Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly hills in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top at 2,848 feet (868 metres).
Name
For many years,
Ordnance Survey
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listed Blencathra under the alternative name of Saddleback, which was coined in reference to the
shape of the mountain when seen from the east. The guidebook author
Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', published ...
popularised the use of the older
Cumbric
Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...
name, which is now used almost exclusively. Ordnance Survey currently marks the summit as ‘Saddleback or Blencathra’.
It is likely that the name Blencathra is derived from the
Cumbric
Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...
elements *''blain'' ‘top, summit’ and ''cadeir'' ‘seat, chair’, meaning ‘the summit of the seat-like mountain’.
Andrew Breeze has proposed an alternative interpretation of the second element of the name, arguing that it represents a Cumbric cognate of
Middle Welsh
Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...
''carthwr'' ‘working horse’.
Richard Coates
Richard Coates (born 16 April 1949, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and educated at Wintringham School) is an English linguist. He was Professor of Linguistics (alternatively Professor of Onomastics) at the University of the West of England, Bristol, ...
has suggested that the second element may be the
Middle Irish
Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engli ...
personal name ''Carthach'', but writes that ‘the implications of that with a Brittonic generic need exploring’.
Topography
The
Northern Fells
The Northern Fells are a mountain range in the English Lake District. Including Skiddaw, they occupy a wide area to the north of Keswick. Smooth, sweeping slopes predominate, with a minimum of tarns or crags. Blencathra in the south-east of the ...
make up a roughly circular upland area about wide. At the centre is the marshy depression of Skiddaw Forest — a treeless plateau at an altitude of 1,300 ft (396 m.) — and flowing outward from here are the rivers which divide the area into three
sector
Sector may refer to:
Places
* Sector, West Virginia, U.S.
Geometry
* Circular sector, the portion of a disc enclosed by two radii and a circular arc
* Hyperbolic sector, a region enclosed by two radii and a hyperbolic arc
* Spherical sector, a po ...
s. The southeastern sector, between the
Glenderaterra Beck and the
River Caldew
The River Caldew is a river running through Cumbria in England.
The river rises high up on the northern flanks of Skiddaw, in the Northern Fells area of the English Lake District, and flows in a northerly direction until it joins the River ...
, contains Blencathra and its satellites.
[ Wainwright, Alfred: '']A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells (the local word for hills and mountains) of the Lake District in northwest England. Written over a period of 13 years from 1952, they ...
,Book 5 The Northern Fells'':
Blencathra is more of a small range than a single
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 ...
, a series of tops standing out on a curving ridge 3 miles (5 kilometres) long. It has smooth, easy slopes to the north and west, whilst displaying a complex system of rocky spurs and scree slopes to the south and east.
When viewed from the southeast, particularly on the main
Keswick to
Penrith road, Blencathra appears almost symmetrical. To left and right, the ends of the fell rise from the surrounding lowlands in smooth and sweeping curves, clad in rough grass. Each rises gracefully to a ridge-top summit, Blease Fell on the west and Scales Fell to the east. Between these ‘book-ends’ are a further three tops, Gategill Fell, Hallsfell and Doddick Fell, giving a scalloped profile to the ridge.
From each of the three central tops, a spur runs out at right angles to the main ridge, beginning as a narrow, rocky
arête
An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequen ...
and then widening into a broad buttress which falls to the base of the fell. Separating the five tops are four streams which run down the south-east face between the spurs. From the west these are Blease Gill, Gate Gill, Doddick Gill and Scaley Beck.
In addition to the spurs on the southeast face, Hallsfell also throws out a high ridge to the north. This is the saddle that gives Blencathra its alternative name, rising beyond the dip to the sixth top, Atkinson Pike. This is the focal point for connecting ridges to
Bannerdale Crags
Bannerdale Crags is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands between Blencathra and Bowscale Fell in the Northern Fells.
Topography
Bannerdale Crags is a ridge running north west to south east. The name was originally applied purely to th ...
and
Mungrisdale Common
Mungrisdale Common, pronounced ''mun-grize-dl'', with emphasis on ''grize'', is a fell in the English Lake District. Although Alfred Wainwright listed it as one of the 214 featured hills in his influential ''Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fell ...
to the north. The ‘saddle’ is bounded by crags to the east, Tarn Crag and Foule Crag being the principal faces.
