Scar Crags
Encyclopedia
Scar Crags is a fell
in the north western part of the English
Lake District
in the county of Cumbria
. It is one of the Coledale group of fells situated seven kilometres south west of Keswick
and reaches a height of 672 metres (2205 feet).
and includes the adjoining fells of Sail and Causey Pike
before dropping to the Newlands Valley
. Scar Crags is characterised by steep craggy flanks on its southern side which fall away steeply to Rigg Beck, while the northern slopes are less steep and grassy as they drop to Stoneycroft Gill.
and siltstone
of the Kirkstile Formation.
or Stair in the Newlands valley and including the other nearby fells of Grisedale Pike
, Hopegill Head
, Eel Crag, Sail, and Causey Pike
with over 1300 metres of ascent.
mine. It was opened by the Keswick Mining Company in 1846, who invested £7,000 in the project. A road and an inclined tramway
were built to convey the ore down to Stoneycroft in the Newlands valley. Four adit
s were driven into the hillside, the longest being about 60 metres in length. The mine was not a success as it was impossible to extract the mineral from the ore in the expected quantities and it closed in due course.
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 north western part of 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...
in the county of Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. It is one of the Coledale group of fells situated seven kilometres south west of Keswick
Keswick, Cumbria
Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
and reaches a height of 672 metres (2205 feet).
Topography
The fell is part of the long ridge that radiates easterly from Eel CragCrag Hill
Crag Hill is a mountain in the North Western part of the English Lake District. It was formerly known as Eel Crag; however, the Ordnance Survey now marks Eel Crag as referring to the northern crags of the fell....
and includes the adjoining fells of Sail and Causey Pike
Causey Pike
Causey Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the Newlands Valley, 5 km south west of the town of Keswick. Even though it has a modest height of 637 metres it is one of the most distinctive fells when viewed from the Derwent Water and Keswick area due to its...
before dropping to the Newlands Valley
Newlands Valley
The Newlands Valley is in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is regarded as one of the most picturesque and quiet valleys in the national park, even though it is situated very close to the popular tourist town of Keswick and the busy A66 road.The valley forms part of the civil...
. Scar Crags is characterised by steep craggy flanks on its southern side which fall away steeply to Rigg Beck, while the northern slopes are less steep and grassy as they drop to Stoneycroft Gill.
Geology
The ridgeline is composed of the laminated mudstoneMudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
and siltstone
Siltstone
Siltstone is a sedimentary rock which has a grain size in the silt range, finer than sandstone and coarser than claystones.- Description :As its name implies, it is primarily composed of silt sized particles, defined as grains 1/16 - 1/256 mm or 4 to 8 on the Krumbein phi scale...
of the Kirkstile Formation.
Ascents
Scar Crags is very rarely climbed directly. The only feasible direct ascent follows an old mine road that starts from Stair and goes up Stoneycroft Gill to finish at Sail Pass, from where it is a short ascent to the fell summit. Scar Crags is more usually approached from the east along the ridge from Causey Pike or from the west from Sail. It is a busy fell as it is part of the Coledale Round, a 17.5 kilometre walk starting and finishing at BraithwaiteBraithwaite
Braithwaite is a village in the northern Lake District, in Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland, it lies just to the west of Keswick and to the east of the Grisedale Pike ridge, in the Borough of Allerdale. It forms part of the civil parish of Above Derwent.The eastern end of the...
or Stair in the Newlands valley and including the other nearby fells of Grisedale Pike
Grisedale Pike
Grisedale Pike is a fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England situated west of the town of Keswick in the north-western sector of the national park. At a height of 791 m it is the 40th highest Wainwright in the Lake District; it also qualifies as a Hewitt, Marilyn and Nuttall...
, Hopegill Head
Hopegill Head
Hopegill Head is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria. It is located nine kilometres west of the town of Keswick and is well seen from the B5292 road which crosses the Whinlatter Pass.-Topography:...
, Eel Crag, Sail, and Causey Pike
Causey Pike
Causey Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the Newlands Valley, 5 km south west of the town of Keswick. Even though it has a modest height of 637 metres it is one of the most distinctive fells when viewed from the Derwent Water and Keswick area due to its...
with over 1300 metres of ascent.
Summit and view
The top of the fell is grassy and often muddy with a small cairn and gives a heady view down onto Rigg Beck and a good but not exceptional all round view of the district.Mining
The northern slopes of Scar Crags, below Long Crag, contain the remains of the Lake District’s only cobaltCobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
mine. It was opened by the Keswick Mining Company in 1846, who invested £7,000 in the project. A road and an inclined tramway
Tramway (mineral)
Tramways are lightly laid railways, sometimes worked without locomotives. The term is in common use in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and elsewhere. In New Zealand, they are commonly known as bush tramways...
were built to convey the ore down to Stoneycroft in the Newlands valley. Four adit
Adit
An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...
s were driven into the hillside, the longest being about 60 metres in length. The mine was not a success as it was impossible to extract the mineral from the ore in the expected quantities and it closed in due course.