Castle Crag

Castle Crag

Infobox Mountain
Name = Castle Crag
Photo = castle_crag.jpg
Caption = Castle Crag from the south, with Derwent Water in the background
Elevation = 290 m, (951 ft)
Location = Cumbria, ENG
Range = Lake District, North Western Fells
Prominence = "c." 75 m
Parent peak = High Spy
Coordinates =
Topographic
OS "Landranger" 89, 90, "Explorer" OL4
Grid_ref_UK = NY249159
Listing = Wainwright

Castle Crag is a hill in the North Western Fells of the English Lake District. It is the smallest hill included in Alfred Wainwright's influential "Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells", the only Wainwright below 1,000 ft.

Wainwright accorded Castle Crag the status of a separate fell because it "is so magnificently independent, so ruggedly individual, so aggressively unashamed of its lack of inches, that less than justice would be done by relegating it to a paragraph in the High Spy chapter."Alfred Wainwright: "A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book 6, The North Western Fells": Westmorland Gazette (1964): ISBN 0-7112-2459-5] Subsequent guidebooks have not always agreed- Castle Crag is one of only two Wainwrights not included in Bill Birkett's "Complete Lakeland Fells".Bill Birkett: "Complete Lakeland Fells": Collins Willow (1994): ISBN 0-00-713629-3]

Topography

The fell has an impressive appearance, a rugged height apparently blocking the valley of Borrowdale, which is squeezed between Castle Crag and Grange Fell, its neighbour on the other side. This narrow gorge known as the 'Jaws of Borrowdale', and is prominent in views from Keswick and Derwentwater.

High Spy, the parent fell, forms part of the north-south ridge between Borrowdale and the Newlands Valley. The rough spur of Low Scawdel (1,709 ft) runs out due east from the summit, breaking steeply over Goat Crag and then falling to Broadslack Gill. This small tributary of the River Derwent separates High Spy from Castle Crag.

The wooded height of Castle Crag rises between Broadslack Gill and the Derwent, the two streams meeting to the north beneath the outlying knoll of Low Hows. It has steep faces on all sides except the south, where a low ridge runs out and then swings west around the head of Broadslack Gill. A narrow col here provides the topographic link to High Spy.

Geology, Quarrying and Millican Dalton

The Derwentwater fault runs along the valley of Broadslack Gill, the higher ground to the north west being mainly composed of the Birker Fell Formation. These are plagioclase-phyric andesite lavas and subordinate sills. By contrast Castle Crag shows outcropping of the Eagle Crag Member, a mixture of siltstone, sandstone, conglomerate and tuff with frequent andesite sills.British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, "England & Wales Sheet 29": BGS (1999)]

The slopes of Castle Crag are extensively quarried with pits and levels on the northern and south eastern flanks. The summit has also been extensively worked. The High Hows Quarry later achieved fame as the home of Millican Dalton, the eccentric and self styled "Professor of Adventure". The caves here formed his summer home from the 1920s until shortly before his death in 1947. [Brannon.co.uk: [http://www.brannan.co.uk/millican_dalton/biog.html] ]

ummit and View

The summit area is believed to have been an ancient hill fort, although the western section has been sliced away by quarrying. It can only be gained by means of a sloping crack to the south. The very highest point is a rock outcrop about eight feet high and twelve feet across. Atop this is a well constructed circular cairn of slate. A memorial to Borrowdale men killed in World War I is affixed to the outcrop.

There is a fine view down the valley, Skiddaw seen to good effect across the lake. Southwards Great Gable and the Scafells ring the head of the Derwent catchment, while near at hand- enhanced by the steepness of the slope- is a view of the woods and crags of mid Borrowdale.

Ascents

Castle Crag may be ascended easily from the villages of Grange or Rosthwaite, and can be combined with the lovely riverside walk along the River Derwent. The Allerdale Ramble long distance walking route runs along the valley of Broadslack Gill, whilst the Cumbria Way crosses the eastern slopes of Castle Crag.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Castle Crag (Tasmania) — Infobox Mountain Name= Castle Crag Photo=Castle Crag.jpg Caption= Elevation= 1,482 metres AHD (4,862 feet) Range=Du Cane Location= Tasmania, Australia Prominence = Coordinates = coord|42|12|0|S|145|57|4|E Topographic Type= Age= First ascent =… …   Wikipedia

  • Crag Hill — Crag Hill …   Wikipedia

  • Castle Crags — is a dramatic and well known feature in Northern California. Although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of rocks of volcanic and sedimentary origin, granite bodies (plutons) intruded many parts of the area during the Jurassic… …   Wikipedia

  • Castle Rock (Antarctica) — Castle Rock (coord|77|48|S|166|46|E|) is a bold rock crag, 415 m, standing 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Hut Point on the central ridge of Hut Point Peninsula, Ross Island. Discovered by the Discovery expedition (1901 04) under Scott, who so… …   Wikipedia

  • Crag and tail — The Abbey Craig, a crag with tail near the University of Stirling. The Wallace Monument stands on the crag at the right, and the long tail slopes down leftward …   Wikipedia

  • Crag Gill — Coordinates: 54°36′26″N 1°57′38″W / 54.60722°N 1.96056°W / 54.60722; 1.96056 …   Wikipedia

  • Raven Crag — Infobox Mountain Name = Raven Crag Photo = Raven Crag from Castle Crag.jpg Caption = Raven Crag and Thirlmere seen from Castle Crag 300 metres to the north west. Elevation = 461 m (1,512 ft) Location = Cumbria, ENG Range = Lake District, Central… …   Wikipedia

  • Drégely Castle — Drégely Vára Part of Hungarian border castle system near Drégelypalánk, Nógrád County, Hungary …   Wikipedia

  • Beeston Castle — Infobox Historic building caption=The gate to the inner bailey of Beeston Castle, with a modern bridge for visitors name=Beeston Castle location town=Beeston, Cheshire location country=England map type=Cheshire latitude=53.129012 longitude=… …   Wikipedia

  • Edinburgh Castle — For the estate in Jamaica, see Edinburgh Castle, Jamaica. Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh, Scotland GB grid reference NT250734 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”