Sharp Edge
Between Tarn Crag and Foule Crag is Sharp Edge, an aptly named
arête
An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequen ...
which provides one of the most famous scrambles in the area. Hiker and author
Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', published ...
noted that: "The crest itself is sharp enough for shaving (the former name was razor edge) and can be traversed only ''
à cheval'' at some risk of damage to tender parts."
Below Tarn Crags is Scales
Tarn, an almost circular waterbody filling a
corrie. The bed plunges steeply to about and plants and fish are scarce.
To the east, beyond Scales Fell, is the connection to
Souther Fell
Souther Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands to the south of Mungrisdale village in the Northern Fells. It is most famous for the appearance of a "spectral army", said to have been seen marching along its crest on Midsummer ...
at Mousthwaite Comb. This ridge continues north-east to the vicinity of
Mungrisdale
Mungrisdale is a small village and civil parish in the north east of the English Lake District in Cumbria. It is also the name of the valley in which the village sits.
Mungrisdale is a popular starting point for ascents of the nearby hills, ...
, surrounded on all sides by the
River Glenderamackin
The River Glenderamackin, the Glendermackin or Glendermackin Beck is a watercourse in Cumbria, England. It is a headstream of the Greta.
The river rises on Mungrisdale Common north of Blencathra and drains much of the eastern and southern si ...
.
Geology
In common with much of the Northern Fells, the Kirk Stile Formation of the Skiddaw Group predominates. This is composed of laminated
mudstone
Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...
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 ...
with
greywacke
Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...
sandstone and is of
Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...
age.
[British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 29'': BGS (1999)]
There has been considerable mining activity beneath the slopes of Blencathra. Threlkeld mine lies at the base of Hallsfell. From 1879 to 1928, it was a profitable venture for the raising of
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
and
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
ores and is believed to hold further reserves should the economic situation improve.
A small trial working can be seen beside Blease Gill near the contour. This is believed to have been driven for lead.
Saddleback Old Mine had workings near Scales Tarn and at Mousthwaite Comb. The mine was driven for lead but in the 1890s raised mostly
limonite
Limonite () is an iron ore consisting of a mixture of hydrated iron(III) oxide-hydroxides in varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO(OH)·H2O, although this is not entirely accurate as the ratio of oxide to hydroxid ...
. This was marketed unsuccessfully as a pigment and the mine closed in 1894.
In the Glenderaterra valley to the west of Blease Fell were Brundholme and Blencathra mines. Lead,
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) 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 pinkis ...
and
baryte
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), ...
were raised between the middle of the 19th century and the final closure in 1920.
Summit
The highest point is directly above the Hallsfell spur, marked by 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 nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...
, in the form of a concrete ring. A good path connects the five summits on the main ridge, giving excellent views down the south-east face. Northward on the fine turf of the 'saddle' is a large cross laid out in white stones. Its origin is uncertain, but extension to its current size (in excess of 10 ft) is attributed to a Harold Robinson of nearby
Threlkeld
Threlkeld is a village and civil parish in the north of the Lake District in Cumbria, England, to the east of Keswick. It lies at the southern foot of Blencathra, one of the more prominent fells in the northern Lake District, and to the nort ...
, a frequent visitor in the years after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The view is very extensive, enhanced in every direction by the sharp fall of the slopes from the summit. To the west is the bulk of
Skiddaw
Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its summit is the sixth-highest in England. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the ...
, and from west round to north-east the Back o’Skiddaw fells make up the foreground, backed by the mountains of
Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or i ...
, the
Southern Uplands
The Southern Uplands ( gd, Na Monaidhean a Deas) are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the other two being the Central Lowlands and the Grampian Mountains and the Highlands, as illustrated ...
, the Border hills and the
Cheviots
The Cheviot Hills (), or sometimes The Cheviots, are a range of uplands straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The English section is within the Northumberland National Park. The range includes Th ...
.
The
Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...
form the horizon from north-east to south-east, with
Cross Fell
Cross Fell is the highest mountain in the Pennines of Northern England and the highest point in England outside the Lake District. It is located in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It lies within the county of Cumbria and ...
