High Spy is a fell in the English

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 is situated on the ridge that separates the Newlands Valley from Borrowdale, eight kilometres (five miles) south of Keswick.

Topography

The fell reaches a height of 653 metres (2142 feet) and is defended by crags to the east and west as it falls away steeply to the valleys. It is a distinctive fell that has 148 metres (486 feet) of topographic prominence from the higher adjoining fell of

Dale Head Dale Head is a fell in the north-western sector of the Lake District, in northern England. It is 753 metres or 2,470 feet above sea level and stands immediately north of Honister Pass, the road between Borrowdale and Buttermere. Topo ...

and so misses being a Marilyn by only two metres. Geologically the fell is made up of

Borrowdale Volcanics The Borrowdale Volcanic Group is a group of igneous rock formations named after the Borrowdale area of the Lake District, in England. They are Caradocian (late Ordovician) in age (roughly 450 million years old). It is thought that they represent t ...

. The meaning of the fell's name is obscure but may mean a “lookout post”, referring to some lost fort in the area. In the past it has been known as Scawdel Fell and Lobstone Band and these names are still used on maps to label other parts of the fell.ukonline.co.uk.
details of fells name and translation. High Spy from Dale Head

The summit has an impressive

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 ...

which has been known to be

vandalised Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

on occasions but always seems to gets rebuilt by other walkers. The top of the fell is relatively flat for a distance of about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) in a north-to-south direction and the impressive Eel Crags fall away vertically on the Newlands side of the fell, these crags are popular with rock climbers with the quality of the rock being very good. High Spy North Top stands almost a kilometre north of the main top it has a height of 634 metres (2080 feet) and is also classed as a

Nuttall Nuttall may refer to: People * Nuttall (name) * Nuttall baronets Nature * Nuttall's oak, a fast-growing large deciduous oak tree native to North America * Nuttall's woodpecker, a species of woodpecker found in oak woodlands of California * Nutta ...

, it gives a fine view of Derwent Water. 600 metres (650 yards) north of the main summit is a small unnamed tarn.''"The Mountains of England and Wales Vol. 2 - England"'', John & Anne Nuttall, , Page 34 Gives route details and info on North Top.

Ascents

High Spy is often climbed as part of the

Newlands Horseshoe The Newlands horseshoe is a circular walk in the Lake District, incorporating the main peaks surrounding the Newlands Valley. Standard round The regular horseshoe covers six peaks, and approximately 9.4 miles or 15.1 kilometers of walking. It incl ...

ridge walk but can be ascended directly despite being defended by crags on both its Newlands and Borrowdale sides. From Borrowdale a path goes from Rosthwaite and climbs through the disused Rigg Head Quarries to reach the col linking High Spy to Dale Head and then up the south ridge to the summit passing a small unnamed tarn just before the top. From this side it is also possible to start from Grange and use an old drove road to get through the barrier of Blea Crag and then approach the summit. A scrambling route also starts from Grange, going via Hollows Farm it tackles the rocky rake of Nitting Haws directly.''"Scrambles In The Lake District - North"'', R. Brian Evans, , Page 138 Gives details of scrambling route from Grange. From Little Town in the Newlands valley an old mine road zig zags up to the col between the fell and Dale Head to then reach the top by the south ridge.''"A Pictorial Guide to Lakeland Fells, The North Western Fells"'', Alfred Wainwright, , Gives general details of fell and routes.''"Complete Lakeland Fells"'', Bill Birkett, , Gives general details of fell and routes.

Mining

The latter route passes the Castlenook lead mine at the foot of the fell on the Newlands side, this mine, formerly owned by the Company of Mines Royal, started production in the 1860s and continued until 1918 when cheaper imports led to its closure. There are also signs of trial levels higher up the steep slope.Old Cumbria Gazetteer.
Gives details of Castlenook mine.

References

{{North Western Fells Hewitts of England Fells of the Lake District Nuttalls