Haycock is a mountain in the western part of the English Lake District. It rises between

Scoat Fell Scoat Fell is a fell in the western part of the English Lake District. It stands at the head of the Mosedale Horseshoe with its back to Ennerdale. Paths lead to Scoat Fell from Ennerdale over Steeple, from Wasdale over Red Pike, and alon ...

and Caw Fell to the south of Ennerdale and the north of

Wasdale Wasdale () is a valley and civil parish in the western part of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Irt flows through the valley to its estuary at Ravenglass. A large part of the main valley floor is occupied by Wastw ...

. Haycock is an imposing dome-shaped

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 ...

, its popularity with walkers diminished somewhat by its remoteness. It can be climbed from either valley and offers fine mountain views.

Topography

The Western Fells occupy a triangular sector of the Lake District, bordered by the River Cocker to the north-east and

to the south-east. Westwards the hills diminish toward the coastal plain of Cumberland. At the central hub of the high country are

Great Gable Great Gable is a mountain in the Lake District, United Kingdom. It is named after its appearance as a pyramid from Wasdale, though it is dome-shaped from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are ...

and its satellites, while two principal ridges fan out on either flank of Ennerdale, the western fells in effect being a great horseshoe around this long wild valley.

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 ...

: ''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Volume 7 The Western Fells'': Westmorland Gazette (1966): Haycock stands on the southern arm. The main watershed runs broadly westwards from Great Gable, dividing the headwaters of Ennerdale and

. Travelling in this direction the major hills are

Kirk Fell Kirk Fell is a fell in the Western part of the English Lake District. It is situated between Great Gable and Pillar on the long ring of fells surrounding the valley of Ennerdale, and also stands over Wasdale to the south. However, it is sepa ...

Pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

, Haycock and Caw Fell. Haycock sends out a southern ridge to the neighbouring

Seatallan Seatallan is a mountain in the western part of the English Lake District. It is rounded, grassy and fairly unassuming, occupying a large amount of land. However, it is classed as a Marilyn because of the low elevation of the col connecting it to ...

. The northern slopes of Haycock fall over crags into Great Cove, the birthplace of Deep Gill. This flows down through a belt of forestry into Ennerdale, just above the head of the

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

. Great Cove is enclosed in the east by Tewit How, a rocky spur of neighbouring Scoat Fell. A similar spur closes in the other side, descending unnamed from Haycock. North-west of the summit, on the ridge continuing to Caw Fell, is Little Gowder Crag. This subsidiary top, listed as a Nuttall, has its rock face to the north of the ridge, appearing as a prominent knuckle in views from that side. Haycock's southern flanks are bisected by the ridge to Seatallan and Middle Fell. This begins steeply over Gowder Crag and then broadens over High Pikehow before finally reaching the depression at Pots of Ashness (1,640 ft / 500 m.). To the west is the head of the River Bleng, Haycock's daughter stream. This flows south-west for some miles, remote from habitation. Finally it joins the River Irt and enters the sea at

Ravenglass Ravenglass is a coastal village in the Copeland District in Cumbria, England. It is between Barrow-in-Furness and Whitehaven. Historically in Cumberland, it is the only coastal village in the Lake District National Park. It is located at the est ...

. On the opposite side of the south ridge is the valley of Nether Beck, making straight for

Wast Water Wast Water or Wastwater () is a lake located in Wasdale, a valley in the western part of the Lake District National Park, England. The lake is almost long and more than wide. It is a glacial lake, formed in a glacially 'over-deepened' valle ...

Geology

The summit area exhibits the

plagioclase Plagioclase is a series of tectosilicate (framework silicate) minerals within the feldspar group. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a continuous solid solution series, more pro ...

-phyric

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...

lavas of the Birker Fell Formation. To the north are the siltstone,

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 ...

and

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 Eagle Crag Member, both containing andesite sills. Around High Pikehow are areas of Seatallan

dacite 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 rhyolite ...

.British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheets 29 and 38'': BGS (1999),(1998)

Summit

A wall, the Ennerdale Fence, runs along the watershed, crossing the top of the fell. There is a cairn on either side, that to the north being regarded as the nominal summit. The whole area is stony. Another cairn marks a viewpoint to the south. The view is good for a fell so removed from the centre of the District. The Scafells are seen in profile, with

Helvellyn Helvellyn (; possible meaning: ''pale yellow moorland'') is a mountain in the English Lake District, the highest point of the Helvellyn range, a north–south line of mountains to the north of Ambleside, between the lakes of Thirlmere and Ul ...

and Skiddaw in the distance. Ennerdale Water is in view from the summit and Wast Water from the southern cairn.

Ascents

From Ennerdale the natural line follows the unnamed spur to the west of Deep Gill, footpaths having been created through the forestry. A longer route follows the opposing spur of Tewit How, turning right when the col is reached. Netherbeck Bridge provides access from the shore of Wast Water, following the stream around the base of Middle Fell. Once Ladcrag Beck is reached, a more direct line can be taken up Haycock. From below the lake, the valley of Greendale Beck provides another alternative. Haycock may also be ascended indirectly, having first climbed

, Middle Fell or

.Bill Birkett: ''Complete Lakeland Fells'': Collins Willow (1994):

Gallery

Image: Haycock from iron crag.jpg, Haycock looking SE from Iron Crag Image: Haycock from caw fell.jpg, Haycock looking E from Caw Fell

References

{{Western Fells Hewitts of England Fells of the Lake District Nuttalls Borough of Copeland