Fairfield (Lake District)
Encyclopedia
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
.
in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
wrote that "From the south it appears as a great horseshoe of grassy slopes below a consistently high skyline...but lacking those dramatic qualities that appeal most to the lover of hills. But on the north side the Fairfield range is magnificent: here are dark precipices, long fans of scree,...desolate combes and deep valleys."
Fairfield has connecting ridges to several other fells and in plan view can be likened to a bow-tie. The top has an east-west axis with ridges running out north and south from each end.
The two southern arms make up the popular walk, the Fairfield horseshoe
, which starts in Ambleside
and makes a circuit of the valley of Rydale to the south. On the western side, descending from Fairfield are Great Rigg
, Heron Pike
and Nab Scar
while the eastern ridge bears the tops of Hart Crag
, Dove Crag
, High Pike
and Low Pike
.
The north western ridge of Fairfield crosses Deepdale Hause to St Sunday Crag
whilst that to the north east is a short rocky spur into Deepdale, dropping over Greenhow End. A fifth line of high ground, less a ridge than a salient in the breast of the fell, runs due west to Seat Sandal
across Grisedale Hause.
The northern and eastern faces all loom above the desolate upper Deepdale, which is divided by Greenhow End. This short rocky spur has Hutaple Crag on the west and Scrubby Crag on the east. The corrie
s of Cawk Cove and Link Cove lie on either side, each with a steep headwall formed by the flanks of Fairfield.
has a depth of over 100 ft (30.5 m) and holds brown trout, perch and eels. It is also the legendary resting place of the crown of Dunmail
, following his- perhaps equally legendary- defeat in battle at Dunmail Raise
. The outflow is to Ullswater, 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north east along the strath of Grisedale. The south western flank of Fairfield looks down on Tongue Gill, a feeder of Raise Beck and Grasmere
.
-tuff
of the Deepdale Formation overlie the dacitic
lapilli-tuff of the Helvellyn Formation.
s, including a pair of large windbreaks near the high point.
Guidebook writers warn that it is easy to get lost in mist and that the cautious walker should beware of the presence of precipices to the north and west. The vista is fine, with all of the major fell groups well seen and views down into the abyss of Deepdale only yards away.
Other fells visible at close hand include Helvellyn (with its spectacular arête Striding Edge), Nethermost Pike, Saint Sunday Crag and Cofa Pike (a subsidiary summit of Fairfield).
The view south towards Ambleside and Rydal over Rydal Head is also extensive, with Windermere and Coniston Water in view.
, a walk which has no agreed direction of travel. Coming from Great Rigg, the long grassy ridge heads directly for the summit, whilst the walker arriving from Hart Crag climbs up from Link Hause with a fine view of Scrubby Crag to the right, before the stony traverse of Fairfield summit.
Perhaps the finest indirect ascent is from Patterdale
via Birks
and St Sunday Crag, following the fine narrow ridge down to Deepdale Hause before ascending rough ground to Cofa Pike. This subsidiary top of Fairfield has a fine peaked profile, quite outdoing its parent until the wide tabletop comes into view behind. A further rock tor is surmounted before the summit windbreaks are reached. From St Sunday Crag onwards the northern crags of Fairfied are seen in their full and wild glory.
Fairfield can be climbed via Grisedale Hause, either up Tongue Gill from Grasmere
, from Dunmail Raise or from Patterdale. The path up from the Hause is a rough zigzag up worsening scree. Grisedale Hause can also be reached as a ridge walk from Seat Sandal, or by cutting across the outlet of Grisedale Tarn from Dollywaggon Pike
and the Helvellyns. In this way Fairfield forms part of the Threlkeld
— Kirkstone Walk, which continues over Fairfield summit to Dove Crag and Red Screes
.
A more challenging route climbs out of Deepdale, veering into the lower part of Link Cove before surmounting Greenhow End and The Step. Deepdale Hause can also be gained from this side, but climbs direct out of Link Cove or Cowk Cove are not practicable for walkers.
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 the highest of a group of hills 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:...
, standing to the south of the Helvellyn range
Helvellyn range
Helvellyn range is the name given to a part of the Eastern Fells in the English Lake District, fell being the local word for hill. The name comes from Helvellyn, the highest point of the group....
.
Topography
There is a marked contrast between the character of the northern and southern flanks of Fairfield. 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...
in his influential 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...
wrote that "From the south it appears as a great horseshoe of grassy slopes below a consistently high skyline...but lacking those dramatic qualities that appeal most to the lover of hills. But on the north side the Fairfield range is magnificent: here are dark precipices, long fans of scree,...desolate combes and deep valleys."
Fairfield has connecting ridges to several other fells and in plan view can be likened to a bow-tie. The top has an east-west axis with ridges running out north and south from each end.
The two southern arms make up the popular walk, 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....
, which starts in 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...
and makes a circuit of the valley of Rydale to the south. On the western side, descending from Fairfield are Great Rigg
Great Rigg
Great Rigg is a fell in the English Lake District, it is situated 7 kilometres north northwest of Ambleside and reaches a height of 766 metres . It is most often climbed as part of the Fairfield horseshoe, a 16 km circular walk which starts and finishes in Ambleside...
