Allen Crags 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 o ...

in the English Lake District, it lies in a group of very popular hills and is regarded as part of the

Scafell Scafell ( or ; also spelled Sca Fell, previously Scawfell) is a mountain in the English Lake District, part of the Southern Fells. Its height of makes it the second-highest mountain in England after its neighbour Scafell Pike, from which i ...

group of fells. It is a hill that is frequently traversed by walkers along its ridge but is seldom climbed as the sole objective.

Name

The name originates from “Alein” or “Aleyn” which was a popular personal name after the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

, it is of

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

origin and the fell was named after an unknown French conqueror.

Topography

Allen Crags is situated at the southern end of a long north-south ridge that starts at Stonethwaite in

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' t ...

and concludes at the strategically important mountain pass of

Esk Hause Esk Hause is a mountain pass in the English Lake District, England. It is where the paths from Eskdale, Borrowdale, Langdale and Wasdale all meet. Esk Hause is a first step to reaching higher summits, such as Scafell Pike, Great End, Esk Pike an ...

. The fell is craggy and rocky and falls away steeply to the head of the Langstrath valley on its eastern side while its western flanks are characterised by grey slabs of rock and are less precipitous as they fall away to Grains Gill. To the north Allen Crags is connected to the fell of

Glaramara Glaramara is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria. It is a substantial fell that is part of a long ridge that stretches for over six kilometres from Stonethwaite in Borrowdale up to the important mountain pass of Esk Hause. Th ...

by a three kilometre undulating ridge which is a joy to walk taking in three subsidiary tops along the way to the main top. To the south the fell drops to connect with the mountain pass of Esk Hause from where it is possible to reach the neighbouring fells of

Esk Pike Esk Pike is a fell in the English Lake District, one of the cirque of hills forming the head of Eskdale. Topography The Southern Fells include the highest ground in England, a horseshoe which begins with Scafell and Scafell Pike in the west an ...

and

Great End Great End is the most northerly mountain in the Scafell chain, in the English Lake District. From the south it is simply a lump continuing this chain. From the north, however, it appears as an immense mountain, with an imposing north face r ...

and even

Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif. Scafell Pi ...

with a little more effort.

Geology

The summit rocks comprise the laminated

volcaniclastic Volcaniclastics are geologic materials composed of broken fragments (clasts) of volcanic rock. These encompass all clastic volcanic materials, regardless of what process fragmented the rock, how it was subsequently transported, what environment it ...

claystone Mudrocks are a class of fine-grained siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. The varying types of mudrocks include siltstone, claystone, mudstone, slate, and shale. Most of the particles of which the stone is composed are less than and are too sm ...

s and

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...

s of the Esk Pike Formation. There is a narrow intrusion of

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

and hybridized andesite porphyry running across the high point. The majority of the ridge displays the underlying

dacitic Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyol ...

welded

lapilli Lapilli is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' (singular: ''lapillus'') is Latin for "little stones". By definition lapilli range f ...

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

of the Lincomb Tarns Formation.

British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. The BGS h ...

: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 38'': BGS (1998)

Ascents

As mentioned Allen Crags is quite often approached along its northern ridge from Glaramara and this is the most popular ascent of the fell. However, a direct climb is possible from Borrowdale ascending the Grains Gill path from Seathwaite to Esk Hause and then climbing easily up the fell from the south. The fell can also be included in a horseshoe walk from Seathwaite also taking in

Seathwaite Fell Seathwaite Fell is an area of the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It stands above the hamlet of the same name at the head of Borrowdale. Position of the summit The fell is very rugged with several small tops along the summit of the ri ...

as well as Glaramara and Allen Crags.

Summit

The top of the fell has three cairns with the middle one set on rocks being the highest. The highlight of the view is an excellent vista of

Great Gable Great Gable is a mountain in the Lake District, United Kingdom. It is named after its appearance as a pyramid from Wasdale, though it is dome-shaped from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are ...

, the southern part of the view is restricted by higher fells but the northern panorama from west to east is a fine view.

References

* Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Southern Fells, Alfred Wainwright
Place names of the Lake District
{{Authority control Hewitts of England Fells of the Lake District Nuttalls Allerdale