High Spy 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

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 situated on the ridge that separates the

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 ...

from

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland, England. It is in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, and is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' to distinguis ...

, eight kilometres (five miles) south of Keswick.

Topography

The fell reaches a height of and is defended by crags to the east and west as it falls away steeply to the valleys. It is a distinctive fell that has of

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

from the higher adjoining fell of

Dale Head Dale Head is a fell in the north-western sector of the Lake District, in northern England. It is above sea level and stands immediately north of Honister Pass, the road between Borrowdale and Buttermere. Topography The North-Western Fells oc ...

and so misses being a Marilyn by only two metres. Geologically the fell is made up of

Borrowdale Volcanics The Borrowdale Volcanic Group is a group of igneous rock formations named after the Borrowdale area of the Lake District, in England. They are Caradocian (late Ordovician) in age (roughly 450 million years old). It is thought that they represent t ...

. The meaning of the fell's name is obscure but may mean a “lookout post”, referring to some lost fort in the area. In the past it has been known as Scawdel Fell and Lobstone Band and these names are still used on maps to label other parts of the fell.ukonline.co.uk.
details of fells name and translation. High Spy from Dale Head

The summit has an impressive

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 has been known to be

vandalised Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and #Defacement, defacement directed towards any property without permission of the o ...

on occasions but always seems to gets rebuilt by other walkers. The top of the fell is relatively flat for a distance of about in a north-to-south direction and the impressive Eel Crags fall away vertically on the Newlands side of the fell, these crags are popular with

rock climbers Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and o ...

with the quality of the rock being very good. High Spy North Top stands almost a kilometre north of the main top; it has a height of and is also classed as a Nuttall, with a fine view of

Derwent Water Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is a lake in the Lake District in North West England, immediately south of Keswick. It is in the unitary authority of Cumberland within the ceremonial county of Cumbria. It is the third largest lake by area, a ...

. north of the main summit is a small unnamed tarn.''"The Mountains of England and Wales Vol. 2 - England"'', John & Anne Nuttall, , Page 34 Gives route details and info on North Top.

Ascents

High Spy is often climbed as part of the

Newlands Horseshoe The Newlands horseshoe is a circular walk in the Lake District, incorporating the main peaks surrounding the Newlands Valley. Standard round The regular horseshoe covers six peaks, and approximately of walking. It includes the fells Catbells (45 ...

ridge walk but can be ascended directly despite being defended by crags on both its Newlands and Borrowdale sides. From Borrowdale a path goes from Rosthwaite and climbs through the disused Rigg Head Quarries to reach the

col A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sig ...

linking High Spy to Dale Head and then up the south ridge to the summit passing a small unnamed tarn just before the top. From this side it is also possible to start from Grange and use an old drove road to get through the barrier of Blea Crag and then approach the summit. A

scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It can be described as being between hiking and climbing, rock climbing. "A scramble" is a relat ...

route also starts from Grange, going via Hollows Farm it tackles the rocky rake of Nitting Haws directly.''"Scrambles In The Lake District - North"'', R. Brian Evans, , Page 138 Gives details of scrambling route from Grange. From Little Town in the Newlands valley an old mine road zig zags up to the col between the fell and Dale Head to then reach the top by the south ridge.''"A Pictorial Guide to Lakeland Fells, The North Western Fells"'', Alfred Wainwright, , Gives general details of fell and routes.''"Complete Lakeland Fells"'', Bill Birkett, , Gives general details of fell and routes.

Mining

The latter route passes the Castlenook

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 ...

mine at the foot of the fell on the Newlands side, this mine, formerly owned by the Company of Mines Royal, started production in the 1860s and continued until 1918 when cheaper imports led to its closure. There are also signs of trial levels higher up the steep slope.Old Cumbria Gazetteer.
Gives details of Castlenook mine.

References

{{North Western Fells Hewitts of England Fells of the Lake District Nuttalls