Seatallan
Encyclopedia
Seatallan is a mountain in the western part of the English
Lake District
. It is rounded, grass
y and fairly unassuming, occupying a large amount of land. However, it is classed as a Marilyn
because of the low elevation of the col
connecting it to Haycock, its nearest higher neighbour to the north. The name Seatallan is believed to have a Cumbric origin, meaning "Aleyn's high pasture
".
occupy a triangular sector of the Lake District, bordered by the River Cocker to the north east and Wasdale
to the south east. Westwards the hills diminish toward the coastal plain of Cumberland. At the central hub of the high country are Great Gable
and its satellites, while two principal ridges fan out on either flank of Ennerdale
, the western fells in effect being a great horseshoe around this long wild valley. Seatallan is an outlier of the southern arm.
The main watershed runs broadly westwards from Great Gable, dividing the headwaters of Ennerdale
and Wasdale
. Travelling in this direction the principal hills are Kirk Fell
, Pillar
, Scoat Fell
, Haycock and Caw Fell
. Haycock sends out a long southern ridge terminating in Seatallan.
Seatallan begins at the Pots of Ashness, a broad grassy depression to the south of Haycock. From here a stiff ascent up what may have been a landslip leads directly to the summit. The top of the fell resembles a truncated cone, cut off at an angle and sloping away to the south. This cone in turn stands upon a much broader upland plateau which stretches away five miles to the south west. The River Bleng forms the entire western boundary, beginning on the slopes of Haycock and then flowing out in a huge loop to the south west. It finally joins the Irt and continues on to the sea at Ravenglass
. The extremity of the Bleng's circuit, near to Gosforth
, is given over to lowland cultivation and although belonging topographically to Seatallan could hardly be termed fellside. Higher up the south western shoulder are conifer plantations, both along the Bleng and above the Irt. Open fellside begins two miles south west of the summit.
To the east of Pots of Ashness is the valley of Nether Beck, flowing to Wastwater, with Red Pike
beyond. Nether Beck swings away from Seatallan on its southward journey, diverted by the rocky height of Middle Fell
. This is Seatallan's principal satellite, a broad ridge falling from the east of the summit cone. Middle Fell curves around to run parallel to Seatallan with the valley of Greendale Gill dividing the two. The stream begins at Greendale Tarn, nestled into the steep face of Middle Fell. The tarn
, around 30 ft deep, sits in a long narrow bowl, looked down on by a collection of huge boulders.
Seatallan's most prominent feature is Buckbarrow
, the 400 ft rampart of crags on the southern edge overlooking lower Greendale and Wast Water
. Buckbarrow is given a separate chapter in A. Wainwright's The Western Fells, and is thus classed as a Wainwright, despite having virtually no topographic prominence
of its own. That convention is followed here. Above Buckbarrow are the minor tops of Glade How and Cat Bield, leading onto the great south west shoulder. Seatallan has other areas of much less impressive crag above the upper Bleng (Raven Crag) and Nether Beck (Winscale How).
-phyric dacite
lava
referred to as Seatallan Dacite. Above the Bleng are large areas of diorite
, while around Buckbarrow there are outcrops of the andesite
Birker Fell Formation. Minor intrusions of rhyolite
and basalt
have been located to the north.
marks the summit, alongside an Ordnance Survey
triangulation
column. The top is grassed and it is assumed that the tumulus was built from stones on the north slope. The view is heavily obstructed by the main range of the western fells, the highpoints being the Scafells
and Coniston Fells
. Wastwater can be brought into view by walking north east.
begin from Harrow Head. An alternative bypasses the subsidiary summit to gain Cat Bields from the south west. From Greendale the gill can be followed almost to the tarn
, before branching off up the grassy slopes of Seatallan. If preferred Middle Fell can be used as a stepping stone onto Seatallan from the same point. Finally from Nether Beck Bridge the route to Haycock can be used, turning west via Lad Crag Beck to the summit.