,
Mickle Fell
Mickle Fell is a mountain in the Pennines, the range of hills and moors running down the middle of Northern England. It has a maximum elevation of . It lies slightly off the main watershed of the Pennines, about south of Cross Fell. After Cro ...
,
Wild Boar Fell
Wild Boar Fell is a mountain in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, on the eastern edge of Cumbria, England. At , it is either the 4th-highest fell in the Yorkshire Dales or the 5th, depending on whether nearby High Seat (2,326 ft) is counte ...
and
Great Whernside
Great Whernside is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England, not to be confused with Whernside, some to the west. Its summit is the highest point of the eastern flank of Wharfedale above Kettlewell. Great Whernside forms the watershed between Wh ...
visible. To the south-east are the
Far Eastern Fells
The Far Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Reaching their highest point at High Street (828 metres or 2.718 ft.), they occupy a broad area to the east of Ullswater and Kirkstone Pass. Much quieter than the ...
and to the south the
Helvellyn range
The Helvellyn range is the name given to a part of the Eastern Fells in the English Lake District, "fell" being the local word for "hill". The name comes from Helvellyn, the highest summit of the group.
The Helvellyn range forms a ridge exten ...
is seen end-on, with vistas of the
Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...
and North
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
to its left and right respectively.
The skyline from south to WSW is the best feature: a serrated skyline of all the major Lakeland peaks, these being, clockwise,
Coniston Old Man
The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the Furness Fells in the Cumbria, English Lake District and is the highest point (county top) of the historic county of Lancashire. It is at least high, and lies to the west of the village of Coniston and t ...
,
Crinkle Crags
Crinkle Crags is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It forms part of two major rings of mountains, surrounding the valleys of Great Langdale and Upper Eskdale. The name reflects the fell's physical appearance a ...
,
Bowfell
Bowfell (named ''Bow Fell'' on Ordnance Survey maps) is a pyramid-shaped mountain lying at the heart of the English Lake District, in the Southern Fells area. It is the sixth-highest mountain in the Lake District and one of the most popular ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Kirk Fell
Kirk Fell is a fell in the Western part of the English Lake District. It is situated between Great Gable and Pillar on the long ring of fells surrounding the valley of Ennerdale, and also stands over Wasdale to the south. However, it is sepa ...
,
Pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...
,
High Stile
High Stile is a mountain in the western part of the Lake District in North West England. It is the eleventh-highest English Marilyn, standing 807 metres (2,648 ft) high, and has a relative height of 362 metres (1,187 ft).
I ...
,
Grasmoor
Grasmoor is a mountain in the north-western part of the Lake District, northern England. It is the highest peak in a group of hills between the villages of Lorton, Braithwaite and Buttermere, and overlooks Crummock Water.
Grasmoor is distingui ...
and
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 (2593 feet) it is the 40th-highest Wainwright in th ...
. To the right of this, the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
and the
Mourne Mountains
The Mourne Mountains ( ; ga, Beanna Boirche), also called the Mournes or Mountains of Mourne, are a granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountains in Northern Ireland, the high ...
are visible on clear days.
Derwent Water
Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria.
The lake occupies part of Borrowda ...
and
Thirlmere
Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for instance, Armboth Fell and Raven Crag both ...
are the major lakes visible; the most distant mountain visible is
Slieve Meelmore
Slieve Meelmore is a mountain located in the Mourne Mountains. It is a popular hiking destination and is just under 6 mile east of the village of Hilltown. The mountain stands at a height of 680 m (2230 ft) and is the 7th highest mount ...
in the Mourne Mountains in
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
, 123 miles (198 kilometres) away.
Ascents
Blencathra is a popular mountain, and there are many different routes to the summit. One of the most famous is via Sharp Edge, a knife-edged
arête
An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequen ...
on the eastern side of the mountain. Sharp Edge provides some good
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 is also used to describe terrain that falls between hiking and rock climbing (as a “scramb ...
for those with a
head for heights
To have a head for heights means that one has no acrophobia, an irrational fear of heights, and is not particularly prone to fear of falling or suffering from vertigo, the spinning sensation that can be triggered, for example, by looking down fro ...
