Illgill Head 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 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 known more commonly as the northern portion of the Wastwater Screes. The fell is 609 metres high and stands along the south-east shore of

Wastwater 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 ...

, the deepest lake in England.

Topography

The panorama of the Wastwater Screes across Wastwater is one of the most famous and awe-inspiring views in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Poet

Norman Nicholson Norman Cornthwaite Nicholson (8 January 1914 – 30 May 1987) was an English poet associated with the Cumbrian town of Millom. His poetry is noted for local concerns, straightforward language, and elements of common speech. Although known chief ...

described the Screes as ‘like the inverted arches of a

Gothic Cathedral Gothic cathedrals and churches are religious buildings created in Europe between the mid-12th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The cathedrals are notable particularly for their great height and their extensive use of stained glass t ...

’. The title Wastwater Screes applies to the

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ha ...

-covered north-western fellside which plunges dramatically down into Wastwater. This also includes Illgill Head's neighbour

Whin Rigg Whin Rigg is a fell in the English Lake District, situated in the western segment of the national park, 22 kilometres south east of the town of Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake ...

, the continuation of the ridge to the south-west. The scree slope continues beneath the lake to a depth of 79 metres (259 ft). The screes were formed as a result of ice and weathering erosion on the rocks. Geologically, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg are part of the

Borrowdale Volcanic Group 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 ...

, typical for the southern-western area of the Lake District. In marked contrast to the north-western slope, the opposite flank of the fell, which descends to

Burnmoor Tarn Burnmoor Tarn, on Eskdale Fell in Cumbria, England, is one of the largest entirely natural tarns in the Lake District. Its waters flow into Whillan Beck at the tarn's north-eastern corner, which immediately turns south and flows into Eskdale, ...

and Miterdale, is much gentler and covered in heather and bracken.

Geology

The summit area has outcropping

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 cont ...

lapilli Lapilli is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' (singular: ''lapillus'') is Latin for "little stones". By definition lapilli range f ...

-tuff and

breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of di ...

of the Lingmell Formation amid the drift deposits. The crags atop the Screes reveal 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 prope ...

-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 predomi ...

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

s of the Birker Fell Formation.

British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. The BGS h ...

: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 38'': BGS (1998)

Summit

The summit is a flat sheepwalk, giving no clue to the drama of the Screes. North-west from the

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 ...

the grassy plateau gradually tilts, until a few yards away it simply disappears over the brink. Illgill Head is a fine viewpoint for Wasdale Head, the surrounding fells all appearing as they soar up from the dalehead. Nearer views, with care, are possible down the Screes themselves.
Panorama

Ascent

Illgill Head is commonly ascended from

Wasdale Head Wasdale Head is a scattered agricultural hamlet in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Wasdale Head claims to be home of the highest mountain (Scafell Pike), deepest lake ( Wastwater), smallest church and biggest liar in E ...

over the north-eastern shoulder of the fell, skirting the edge of the Screes. There is also an ascent from

Boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...

in Eskdale either over Whin Rigg or direct via Burnmoor Tarn. A lakeside path along the south-eastern shore of Wastwater starts at Wasdale Head Hall and continues through the boulder field with exhilarating close-up views of the Screes.

References

* A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, The Southern Fells, Alfred Wainwright, {{Marilyns N Eng Nuttalls Fells of the Lake District Marilyns of England Borough of Copeland