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 rounded, grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
y and fairly unassuming, occupying a large amount of land. However, it is classed as a Marilyn
Marilyn (hill)
A Marilyn is a mountain or hill in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland or Isle of Man with a relative height of at least 150 metres , regardless of absolute height or other merit...
because of the low elevation of the 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...
connecting it to Haycock, its nearest higher neighbour to the north. The name Seatallan is believed to have a Cumbric origin, meaning "Aleyn's high pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
".
Topography
The Western FellsWestern Fells
The Western Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Centred on Great Gable they occupy a triangular area between Buttermere and Wasdale...
occupy a triangular sector of the Lake District, bordered by the River Cocker to the north east and Wasdale
Wasdale
Wasdale is a valley and civil parish in the western part of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Irt flows through the valley to its estuary at Ravenglass. A large part of the main valley floor is occupied by Wastwater, the deepest lake in England...
to the south east. Westwards the hills diminish toward the coastal plain of Cumberland. At the central hub of the high country are Great Gable
Great Gable
Great Gable is a mountain lying at the very heart of the English Lake District, appearing as a pyramid from Wasdale , but as a dome from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are many different routes to the summit...
and its satellites, while two principal ridges fan out on either flank of Ennerdale
Ennerdale
Ennerdale may refer to:* Ennerdale, Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa* Ennerdale Water, a lake in the Lake District in England**Ennerdale Bridge, a nearby settlement...
, the western fells in effect being a great horseshoe around this long wild valley. Seatallan is an outlier of the southern arm.
The main watershed runs broadly westwards from Great Gable, dividing the headwaters of Ennerdale
Ennerdale
Ennerdale may refer to:* Ennerdale, Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa* Ennerdale Water, a lake in the Lake District in England**Ennerdale Bridge, a nearby settlement...
and Wasdale
Wasdale
Wasdale is a valley and civil parish in the western part of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Irt flows through the valley to its estuary at Ravenglass. A large part of the main valley floor is occupied by Wastwater, the deepest lake in England...
. Travelling in this direction the principal hills are Kirk Fell
Kirk Fell
Kirk Fell is a fell in the Western part of the English Lake District. It is situated between Great Gable and Pillar on the long ring of fells surrounding the valley of Ennerdale, and also stands over Wasdale to the south...
, Pillar
Pillar (Lake District)
Pillar is a mountain in the western part of the English Lake District. Situated between the valleys of Ennerdale to the north and Wasdale to the south, it is the highest point of the Pillar group . At 892 metres it is the eighth highest mountain in the Lake District...
, Scoat Fell
Scoat Fell
Scoat Fell is a fell in the western part of the English Lake District. It stands at the head of the Mosedale Horseshoe with its back to Ennerdale...
, Haycock and Caw Fell
Caw Fell
Caw Fell is a fell in the English Lake District, standing between Haycock the Lank Rigg group. It occupies a wide upland area with Ennerdale to the north and Blengdale to the south...
. Haycock sends out a long southern ridge terminating in Seatallan.
Seatallan begins at the Pots of Ashness, a broad grassy depression to the south of Haycock. From here a stiff ascent up what may have been a landslip leads directly to the summit. The top of the fell resembles a truncated cone, cut off at an angle and sloping away to the south. This cone in turn stands upon a much broader upland plateau which stretches away five miles to the south west. The River Bleng forms the entire western boundary, beginning on the slopes of Haycock and then flowing out in a huge loop to the south west. It finally joins the Irt and continues on to the sea at 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...
. The extremity of the Bleng's circuit, near to Gosforth
Gosforth
Gosforth is an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom, to the north of the city centre. Gosforth constituted an urban district from 1895 to 1974, when it became part of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a population of 23,620...
, is given over to lowland cultivation and although belonging topographically to Seatallan could hardly be termed fellside. Higher up the south western shoulder are conifer plantations, both along the Bleng and above the Irt. Open fellside begins two miles south west of the summit.
