Nab Scar
Encyclopedia
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
.
, but the name is also given to the whole of the ridge south of Lord Crag. Alfred Wainwright
gave it the status of a separate fell in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
and that convention is followed here.
The popular Fairfield horseshoe
ridge walk either begins or ends with Nab Scar, consensus never having been achieved on the "correct" direction of travel. This route also takes in the additional Wainwrights of Heron Pike, Great Rigg
, Fairfield
, Hart Crag
, Dove Crag
, High Pike
and Low Pike
in a circuit of Rydale.
From the double summit of Heron Pike, a grassy ridge descends south westerly, gradually narrowing until a rougher section falls more steeply at Lord Crag. Beyond here it levels out, curving back a little to the east and passing over a couple of low mounds. The second of these is taken as the summit of Nab Scar. A few hundred yards further on is the scar itself, dropping steeply to the lake with woodland on the lower slopes. On the shore of the lake below the fell is Nab Cottage, past home to various of the Lake Poets
. To the west is the little valley of Dunney Beck, separating Nab Scar from a low south western rigg running down from Heron Pike to Town End and the River Rothay. The eastern boundary of Nab Scar is the long, quiet valley of Rydale. All of these waters ultimately meet a Rydal village before turning south for Windermere
.
A little to the west of the summit is Dockey Tarn
, one of the smallest such bodies of water to be named on Ordnance Survey
maps. This shallow, rocky bottomed pool has a fine colony of water starwort.
. The view westwards is extensive, with the Central Fells
seen to particular effect..
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...
, an outlier of the 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:...
group 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:...
. It stands above Rydal Water
Rydal Water
Rydal Water is a small lake in the central part of the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It is located near the hamlet of Rydal, between Grasmere and Ambleside in the Rothay Valley....
.
Topography
Nab Scar is properly the steep terminal face of the southern ridge of Heron PikeHeron 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:...
, but the name is also given to the whole of the ridge south of Lord Crag. 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...
gave it the status of a separate fell 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...
and that convention is followed here.
The popular 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....
ridge walk either begins or ends with Nab Scar, consensus never having been achieved on the "correct" direction of travel. This route also takes in the additional Wainwrights of Heron Pike, 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...
, 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:...
, 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...
in a circuit of Rydale.
From the double summit of Heron Pike, a grassy ridge descends south westerly, gradually narrowing until a rougher section falls more steeply at Lord Crag. Beyond here it levels out, curving back a little to the east and passing over a couple of low mounds. The second of these is taken as the summit of Nab Scar. A few hundred yards further on is the scar itself, dropping steeply to the lake with woodland on the lower slopes. On the shore of the lake below the fell is Nab Cottage, past home to various of the Lake Poets
Lake Poets
The Lake Poets are a group of English poets who all lived in the Lake District of England at the turn of the nineteenth century. As a group, they followed no single "school" of thought or literary practice then known, although their works were uniformly disparaged by the Edinburgh Review...
. To the west is the little valley of Dunney Beck, separating Nab Scar from a low south western rigg running down from Heron Pike to Town End and the River Rothay. The eastern boundary of Nab Scar is the long, quiet valley of Rydale. All of these waters ultimately meet a Rydal village before turning south for 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...
.
A little to the west of the summit is Dockey Tarn
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...
, one of the smallest such bodies of water to be named on 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. This shallow, rocky bottomed pool has a fine colony of water starwort.
Summit and view
The summit of Nab Scar bears a large 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...
. The view westwards is extensive, with 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...
seen to particular effect..