Great Carrs
Encyclopedia
Great Carrs is a fell
in the English
Lake District
. It stands above Wrynose Pass in the southern part
of the District.
and runs south for around 10 miles before petering out at Broughton in Furness on the Duddon Estuary. Alfred Wainwright
in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
took only the northern half of the range as Lakeland proper, consigning the lower fells to the south to a supplementary work The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. Great Carrs being the most northerly of the Coniston Fells therefore qualifies as one of the 214 Wainwrights. Later guidebook writers have chosen to include the whole range in their main volumes.
Swirl How
is the highest of the Coniston Fells and sends out a long sickle shaped ridge first north and then curving around to the east. Great Carrs is the high point of this ridge, which continues as Wet Side Edge, falling to the floor of Little Langdale
. A western outlier branching off the main ridge between Great Carrs and Swirl How is Grey Friar
.
Great Carrs, in common with many fells, has easy slopes to the west and crags to the east. These crags- falling directly from the summit- form the head of Greenburn. A steep sided, rather marshy valley, Greenburn is a part of the Little Langdale system, its waters joining the River Brathay at Little Langdale Tarn. Greenburn itself bears a tarn
, or more correctly the remains of a reservoir. A natural waterbody was dammed in the early 18th century to provide water for the Greenburn Mine. The 250 yard long barrage has now been breached to leave a collection of pools and bogs. The mines in question, also known as New Coniston Mine, were worked for copper
from 1845 until substantially abandoned in 1865, the shafts reaching a depth of 700 ft below ground. Greenburn is bounded to the north by the curve of Wet Side Edge and to the south by Wetherlam
.
Wet Side Edge has a number of intermediate tops including Little Carrs (2,270 ft), Hell Gill Pike (2,172 ft) and Rough Crags (1,600 ft). To the north of the ridge is Wrynose Pass, the only connection for vehicles between Langdale and the Duddon Valley, and the route of a Roman road. Across the pass are Cold Pike
and Pike of Blisco
, and behind them the ground rises toward the Scafells
. The top of the pass at (1,290 ft), although facilitating access from east to west, does not sit on any obvious ridge descending from Great Carrs.
To the west of Great Carrs long slopes fall to the head of the Duddon valley as the river begins its long journey from Wrynose to the Duddon Sands. There are isolated features such as Mart Crag and the deep gully of Hell Gill, but these flanks are generally unfrequented.
lapilli
-tuff
) and Long Top Member (rhyolitic
tuff) recur in faulted bands across the fell.
aircrash and bears the sad remains of a Royal Canadian Air Force
Handley Page Halifax
bomber. The undercarriage, together with a wooden cross and memorial cairn
is on the top of the ridge with the rest of the wreckage spread down Broad Slack. It would appear that the plane approached from the west, failed to clear the ridge and tumbled down the other side. Other parts of the aircraft are preserved in the Ruskin Museum at nearby Brantwood
. In contrast to the craggy scarp of the east face, the western slope of the ridge descends over grass to the col of Fairfield, forming a tilted triangular plateau. Across Fairfield is the rocky top of Grey Friar.
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...
. It stands above Wrynose Pass in the southern part
Southern Fells
Image:Annotated Scafell range.jpg|thumb|300px|The Scafellsrect 23 372 252 419 Slight Side rect 173 794 560 834 Scafell East Buttressrect 707 787 893 861 Esk Pike or Crag rect 245 303 409 358 Sca Fell rect 408 238 637 280 Mickledore Image:Annotated Scafell range.jpg|thumb|300px|The Scafellsrect 23...
of the District.
Topography
The Coniston (or Furness) Fells form the watershed between Coniston Water and the Duddon valley to the west. The range begins at Wrynose PassWrynose Pass
The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale.-Road:...
and runs south for around 10 miles before petering out at Broughton in Furness on the Duddon Estuary. 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...
in his influential 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...
took only the northern half of the range as Lakeland proper, consigning the lower fells to the south to a supplementary work The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. Great Carrs being the most northerly of the Coniston Fells therefore qualifies as one of the 214 Wainwrights. Later guidebook writers have chosen to include the whole range in their main volumes.
