Hartsop above How 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 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 ...

, an outlier of 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 extend ...

in the

Eastern Fells The Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Centred on Helvellyn they primarily comprise a north–south ridge running between Ullswater and Lakeland's Central Valley. Partition of the Lakeland fells The Lake District i ...

. It stands above

Brothers Water Brothers Water is a small lake in the Hartsop valley, in the eastern region of the Lake District in England. Once called Broad Water, it lies at the northern end of Kirkstone Pass, affording views on the descent towards Patterdale. The name was c ...

and the

Ullswater Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being about long and wide, with a maximum depth a little over . It was scooped out by a glacier in the Last Ice Age. Geography It is a typical Lake District "ribbon lake", ...

–

Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, Cumbria, Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern ...

road.

Topography

Although properly the long north-east ridge of

Hart Crag Hart Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, being one of the Fairfield group of hills in the Eastern Fells. Topography The fell stands on the ridge running south east from Fairfield to Dove Crag, at the point where a long subsidiary spu ...

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 ...

accorded Hartsop above How the status of a separate fell in his ''

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 ...

'' and that convention is followed here. The name, with the middle word uncapitalised, is that used on

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maps and has wide support in guidebooks, although it is sometimes hyphenated. Wainwright states that the local name for the fell is Gill Crag.

: ''

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 1: A three-mile ridge of high ground branches off north-east from the

Fairfield horseshoe Fairfield Horseshoe is a classic circular hillwalking ridge walk route starting from Rydal or Ambleside in the English Lake District that takes in all the fells that surround the valley of the Rydal Beck. The round The walk is extremely popular ...

at Hart Crag. It turns gradually more northward, resembling a

billhook A billhook or bill hook, also called a pruning knife or spar hook, is a versatile cutting tool used widely in agriculture and forestry for cutting woody material such as shrubs, small trees and branches. It is distinct from the sickle. It was c ...

in plan. To the north is Deepdale, a long curving valley with a marshy and rather dismal character. The southern boundary of Hartsop above How is formed by Dovedale, a valley of woodlands and waterfalls. Both dales meet the main valley of Kirkstone/Goldrill Beck which flows north through

Patterdale Patterdale (Saint Patrick's Dale) is a small village and civil parish in the eastern part of the English Lake District in the Eden District of Cumbria, in the traditional county of Westmorland, and the long valley in which they are found, also ...

. Hartsop above How has a number of knolls along its length, the principal tops being above Gill Crag—the summit—and Gale Crag (). The ridge is generally grassy, but with considerable rock outcropping, particularly on the Deepdale side. The main faces here are Bleaberry Knott, Gale Crag, Holly Crag and Erne Nest Crag. Gill Crag, The Perch and Black Crag loom above Dovedale. A stone wall follows the crest almost as far as the summit. At the foot of the Dovedale face and continuing round above Brothers Water is Low Wood. This is an expanse of native woodland. Within the woodland are the remains of Hartsop Hall Mine. This was a

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 ...

mine operating at least as far back as the 17th century and closing in 1942. Four levels were driven northward into the fellside of Hartsop above How, but the production of ore was never significant.Adams, John: ''Mines of the Lake District Fells'': Dalesman (1995)

Summit

The summit carries a small

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. The view is good with the craggy heads of Deepdale and Dovedale in close-up.

Ascents

The only practicable line of ascent for walkers is along the ridge, either from the end at Deepdale Bridge, or cutting up the southern side from Cow Bridge and Brothers Water. A path follows the crest and continues across peaty ground toward the rocky top of Hart Crag.Richards, Mark: ''Near Eastern Fells'': Collins (2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartsop Above How Fells of the Lake District Patterdale