To the east of Pots of Ashness is the valley of Nether Beck, flowing to Wastwater, with Red Pike
Red Pike (Wasdale)
Red Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is 826 m or high and lies due north of Wast Water. It is often climbed as part of the Mosedale Horseshoe, a walk which also includes Pillar....
beyond. Nether Beck swings away from Seatallan on its southward journey, diverted by the rocky height of Middle Fell
Middle Fell
Middle Fell is a hill or fell in the English Lake District. It is a satellite of Seatallan standing above the northern shore of Wastwater. Middle Fell can be climbed from Greendale near the foot of Wastwater, and a fine view of the lake backed by the Wastwater Screes is visible from the...
. This is Seatallan's principal satellite, a broad ridge falling from the east of the summit cone. Middle Fell curves around to run parallel to Seatallan with the valley of Greendale Gill dividing the two. The stream begins at Greendale Tarn, nestled into the steep face of Middle Fell. The 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...
, around 30 ft deep, sits in a long narrow bowl, looked down on by a collection of huge boulders.
Seatallan's most prominent feature is Buckbarrow
Buckbarrow
Buckbarrow is a small fell in the English Lake District situated at the western end of Wast Water. It is featured in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells and is given a height of 1,410 ft approximately; however, the Ordnance Survey and other guide books now give an...
, the 400 ft rampart of crags on the southern edge overlooking lower Greendale and Wast Water
Wast Water
Wast Water or Wastwater is a lake located in Wasdale, a valley in the western part of the Lake District National Park, England. The lake is approximately 4.6 kilometres long and 600 metres wide. It is the deepest lake in England at 79 metres , and is owned by the National Trust...
. Buckbarrow is given a separate chapter in A. Wainwright's The Western Fells, and is thus classed as a Wainwright, despite having virtually no topographic 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...
of its own. That convention is followed here. Above Buckbarrow are the minor tops of Glade How and Cat Bield, leading onto the great south west shoulder. Seatallan has other areas of much less impressive crag above the upper Bleng (Raven Crag) and Nether Beck (Winscale How).
Geology
Much of the fell is covered in deep drift deposits, but the underlying rock is generally the plagioclasePlagioclase
Plagioclase is an important series of tectosilicate minerals within the feldspar family. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a solid solution series, more properly known as the plagioclase feldspar series...
-phyric dacite
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...
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...
referred to as Seatallan Dacite. Above the Bleng are large areas of diorite
Diorite
Diorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar , biotite, hornblende, and/or pyroxene. It may contain small amounts of quartz, microcline and olivine. Zircon, apatite, sphene, magnetite, ilmenite and sulfides occur as accessory...
, while around Buckbarrow there are outcrops of the 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,...
Birker Fell Formation. Minor intrusions of rhyolite
Rhyolite
This page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
and basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
have been located to the north.
Summit and view
A large tumulusTumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
marks the summit, alongside an 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...
triangulation
Triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly...
column. The top is grassed and it is assumed that the tumulus was built from stones on the north slope. The view is heavily obstructed by the main range of the western fells, the highpoints being the Scafells
Scafells
Image:Annotated Scafell range.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Scafell range as seen looking west from Crinkle Crags. rect 23 372 252 419 Slight Side rect 173 794 560 834 Scafell East Buttress...
and Coniston Fells
Furness Fells
The Furness Fells are those hills and mountains in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the Furness Fells or High Furness is the name given to the upland part of Furness, that is, that part of Furness lying north of the line between Ulverston and Ireleth...
. Wastwater can be brought into view by walking north east.
Ascents
Indirect ascents via BuckbarrowBuckbarrow
Buckbarrow is a small fell in the English Lake District situated at the western end of Wast Water. It is featured in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells and is given a height of 1,410 ft approximately; however, the Ordnance Survey and other guide books now give an...
begin from Harrow Head. An alternative bypasses the subsidiary summit to gain Cat Bields from the south west. From Greendale the gill can be followed almost to the 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...
, before branching off up the grassy slopes of Seatallan. If preferred Middle Fell can be used as a stepping stone onto Seatallan from the same point. Finally from Nether Beck Bridge the route to Haycock can be used, turning west via Lad Crag Beck to the summit.