Swirl How
Swirl How
Swirl How is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands between Coniston and the Duddon Valley in the southern part of the District.The Coniston Fells form the watershed between Coniston Water and the Duddon valley to the west. The range begins at Wrynose Pass and runs south for around...
is the highest of the Coniston Fells and sends out a long sickle shaped ridge first north and then curving around to the east. Great Carrs is the high point of this ridge, which continues as Wet Side Edge, falling to the floor of Little Langdale
Little Langdale
Little Langdale is a valley in the Lake District, England containing Little Langdale Tarn and a hamlet also called Little Langdale. A second tarn, Blea Tarn, is in a hanging valley between Little Langdale and the larger Great Langdale to the north...
. A western outlier branching off the main ridge between Great Carrs and Swirl How is Grey Friar
Grey Friar
Grey Friar is a fell in the English Lake District, it is one of the Coniston Fells and is situated 13 kilometres west-south-west of Ambleside. It reaches a height of 770 metres and stands to the north west of the other Coniston Fells, a little off the beaten track and tends to be the least visited...
.
Great Carrs, in common with many fells, has easy slopes to the west and crags to the east. These crags- falling directly from the summit- form the head of Greenburn. A steep sided, rather marshy valley, Greenburn is a part of the Little Langdale system, its waters joining the River Brathay at Little Langdale Tarn. Greenburn itself bears a 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...
, or more correctly the remains of a reservoir. A natural waterbody was dammed in the early 18th century to provide water for the Greenburn Mine. The 250 yard long barrage has now been breached to leave a collection of pools and bogs. The mines in question, also known as New Coniston Mine, were worked for copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
from 1845 until substantially abandoned in 1865, the shafts reaching a depth of 700 ft below ground. Greenburn is bounded to the north by the curve of Wet Side Edge and to the south by Wetherlam
Wetherlam
Wetherlam is a mountain in the English Lake District. It is the most northerly of the Coniston Fells, the range of fells to the north-west of Coniston village; its north-east slopes descend to Little Langdale.-Topography:...
.
Wet Side Edge has a number of intermediate tops including Little Carrs (2,270 ft), Hell Gill Pike (2,172 ft) and Rough Crags (1,600 ft). To the north of the ridge is Wrynose Pass, the only connection for vehicles between Langdale and the Duddon Valley, and the route of a Roman road. Across the pass are Cold Pike
Cold Pike
Cold Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is a satellite of Crinkle Crags and stands above the Upper Duddon Valley.-Topography:...
and Pike of Blisco
Pike of Blisco
Pike of Blisco, or Pike o' Blisco, is a mountain in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. Located between the valleys of Great Langdale and Little Langdale, its relative isolation from neighbouring fells together with slopes falling away immediately from the summit in all directions mean it has...
, and behind them the ground rises toward 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...
. The top of the pass at (1,290 ft), although facilitating access from east to west, does not sit on any obvious ridge descending from Great Carrs.
To the west of Great Carrs long slopes fall to the head of the Duddon valley as the river begins its long journey from Wrynose to the Duddon Sands. There are isolated features such as Mart Crag and the deep gully of Hell Gill, but these flanks are generally unfrequented.
Geology
The Wet Side Edge Member (andesiticAndesite
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,...
lapilli
Lapilli
Lapilli is a size classification term for tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. Lapilli means "little stones" in Latin. They are in some senses similar to ooids or pisoids in calcareous sediments.By definition lapilli range...
-tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
) and Long Top Member (rhyolitic
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...
tuff) recur in faulted bands across the fell.
Air Crash
The ridge southward to Swirl How is named Top of Broad Slack, Broad Slack being a ferociously steep grass slope climbing out of Greenburn between the crags. This is the site of a wartimeWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
aircrash and bears the sad remains of a Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
bomber. The undercarriage, together with a wooden cross and memorial cairn
Cairn
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...
is on the top of the ridge with the rest of the wreckage spread down Broad Slack. It would appear that the plane approached from the west, failed to clear the ridge and tumbled down the other side. Other parts of the aircraft are preserved in the Ruskin Museum at nearby Brantwood
Brantwood
Brantwood is a country house in Cumbria, England, overlooking Coniston Water. It has been the home of a number of prominent people, including John Ruskin. The house and grounds are administered by a charitable trust, the house being a museum dedicated to Ruskin...
. In contrast to the craggy scarp of the east face, the western slope of the ridge descends over grass to the col of Fairfield, forming a tilted triangular plateau. Across Fairfield is the rocky top of Grey Friar.