Heron Pike 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 moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

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, two kilometres east of Grasmere. It is part of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It should not be confused with the Heron Pike that forms part of Sheffield Pike, although it appears that, by coincidence, both Heron Pikes are exactly the same height.

Topography

Not a fell of great significance, Heron Pike is a slight grassy rise on the long southern ridge of its parent fell Fairfield. Just cresting the 2,000 foot mark at 612 m (2,008 ft), it is mostly climbed as part of 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 ...

walk and it lies between the adjoining fells of

Nab Scar Nab Scar is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It stands above Rydal Water. Topography Nab Scar is properly the steep terminal face of the southern ridge of Heron Pike, but the name ...

and

Great Rigg Great Rigg is a fell in the English Lake District, 7 kilometres (4½ miles) north-west of Ambleside and reaching a height of 766 metres (2,513 feet). It is most often climbed as part of the Fairfield horseshoe, a 16-km circular walk which starts ...

. Heron Pike’s eastern side features Erne Crag and Blind Cove as it falls away quite steeply towards Rydal Beck. At the base of Erne Crag is an old quarry, the mouth of a cavern quite easy to locate.Richards, Mark: ''Near Eastern Fells'': Collins (2003): The fell's western flank drops towards Grasmere and has the small Alcock Tarn on its lower slopes at a height of 360 m (1,180 ft). Alcock Tarn was originally known as Butter Crags Tarn and was enlarged by means of a stone and earth dam in the nineteenth century to a depth of about six feet. The owner, a Mr Alcock of Grasmere, then stocked it with brown trout.Blair, Don: ''Exploring Lakeland Tarns'': Lakeland Manor Press (2003): Heron Pike has a "subsidiary" top which qualifies as a Nuttall. It is called Heron Pike North Top on the Nuttall lists, but is also known as Rydal Fell in some guide books.Birkett, Bill: ''Complete Lakeland Fells'': Collins Willow (1994): It lies 400 metres north of the main summit at the top of Erne Crag and has a height of 621 m (2,039 ft). The deliberate choice by

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'', publis ...

of the lower top to be the summit 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 ...

'' is one of the many oddities which differentiate

Wainwrights Wainwrights are the 214 English peaks (known locally as '' fells'') described in Alfred Wainwright's seven-volume '' Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' (1955–66). They all lie within the boundary of the Lake District National Park in Cum ...

from more logical hill lists such as Nuttalls or Hewitts.

Geology

The ridgeline exposes the

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-

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 ...

of the Lincomb Tarns Formation. British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 29'': BGS (1999)

Ascents

Ascents of the fell are commenced either from Rydal or Grasmere; the ascent from Grasmere allows Alcock Tarn to be visited by a short detour while the route from Rydal first climbs Nab Scar. However, the majority of walkers who visit Heron Pike do so either on the way to or on the way back from the main fell of Fairfield.

Summit

The south summit has flashes of quartz in the uppermost rock and by far the better view. This takes in a fine vista of

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

, the Coniston and Central Fells. The higher northern top bears the remains of a cross wall, some of this fashioned into a small cairn.

References

* A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Eastern Fells, Alfred Wainwright, * The Mountains of England and Wales, John and Anne Nuttall
Lake District Walks - Alcock Tarn & Heron Pike Walks
{{Eastern Fells Nuttalls Fells of the Lake District Mountains under 1000 metres South Lakeland District