Grisedale Pike

Grisedale Pike
Lake District National Park Show map of the Lake District Grisedale Pike Location in Allerdale, Cumbria Show map of the former Allerdale Borough
Location	Cumbria, England
Parent range	Lake District, North Western Fells
OS grid	NY198225

Listed summits

of Grisedale Pike

Name	Grid ref	Height	Status
Hobcarton Crag	NY193220	739 m (2425 ft)	Hewitt, Nuttall
Hobcarton End	NY194235	634 m (2080 ft)	Nuttall

Grisedale Pike is a

. Grisedale Pike presents a striking appearance when viewed from the east, particularly from the vicinity of Keswick. It possesses two subsidiary summits: one unnamed (usually referred to as 'subsidiary summit', situated above Hobcarton Crag); the other Hobcarton End.

Topography

Grisedale Pike is a large fell throwing down three long ridges to the valley floors and two shorter ones that link to the adjoining fell of

, with the Hospital Plantation occupying much of the valley of Grisedale.

Geology

The ridge is composed of the laminated mudstone and siltstone of the Kirkstile Formation, typical of the Skiddaw group.^[1]

The

. The mine has had many owners and been closed and reopened regularly since the early nineteenth century. The mine suffered a major collapse in 1990 which led to the owners, the New Coledale Mining Company, deciding to close it.

Ascents

The majority of ascents of Grisedale Pike usually start at the village of Braithwaite using a well blazed trail up the eastern ridge. An alternative ascent starts at a car park in Hospital Plantation near the top of the Whinlatter Pass and goes up the northern ridge taking in the “Nuttall” top of Hobcarton End before continuing to the summit. From the same starting point it is possible to climb the fell up the north eastern ridge following a ruined

.

Grisedale Pike is often included in the circular walk called the Coledale Round, an 11-mile (17.5-kilometre) walk starting and finishing at Braithwaite. It includes the other fells of

status.

Summit

A description of the view from west round clockwise, from this computer-generated panorama:

The hills near Belfast (about 180 km (110 mi) away) are visible over the sea to the west. In the north, the

group (3).

The distant skyline continues over the Kielder Forest hills (55) to reach The Cheviot (75) before it is interrupted by the Skiddaw group (6) and Blencathra (8) with the Vale of Keswick and Bassenthwaite Lake in the foreground. The section of the Pennines containing Cross Fell (31) is visible.

The

group (5) in front.

To the south-west the view is dominated by Crag Hill (1) and Grasmoor (2). A small portion of Wales (107) is visible to Crag Hill's left. To the west, above Hopegill Head (1), can be seen the Isle of Man (54) and Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland (112), the most distant peak visible.

References

• ISBN 0-7112-2459-5
• Bill Birkett: Complete Lakeland Fells: Collins Willow (1994):
  ISBN 0-00-713629-3