent from Patterdale starts from the car park at Brothers Water
and takes the path to Hartsop Hall. Here the rising path up Dovedale is taken. As the crags are approached at the head of the valley, there is a choice of going to the right or left of them to reach the summit. The fell can also be approached from Ambleside along its long southern ridge passing over the tops of Low Pike
and High Pike
. The summit is a small rock platform with a cairn
.
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...
. Situated 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:...
of the national park, seven kilometres south-south-west of Glenridding
Glenridding
Glenridding is a village located at the southern end of Ullswater, in the English Lake District. The village is popular with mountain walkers who can scale England's third highest mountain, Helvellyn, and many other challenging peaks from here. The village has ample accommodation including two...
, it reaches a height of 792 metres (2,598 feet). The fell is often climbed as part of the Fairfield horseshoe
Fairfield horseshoe
Fairfield Horseshoe is a classic circular hillwalking ridge walk route starting from Rydal or Ambleside in the English Lake District that takes in all the fells that surround the valley of the Rydal Beck....
walk but a direct ascent from Patterdale
Patterdale
Patterdale is a small village and civil parish in the eastern part of the English Lake District in the Eden District of Cumbria, and the long valley in which they are found, also called the Ullswater Valley....
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.
Wainwright's Pictorial Guides
One of Dove Crag's claims to fame is that it was the first chapter ever written by Alfred WainwrightAlfred 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...
for 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...
. He wrote the Dove Crag chapter on 9 November 1952 as he started Book One, after ascending the fell 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...
in the previous weeks, making notes and taking photographs. It would take Wainwright a further 14 years to finish the complete series of seven books and 214 fells.
Topography
The Fairfield Group of fells stands between GrasmereGrasmere
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...
and the Kirkstone Pass
Kirkstone Pass
Kirkstone Pass is a mountain pass in the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It is at an altitude of .This is the Lake District's highest pass that is open to motor traffic and it connects Ambleside in the Rothay Valley to Patterdale in the Ullswater Valley - the A592 road. In places,...
. The watershed runs south east from 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:...
, crossing Hart Crag
Hart 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...
, Dove Crag, Little Hart Crag
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 . 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...
and Red Screes
Red Screes
Red Screes is a fell in the English Lake District, situated between the villages of Patterdale and Ambleside. It is an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells, but is separated from its neighbours by low cols...
. Dove Crag shows its unassuming back to Rydale in the west, while great crags command the head of Dovedale on the opposite side of the ridge. A lower tier of crags juts out into the valley with Stangs at its head, dividing Dovedale Beck from its main tributary, Hogget Gill.
Dove Crag throws out a southern ridge which descends over High Pike
High Pike (Scandale)
High Pike is a fell in the English Lake District, located five kilometres north of Ambleside. Situated in the Eastern Fells, it can be confused with another Lake District High Pike in the Northern Fells. High Pike reaches a height of...
and Low Pike
Low Pike
Low Pike is a small fell in the English Lake District. It has a modest height of 508 m 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...
towards 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...
.
Geology
The volcaniclastic 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,...
of the Deepdale Formation is interleaved with andesite
Andesite
Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...
sills 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....
.
Rock Climbing
The crags of Dove Crag are the fell's finest feature. The crag is about 75 metres high at its highest point and is a popular venue for rock climbersClimbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
with classic routes such as Extol and Fast and Furious. Lately it has become used by boulderers
Bouldering
Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...
with several top class climbs such as Impailed and Pail Attitude on the boulders that have become detached from the main crag. Concealed within the crags is the “Priest's Hole”. This is a cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
, roughly about five metres deep with extra protection provided by a wall built in front, which is often used by walkers and climbers as a rough overnight camp. It is well used and stocked (even having a visitors' book) but it is not easy to find in bad conditions. It is marked on the large scale Ordnance Survey
Ordnance 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 this is only of limited use. It is not mentioned 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...
, which suggests that he did not know of its existence.
Ascents
As mentioned earlier, the majority of the people who climb Dove Crag do so from Ambleside as part of the Fairfield horseshoe walk. However, the ascent from Patterdale gives the walker the opportunity to explore the relatively unknown valley of Dovedale and the beck which flows down it and to study the crags of the fell. It is believed that the upper part of Dovedale was once the crater of a volcanoVolcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
. The ascent from Patterdale starts from the car park at Brothers Water
Brothers Water
Brothers Water is in the Hartsop valley and is a small lake in the eastern region of the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. Once called Broad Water, it lies at the northern end of Kirkstone Pass, affording picturesque views on the descent towards Patterdale.Dorothy Wordsworth, having...
and takes the path to Hartsop Hall. Here the rising path up Dovedale is taken. As the crags are approached at the head of the valley, there is a choice of going to the right or left of them to reach the summit. The fell can also be approached from Ambleside along its long southern ridge passing over the tops of Low Pike
Low Pike
Low Pike is a small fell in the English Lake District. It has a modest height of 508 m 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...
and High Pike
High Pike (Scandale)
High Pike is a fell in the English Lake District, located five kilometres north of Ambleside. Situated in the Eastern Fells, it can be confused with another Lake District High Pike in the Northern Fells. High Pike reaches a height of...
. The summit is a small rock platform with 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...
.