Fleetwith Pike is a

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

in the English Lake District in the county of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

which reaches a height of 648 metres (2,126 feet). The fell is a well-known feature of the area as it casts an imposing presence over

Buttermere Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. Historically in Cumberland, the lake is now within the county of Cumbria. Owned by the National Trust, it forms ...

and the Honister Pass on the B5289 motor road between Borrowdale and Buttermere.

Topography

Fleetwith Pike is the north-western shoulder of Grey Knotts. It is bounded by Honister Pass to the north and Warnscale Bottom to the south-west, their two streams uniting beneath the fell in

. The north west ridge rising almost from the lakeshore at Gatesgarth is named Fleetwith Edge, and is a striking feature from any direction. The top of the fell is situated directly at the top of the edge, while a lower summit stands to the east atop

Honister Crag Honister Crag is a fell in the English Lake District. It has a height of 634 metres. It is adjacent to Fleetwith Pike, a higher summit, but it can claim to be a fell in its own right, as it is a Hill lists in the British Isles#Nuttalls, Nuttall ...

. Fleetwith Pike is lined on all sides by impressive crags, other than for the broad plateau leading across the Drum House to Grey Knotts.

Slate extraction

The side of the fell which overlooks Honister Pass is actually known as Honister Crag and this has been commercially quarried for its high-quality green

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

since the 1750s. Slate mining and quarrying at Honister did cease in 1986, but restarted in February 1997.

Ascents

The fell itself is often climbed in conjunction with other neighbouring fells such as

Haystacks Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

and Grey Knotts; strong walkers may also take in the peaks of Great Gable and

Green Gable Green Gable is a fell in the English Lake District often traversed by walkers en route to its more famous neighbour Great Gable. It can be ascended from Honister Pass, Seathwaite in Borrowdale, or Ennerdale. There are good views of Gable Crag, ...

. There are two possible starting points for the ascent of Fleetwith Pike: these are Gatesgarth in the Buttermere valley and the top of the Honister pass. Both places have car parks. The start from Honister Hause has the advantage of starting from a height of 356 metres (1,167 feet) and takes the walker through the quarry workings of the Honister Slate Mine and over Black Star, the highest point of Honister Crag at 630 metres (2,067 feet). Honister Crag was upgraded to become a Nuttall fell in November 2004, the first addition to the list since they were first published in 1990, it has 20 metres (67 feet) of

topographical prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

from Fleetwith Pike. After crossing Honister Crag it is a simple walk to attain the top of Fleetwith Pike. The ascent from Gatesgarth goes up the intimidating-looking Fleetwith Edge; however, all the crags can be by-passed without too much difficulty. This route goes past a white cross which is clearly visible from the valley and bears the inscription "Erected by Friends of Fanny Mercer, accidentally killed 1887".

Summit

The summit cairn is a few yards in from the top of the Edge, resting among pleasant grass and heather. The view from the summit gives a fine prospect of the Buttermere valley which also takes in the other two lakes of Crummock Water and Loweswater. The fells of

Pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

and Great Gable are close by and are well seen.

References

* A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, The Western Fells, Alfred Wainwright, * Complete Lakeland Fells, Bill Birkett, * The Mountains of England and Wales, John and Anne Nuttall,
Info on Honister Crag becoming a Nuttall

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