The Wasdale Horseshoe is a group of hills on the eastern fringe of 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 ...
, to the west of the
A6, south of
Shap
Shap is a linear village and civil parish located among fells and isolated dales in Eden district, Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Westmorland. The parish had a population of 1,221 in 2001, increasing slightly to 1,264 at the 2011 ...
,
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 ...
. They surround the valley of Wasdale Beck, a tributary of
Birk Beck
Birk Beck is a minor river in Cumbria.
Rising on the fells near Shap, Birk Beck runs south-by-south east, picking up Wasdale Beck (running east and draining ''Yarlside'' and ''Gargill'') and Bretherdale Beck (flowing east from ''Demmings Moss'' a ...
and ultimately of the
River Lune
The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England.
Etymology
Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and deriv ...
. The horseshoe 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, ...
''.
This Wasdale should not be confused with the better known
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 Wastwa ...
, containing
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' valley. ...
, on the west of the Lake District.
Wainwright's clockwise walk starts from the highest point of the A6 at . The summits reached are Whatshaw Common at , Little Yarlside at , Great Yarlside (the third highest of the Outlying Fells) at and Wasdale Pike at .
Wasdale Pike is within the
Shap Fells Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
.
References
External links
*
Fells of the Lake District
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