High Pike
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High 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 Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of M ...
in the northern part of the English
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
, it is located south of
Caldbeck Caldbeck is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, historically within Cumberland, it is situated within the Lake District National Park. Part of the parish lies within the Skiddaw Group SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). T ...
. It has a height of and is the most northerly of the Lakeland fells over , a widely used criterion for determining which summits are classified as mountains. It is a large fell with its northern slopes falling away towards the lower ground between Caldbeck and
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
. Like the neighbouring
Carrock Fell Carrock Fell is a fell in the English Lake District, situated in the northern region of the national park, north-east of Keswick. Etymology The name ''Carrock'' is a Brittonic formation. Sometimes stated as deriving from ''carreg'' meanin ...
it has been extensively mined and the wealth created by the abundant variety of
mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...
s on High Pike led to the saying ''"Caldbeck fells are worth all England else"''. This fell should not be confused with another Lake District High Pike situated in Scandale near Ambleside.


Summit

High Pike’s summit is of some interest, it is used as a
beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...
by the population of Caldbeck and a fire is lit to celebrate important events such as the
Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
and
coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...
s. The summit also has a massive
cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...
which was originally a shepherds cottage and has become a ruin. There is a
trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The station is usually set up by a map ...
which has been mounted with a plaque which says ''“To Celebrate Caldbeck Parish’s Millennium Celebrations”'', there is also a substantial wind shelter nearby which has also been built from the stones from the ruined cottage. However, the most unusual of High Pike’s summit fixtures is a
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 ...
bench which bears the inscription ''“In memory of Mick Lewis who loved all these fells”'', he died in 1944 aged 16 and a small add-on is in memory of his mother who died in 1970. Famous mountaineer
Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...
lives in nearby Caldbeck and is he is often to be seen walking his dog on High Pike, he told a local newspaper in May 2005 ''"This (High Pike) is a hill I feel truly at home on, It has always been one I can return to after climbing some serious peak in the Himalaya or Alps and return to earth. It has the most wonderful changing moods. The light is ever-shifting across the fell making a kaleidoscope of colours, and its wildlife is fascinating."''


Mining

The mines of High Pike, which all lie on its northern slopes, have yielded numerous minerals since the 16th century. In fact, the most famous, Roughtongill is reputed to have yielded twenty three different ores.
Copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
was extracted at the Sandbeds mine, while
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
and copper was mined at Driggeth mine. Later, some of the mines were reopened during the Second World War for the extraction of
barytes Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...
, which was needed for the production of munitions. The last mine closed in 1966.


Ascents

A direct ascent of High Pike is usually done from the north, starting around the Caldbeck area, however the fell is often climbed in conjunction with the nearby fells of
Carrock Fell Carrock Fell is a fell in the English Lake District, situated in the northern region of the national park, north-east of Keswick. Etymology The name ''Carrock'' is a Brittonic formation. Sometimes stated as deriving from ''carreg'' meanin ...
, Knott and
Great Calva Great Calva is a fell in the Lake District, England. It is in the Northern Fells, lying roughly at the centre of this region of high ground. As a result, it is distant from roads and quite remote by Lakeland standards. Great Calva stands at ...
making a circular walk that starts and finishes near Mosedale to the south of Carrock Fell.


Summit

High Pike’s position on the northern perimeter of the Lake District gives a fine view of the
Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...
and the Scottish Border hills to the north. However the view south is severely curtailed by the bulks of
Skiddaw Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its summit is traditionally considered to be the List of Wainwrights, fourth-highest peak but depending on what topographic prominence is thought to be significant is also ...
and
Blencathra Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly of the Cumbrian Mountains, in the English Lake District. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top at . Name For many years, Ordnance Surv ...
and the main body of Lakeland is not seen well. High Pike has two subsidiary tops which are also classed as
Nuttall Nuttall may refer to: People * Nuttall (name) * Nuttall baronets Nature * Nuttall's oak, a fast-growing large deciduous oak tree native to North America * Nuttall's woodpecker, a species of woodpecker found in oak woodlands of California * Nutta ...
fells, Hare Stones and Great Lingy Hill lie to the south west of the main summit at a distance of 600 metres and one kilometre respectively.


Geodesy

High Pike was the origin (meridian) of the 6 inch and 1:2500 Ordnance Survey maps for Cumberland.


References


Other sources

* ''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, The Northern Fells'', Alfred Wainwright * ''Complete Lakeland Fells'', Bill Birkett, * ''The Mountains of England and Wale''s, John and Anne Nuttall
Mining Information

Chris Bonnington - ‘High Pike is the hill I feel really at home on’
{{Use British English, date=February 2021 Hewitts of England Nuttalls Fells of the Lake District Caldbeck