. Hall’s Fell ridge, on Blencathra’s southern flank, also provides an opportunity for some scrambling, though of a less serious nature.
Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', published ...
described the ascent from Threlkeld via Hall's Fell ridge as ‘''positively'' the finest way to any mountain-top in the district’.
Wainwright recorded more routes of ascent for Blencathra than any other fell.
Blease Fell and Scales Fell provided easy walking on grass and fast routes of descent. Gategill Fell he noted as dull until the final arête is reached, while Hallsfell and Doddick Fell both received praise. Of the intervening gills, Scaley Beck was reckoned the most practicable, the other three being overly rough and devoid of interest. An ascent from ‘behind’, beginning from Mungrisdale, was also described.
Ownership
In May 2014, its owner,
Hugh Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale
Hugh Clayton Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale (27 May 1949 – 22 June 2021) was the eldest son of James Lowther, 7th Earl of Lonsdale, and the only son by his first wife Tuppina Cecily Bennet.
Life
Lowther was born on 27 May 1949, the oldest son o ...
, listed the entire mountain massif plus the
Lordship of the Manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
of
Threlkeld
Threlkeld is a village and civil parish in the north of the Lake District in Cumbria, England, to the east of Keswick. It lies at the southern foot of Blencathra, one of the more prominent fells in the northern Lake District, and to the nort ...
for sale, at a guide price of £1.75 million.
The sale was started in order to pay inheritance tax.
A number of offers were soon made for the mountain, and the agent handling the sale suggested that the initial guide price could well be exceeded.
A community group, Friends of Blencathra, was set up in response to the announcement of the fell being listed for sale, and began fund-raising in order to make a bid. Mountaineer Sir
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, w ...
, broadcaster
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documenta ...
and adventurer and television presenter
Ben Fogle
Benjamin Myer Fogle, (born 3 November 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer and adventurer, best known for his presenting roles with British television channels Channel 5, BBC and ITV.
Early life
Fogle is the son of English actress Julia F ...
were among those to voice support for the group's bid. The
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
(which owns 21% of the Lake District National Park) also backed the Friends of Blencathra, stating that it would not be placing a bid itself.
Eden District Council listed Blencathra as an
asset of community value
In England, an asset of community value (ACV) is land or property of importance to a local community which is subject to additional protection from development under the Localism Act 2011. Voluntary and community organisations can nominate an ass ...
on 7 July 2014, following a nomination by Friends of Blencathra. This was the first time the 'community asset' status had been given to a mountain, and gave the community group more time to secure funding and negotiate with the owner.
In November 2015, the community group claimed to be making progress with the sale. Days later, H and H Land & Property, the estate agents handling the sale of Blencathra, announced the mountain was no longer on the market, claiming it would not be available to purchase for an 'indefinite' period of time. On 15 February 2016,
Companies House
Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are i ...
published files confirming Friends of Blencathra had only raised £246,650 of the asking price in its first year of campaigning.
Due to a lack of "serious" offers, Blencathra was withdrawn from sale in May 2016, as the Earl had found other means of paying the tax. Following this, the Friends of Blencathra were given an ultimatum to make a final serious offer following concerns from donors that they would not see any result from the charity, and decided to end their campaign.
Residual money from the fund disclaimed by contributors, totally around £100,000, was later donated to five selected local charities. The Friends of Blencathra was wound up in 2019.
Other
Blencathra Field Studies Centre is an outdoor and environmental education centre at an altitude of on the south-western side of Blencathra, at the foot of the ascent path to Blease Fell. It was built in 1904 and initially operated as a
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
. It now provides accommodation and learning opportunities for schools and universities, as well as specialist natural science training courses to adults. Since 2012 it has operated mostly off-grid, generating its own
hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...
and
biomass heating.
In 2017, the
Mountain Heritage Trust
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
relocated its headquarters, and collections of objects and archives relating to British mountaineering, to the Blencathra Field Centre.
References
External links
Blencathra Hike Information and Car ParksBlencathra Field CentreView from the summit of BlencathraComputer-generated summit panorama
{{portal, Cumbria
Hewitts of England
Marilyns of England
Fells of the Lake District
Nuttalls
Celtic toponyms
Threlkeld