Middle Fell
Encyclopedia
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 summit.
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. Middle Fell 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
and Seatallan in turn has a south eastern spur. This is Middle Fell.
Middle Fell begins at the unnamed col
on the eastern face of Seatallan at a height of 1,525 ft. This is its only connection with other high ground, being constrained on three sides by deep valleys. To the west, separating Middle Fell from its parent, is Greendale Gill. This 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.
To the east is Nether Beck, flowing down to the Lake through its long valley. On the other side are the long southern slopes of Red Pike
. The southern slopes of Middle Fell fall to the shore of Wastwater, claiming a long section of the northern shore between Nether Beck Bridge and the Greendale road junction. Goat Gill and Smithy Beck provide further drainage on this side.
Middle Fell is steep on all sides. The western face is rough with areas of scree and boulders, but generally free of crags. The longer eastern slopes by contrast have tier upon tier of rocks. Long, Water, Goat, Foegill and Iron Crags are the principal features. The ridge northward to Seatallan is broad, levelling out onto grass after an initial rough descent.
, welded lapilli
tuff
of the Lincomb Tarns Formation. Andesitic
lapilli tuff occurs on either end of the ridge, together with small intrusions of basalt
and dolerite. Underlying this is the Birker Fell Formation of plagioclase
-phyric andesite lava
s.
is sited on a small rock outcrop, close to the beginning of the ridge-end descent to the south. The view across Wastwater to the screes of Whin Rigg
and Illgill Head
is excellent. Also in view is the head of Wasdale and the more distant Coniston Fells
. Black Combe
appears far off to the south west.
..
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 is a satellite of Seatallan
Seatallan
Seatallan is a mountain in the western part of the English Lake District. It is rounded, grassy 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...
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 summit.
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. Middle Fell 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
Seatallan is a mountain in the western part of the English Lake District. It is rounded, grassy 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...
and Seatallan in turn has a south eastern spur. This is Middle Fell.
Middle Fell begins at the unnamed 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...
on the eastern face of Seatallan at a height of 1,525 ft. This is its only connection with other high ground, being constrained on three sides by deep valleys. To the west, separating Middle Fell from its parent, is Greendale Gill. This 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.
To the east is Nether Beck, flowing down to the Lake through its long valley. On the other side are the long southern slopes of 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....
. The southern slopes of Middle Fell fall to the shore of Wastwater, claiming a long section of the northern shore between Nether Beck Bridge and the Greendale road junction. Goat Gill and Smithy Beck provide further drainage on this side.
Middle Fell is steep on all sides. The western face is rough with areas of scree and boulders, but generally free of crags. The longer eastern slopes by contrast have tier upon tier of rocks. Long, Water, Goat, Foegill and Iron Crags are the principal features. The ridge northward to Seatallan is broad, levelling out onto grass after an initial rough descent.
Geology
The summit area is composed of the daciticDacite
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...
, welded 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...
of the Lincomb Tarns Formation. Andesitic
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,...
lapilli tuff occurs on either end of the ridge, together with small intrusions of 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...
and dolerite. Underlying this is the Birker Fell Formation of plagioclase
Plagioclase
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 andesite 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...
s.
Summit and View
The summit cairnCairn
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 sited on a small rock outcrop, close to the beginning of the ridge-end descent to the south. The view across Wastwater to the screes of Whin Rigg
Whin Rigg
Whin Rigg is a fell is the English Lake District, situated in the western segment of the national park, 22 kilometres south east of the town of Whitehaven...
and Illgill Head
Illgill Head
Illgill Head is a fell in the English Lake District. It is known more commonly as the northern portion of the Wastwater Screes. The fell is 609 metres high and stands along the south-east shore of Wast Water, the deepest lake in England.-Topography:...
is excellent. Also in view is the head of Wasdale and the more distant 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...
. Black Combe
Black Combe
Black Combe is a fell in the south-west corner of the Lake District National Park, just four miles from the Irish Sea. It lies near the west coast of Cumbria in the borough of Copeland and more specifically, an area known as South Copeland...
appears far off to the south west.
Ascents
The simplest ascent is via a path up the nose of the ridge, beginning at Greendale. A longer alternative climbs the beck to Greendale Tarn before doubling back to the summit along the Seatallan ridge. A circular tour can be contrived via Seatallan and 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...
..