Little Hart Crag
Encyclopedia
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 (2090 feet). 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 a Hewitt and a Nuttall fell. It is frequently climbed as part of the Dovedale horseshoe, an 11 kilometre walk over the neighbouring fells of Hartsop above How
, Hart Crag
, Dove Crag and High Hartsop Dodd
, starting and finishing at Brothers Water
.
going over High Hartsop Dodd before dropping steeply to the valley. The fell is craggy on its northern side as the crags of Black Brow fall into Dovedale.
, the underlying rock being volcaniclastic sandstone
.
, while the eastern one is more shapely but a few metres lower and has quartzite
set into its rocks. The view from the top of the fell is restricted by higher fells, but it does give the opportunity of studying the crags of Dove Crag and Red Screes
in detail.
.
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 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...
area of England
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...
. It stands at the head of Scandale, six kilometres north of 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...
, at a height of 637 metres (2090 feet). It is an eastern outlier of 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...
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:...
, although it does have 34 metres of prominence
Topographic prominence
In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...
from that fell making it both a Hewitt and a Nuttall fell. It is frequently climbed as part of the Dovedale horseshoe, an 11 kilometre walk over the neighbouring fells of 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:...
, 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 and High Hartsop Dodd
High Hartsop Dodd
High Hartsop Dodd is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It stands above Kirkstone Pass on the road from Ullswater to Ambleside.-Topography:...
, starting and finishing 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...
.
Topography
Little Hart Crag is composed of grassy slopes on its eastern slopes above the Scandale pass, with the tiny Scandale Tarn tucked in a hollow in the hill. To the east it drops steeply into Caiston Glen. On its west side it is connected to Dove Crag by the boggy hollow of Bakestone Moss and to the north east a ridge falls away towards PatterdalePatterdale
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....
going over High Hartsop Dodd before dropping steeply to the valley. The fell is craggy on its northern side as the crags of Black Brow fall into Dovedale.
Geology
The summit is an outcrop of Middle Dodd 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...
, the underlying rock being 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,...
.
Summit and View
The summit is of interest, there being two distinct tops about 100 metres apart, both of whom are rocky. The western top is the higher and is marked by a 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...
, while the eastern one is more shapely but a few metres lower and has quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
set into its rocks. The view from the top of the fell is restricted by higher fells, but it does give the opportunity of studying the crags of 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...
in detail.
Ascents
Little Hart Crag is nearly always climbed in conjunction with other adjacent fells, there being no feasible direct ascent although it can be climbed from Patterdale via the top of the Scandale Pass. The most direct route from Patterdale starts at Brothers Water and firstly ascends High Hartsop Dodd before continuing to the summit of Little Hart Crag. Also from Patterdale the fell can also be climbed in conjunction with Red Screes or Dove Crag and even FairfieldFairfield (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:...
.