, Heron Pike
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.-Topography:...
and Nab Scar
Nab Scar
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.-Topography:...
while the eastern ridge bears the tops of 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
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...
, 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...
.
The north western ridge of Fairfield crosses Deepdale Hause to 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...
whilst that to the north east is a short rocky spur into Deepdale, dropping over Greenhow End. A fifth line of high ground, less a ridge than a salient in the breast of the fell, runs due west to Seat Sandal
Seat Sandal
Seat Sandal is a fell in the English Lake District, it is situated four kilometers north of the village of Grasmere from where it is very well seen...
across Grisedale Hause.
The northern and eastern faces all loom above the desolate upper Deepdale, which is divided by Greenhow End. This short rocky spur has Hutaple Crag on the west and Scrubby Crag on the east. The corrie
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
s of Cawk Cove and Link Cove lie on either side, each with a steep headwall formed by the flanks of Fairfield.
Grisedale Tarn
North west of Fairfield is Grisedale Tarn at around 1770 ft (539.5 m). This sizeable tarnTarn (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...
has a depth of over 100 ft (30.5 m) and holds brown trout, perch and eels. It is also the legendary resting place of the crown of Dunmail
Dunmail
Dunmail, last King of Cumbria is a figure of both history and legend.In 945AD the Saxon king Edmund I of England conquered Strathclyde and ceded Cumbria to his ally, Malcolm I MacDonald, king of Scotland...
, following his- perhaps equally legendary- defeat in battle at Dunmail Raise
Dunmail Raise
Dunmail Raise is a hill in the English Lake District, the highest point of a pass on the Keswick-Kendal road, the A591, to the south of Thirlmere reservoir on the way to Grasmere, in the Lake District National Park...
. The outflow is to Ullswater, 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north east along the strath of Grisedale. The south western flank of Fairfield looks down on Tongue Gill, a feeder of Raise Beck and Grasmere
Grasmere (lake)
Grasmere is one of the smaller lakes of the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It gives its name to the village of Grasmere, famously associated with the poet William Wordsworth, which lies immediately to the north of the lake....
.
Geology
The volcaniclastic sandstone and lapilliLapilli
Lapilli is a size classification term for tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. Lapilli means "little stones" in Latin. They are in some senses similar to ooids or pisoids in calcareous sediments.By definition lapilli range...
-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...
of the Deepdale Formation overlie the dacitic
Dacite
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...
lapilli-tuff of the Helvellyn Formation.
Summit and View
The summit is a rough stony plateau with the high point at the western end above the brink of Cawk Cove. The top is very flat and there are many 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...
s, including a pair of large windbreaks near the high point.
Guidebook writers warn that it is easy to get lost in mist and that the cautious walker should beware of the presence of precipices to the north and west. The vista is fine, with all of the major fell groups well seen and views down into the abyss of Deepdale only yards away.
Other fells visible at close hand include Helvellyn (with its spectacular arête Striding Edge), Nethermost Pike, Saint Sunday Crag and Cofa Pike (a subsidiary summit of Fairfield).
The view south towards Ambleside and Rydal over Rydal Head is also extensive, with Windermere and Coniston Water in view.
Ascents
Fairfield is most commonly climbed as the high point of the Fairfield horseshoeFairfield 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....
, a walk which has no agreed direction of travel. Coming from Great Rigg, the long grassy ridge heads directly for the summit, whilst the walker arriving from Hart Crag climbs up from Link Hause with a fine view of Scrubby Crag to the right, before the stony traverse of Fairfield summit.
Perhaps the finest indirect ascent is 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....
via Birks
Birks (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 St Sunday Crag, following the fine narrow ridge down to Deepdale Hause before ascending rough ground to Cofa Pike. This subsidiary top of Fairfield has a fine peaked profile, quite outdoing its parent until the wide tabletop comes into view behind. A further rock tor is surmounted before the summit windbreaks are reached. From St Sunday Crag onwards the northern crags of Fairfied are seen in their full and wild glory.
Fairfield can be climbed via Grisedale Hause, either up Tongue Gill from 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...
, from Dunmail Raise or from Patterdale. The path up from the Hause is a rough zigzag up worsening scree. Grisedale Hause can also be reached as a ridge walk from Seat Sandal, or by cutting across the outlet of Grisedale Tarn from 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:...
and the Helvellyns. In this way Fairfield forms part of the Threlkeld
Threlkeld
Threlkeld is a village and civil parish in the north of the Lake District in Cumbria, England, to the east of Keswick. It lies at the southern foot of Blencathra, one of the more prominent fells in the northern Lake District, and to the north of the River Glenderamackin.Historically a part of...
— Kirkstone Walk, which continues over Fairfield summit to Dove Crag 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...
.
A more challenging route climbs out of Deepdale, veering into the lower part of Link Cove before surmounting Greenhow End and The Step. Deepdale Hause can also be gained from this side, but climbs direct out of Link Cove or Cowk Cove are not practicable for walkers.