Windblown trees, Humphrey Head - geograph

Humphrey Head is a limestone outcrop situated south of the village of Allithwaite in

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 ...

, England. It is whale-back-shaped and accessible for walkers, giving views over

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

to Lancaster,

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal town in Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a Heysham Port, ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two Heysham nuclear power station, nuclear power stations. Demogra ...

and over the

Leven estuary The River Leven (pron. ) is a short river in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, falling within the historic boundaries of Lancashire. It drains Windermere from its southernmost point and flows for approximately into the northern reaches of Mo ...

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...

. There is an Ordnance Survey

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 ...

at the top. Since 1906 it has been the home of Humphrey Head Outdoor Centre, currently operated by Mere Mountains. Most of the Head is a nature reserve, managed by

Cumbria Wildlife Trust Cumbria Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Cumbria, England. It runs more than 40 nature reserves, and aims to broaden the awareness and knowledge of the wildlife in the county. History The trust was established in 1962 as ...

since 1992 although still owned by the Holker Estate. On the eastern flank is a wood with permitted rights of way. It used to be possible to walk to the end of the outcrop by walking on the sands to the west of Humphrey Head, but changes in the sands have rendered this difficult (although still possible in wellies) (2011). To the east of Humphrey Head is a

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

which forms part of

Kents Bank Kents Bank is a small village in Cumbria, England, so named for its proximity to the River Kent estuary. Part of the historic County Palatine of Lancashire, it is located south-west of Grange-over-Sands. History Kents Bank takes its name fro ...

. Humphrey Head is the traditional location for the killing of the last wolf in England, in about 1390. Folklore has it that the wolf descended the fells from near Coniston where it had caused havoc among the sheep flocks. After it attacked a child in

Cark Cark (sometimes Cark in Cartmel) is a village in Cumbria, England. It lies on the B5278 road to Haverthwaite (and to the A590 road) and is ½ mile north of Flookburgh, 2 miles southwest of Cartmel and 3 miles west of Grange-over-Sands. It is ...

the country-folk chased it to the end of Humphrey Head where it was killed with pikes while hiding among the rocks. Below Humphrey Head there used to be house with a spring. The water was reputed to have therapeutic properties. Miners from Durham used to walk here just to take the water. All that is now left is a rusting lead pipe and a clear trickle of water. On the rock face lies a memorial to William Pedder who died in August 1857, it reads: "Beware how you on these rocks ascend Here William pedder met his end August 22nd 1857 Aged 10 years by permission". Humphrey Head is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book ''

The Outlying Fells of Lakeland ''The Outlying Fells of Lakeland'' is a 1974 book written by Alfred Wainwright dealing with hills in and around the Lake District of England. It differs from Wainwright's '' Pictorial Guides'' in that each of its 56 chapters describes a walk, ...

'', although he says "Not by any exercise of the imagination can Humphrey Head be classed as an outlying fell of Lakeland" as although it is "outlying", the summit is and "a fell it is certainly not". He describes a walk from

Kents Bank railway station Kents Bank is a railway station on the Furness Line, which runs between and . The station, situated north-west of Lancaster, serves the village of Kents Bank in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains. History The ...

. File:Humphrey Head - geograph.org.uk - 203379.jpg, alt=humphrey Head Beach below the cliffs, Humphrey Head beach below the cliffs which provide the only sea level traverse in the Lake District area, also popular with walkers but there is a high risk of sinking sands and incoming tides. File:Humphrey Head from the south - geograph.org.uk - 48658.jpg, alt=humphrey Head , Humphrey Head seen from the sands File:Cave, west side Humphrey Head - geograph.org.uk - 1312788.jpg, alt=view from the cave, from the cave File:Humphrey Head Sign - geograph.org.uk - 1305633.jpg, alt=Nature Reserve map, Nature Reserve Map File:Entrance to Humphrey Head Outdoor Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1548780.jpg, alt=entrance to the outdoor education centre, Entrance to Humphrey Head Outdoor Centre, hidden away out of sight of the road

References

* * * {{coord, 54.157, -2.933, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Landforms of Cumbria Nature reserves of the Cumbria Wildlife Trust Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cumbria Rock formations of England