Barrow is small

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 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 ...

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. Cumb ...

which reaches a height of 455 metres (1,494 feet). It is in 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 ...

2.5 miles (4 km) south-west of Keswick. Although comparatively small in height, Barrow commands an all-round view, with the vales of Keswick and Newlands being visible. The name of the fell originates from the

Anglo Saxon language Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th cen ...

meaning a hill or long ridge.

Topography

Barrow is a slender ridge climbing south-west from

Braithwaite Braithwaite is a village in the northern Lake District, in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just to the west of Keswick and to the east of the Grisedale Pike ridge, in the Borough of Allerdale. It forms part of the ...

. At the summit it turns due west across the depression of Barrow Door, diverted by the valley of Stonycroft Gill. Beyond the col are Stile End and

Outerside Outerside is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is located 6 kilometres west of Keswick in the north western part of the national park and is a smaller member of the Coledale group of fells with a height of 568 metres ...

. The valley of Coledale lies to the north-west and Newlands Beck forms the eastern boundary.

Ascents

Ascents of the fell are usually started from either the Newlands Valley or Braithwaite, both providing a short ramble which can be combined with the adjoining higher fell of

. The climb from Newlands starts at the hamlet of Stair and utilises an old mine road up Stonycroft Gill up to a height of 350 metres (1,148 feet) before veering back east to attain the summit. There are two paths from Braithwaite; one follows the northern ridge of the fell while the other approaches up the valley of Barrow Gill.

Geology

Barrow is composed of the 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 ...

of the Kirkstile Formation, typical of the

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 ...

group. A band of

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 Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

runs along the eastern flanks.British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 29'': BGS (1999) Like many of the fells in the Newlands Valley, Barrow has been extensively mined for

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 ...

in the past, the spoil heaps are extensive and sweep down to the road at the eastern foot of the hill. The spoil is quite light in colour and is clearly visible from afar. Barrow mine first opened in the 17th century and closed in 1888. The remaining spoil heaps are said to be in a state of continual slight movement and it is possible to hear a small rustle as the spoil slides down the hill. Another noteworthy topographical feature is the

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.cairn A cairn is a man-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 gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

on grass marks the summit, with heather surrounding the top on all sides. The view takes in the surrounding higher

North Western Fells The North Western Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Including such favourites as Catbells and Grisedale Pike, they occupy an oval area beneath the Buttermere and Borrowdale valley systems. The North Western Fells are chara ...

, together with 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 ...

across

Derwentwater 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 Borrowdal ...

and

standing above Keswick.

References

*''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, The North Western Fells'' Alfred Wainwright: *''Complete Lakeland Fells'', Bill Birkett, {{Authority control Fells of the Lake District Allerdale