Seathwaite Fell

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Seathwaite Fell
Seathwaite Fell from Seathwaite.
Elevation	632 m (2,073 ft)
Location	Cumbria, England
Range	Lake District
Prominence	c. 31 m
Topo map	OS Landrangers 89, 90, Explorers OL4, OL6
OS grid reference	NY227097
Listing	Hewitt, Nuttall, Wainwright (see below)

Name	Grid ref	Height	Status
Listed summits of Seathwaite Fell
Seathwaite Fell South Top	NY227094	631 m (2,070 ft)	Nuttall
Seathwaite Fell 'Traditional' Top	NY229102	601 m (1,971 ft)	Wainwright

Seathwaite Fell is an area of the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It stands above the village of the same name at the head of Borrowdale.

1 Position of the summit
2 Topography
3 Ascents
4 Other Information
5 References

[edit] Position of the summit

The fell is very rugged with several small tops along the summit of the ridge. At the northern end is a peaked summit at 1,971 ft (601 m), very prominent from the valley below. Alfred Wainwright took this as the summit of the fell in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, even though he readily acknowledged that it wasn't the highest point. This is one of many subjective decisions which differentiate Wainwrights from more modern (and logical) hill lists such as Nuttalls and Hewitts. Wainwright stated that the 1,971 ft top was generally regarded as the summit of the fell, although he cited no references.^[1] Other guidebooks have taken Wainwright's lead, Mark Richards stating Stand upon that (northern) pike and you know why tradition has ordained this to be the summit. The view down Borrowdale is peerless. A new generation of fellwalkers may arrive seeking to overthrow the traditional perception and feeling no compunction at adopting the highest ground as a summit.^[2] Richards does at least acknowledge the highest point as a top, as does Birkett, who gives equal status to both.^[3]

To provide ease of identification, the highest point (2,073 ft, 632 m) is named Great Slack on Ordnance Survey map. It stands near the centre of the fell and is listed as a Nuttall and a Hewitt, but not of course as a Wainwright. The situation is further complicated by a third top to the south (2,070 ft, 601 m). This has been of little interest to guidebook writers, but of great significance to the authors of modern hill lists based purely upon height and prominence. Thus Seathwaite Fell South Top, unnamed on maps, is a Nuttall, reducing the 'traditional' summit to third place.

[edit] Topography

Seathwaite Fell is a northern ridge of Great End in the Scafells. It projects out from beneath the great northern cliff of its parent, occupying a tongue of land between two tributaries of the River Derwent. These are Styhead Gill to the west and Grains Gill to the east, the streams meeting at Stockley Bridge below the nose of the fell. Sty Head Gill falls from the walkers' pass at Sty Head, the main pedestrian route from Borrowdale to Wasdale. Near the head of the pass is Styhead Tarn. This in turn is fed by the outflow of Sprinkling Tarn, a beautiful indented pool lying between Seathwaite Fell and Great End. Sprinkling Tarn lies very close to the course of Grains Gill, ensuring that Seathwaite Fell is almost surrounded by water.

The prow of the fell above Stockley Bridge has two tiers of crag, with Aaron Crags standing above Black Waugh. A long line of crags also stands above Grains Gill on the eastern side, looming above the popular path from Seathwaite to Esk Hause. The western face, although rough, drops more gently down to Styhead Gill. In addition to a number of rocky knolls, the summit ridge also carries numerous small tarns. None are named on Ordnance Survey maps, although the one below the south top is of a reasonable size.

The 'traditional' northern top and Great Slack have small cairns. The view northward is good from both, but only the traditional top shows the foreground of upper Borrowdale. To the south is an intimate view of the cliffs of Great End.^[1]^[2]

[edit] Ascents

The fell is invariably climbed from Seathwaite, taking the bridleway from Stockley Bridge which goes to Styhead Tarn for a kilometre, passing the waterfall of Taylorgill Force, before striking south westerly over rocky terrain to reach the cairned northern summit. A ridge path works its way south from here although it bypasses both Great Slack and the south top and a short detour is needed to reach them. An alternative is to make for Sprinkling Tarn from either Esk Hause or Sty Head and then work back along the ridge. ^[2]

[edit] Other Information

The earliest pencils were made of graphite found on Seathwaite Fell, which was used by the local farmers for marking their sheep.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Wainwright, A. (2003). "Great End", A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book 4 The Southern Fells. London: Francis Lincoln, Pg 2. ISBN 0-7112-2230-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c Richards, Mark: Mid-Western Fells: Collins (2004): ISBN 0-00-711368-4
^ Birkett, Bill: Complete Lakeland Fells: Collins Willow (1994): ISBN 0-0021-8406-0