Thunacar Knott 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 central part of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

in the county of

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 ...

Topography

The main spine of the

Central Fells The Central Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Reaching their highest point at High Raise (2,500 ft or 762 metres), they occupy a broad area to the east of Borrowdale. The Central Fells are generally lower than the ...

runs south from

Bleaberry Fell Bleaberry Fell is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England, with a height of 590 metres (1,936 feet). It stands on the main watershed between Borrowdale and Thirlmere and can be climbed from either flank. Walla Crag is a subsidia ...

to High Raise, before turning sharply east en route for

Blea Rigg Blea Rigg is a fell in the English Lake District, lying between the valleys of Easedale and Great Langdale. One of the Central Fells, it is a broad plateau with a succession of rocky tops. Many routes of ascent are possible, beginning either fr ...

and

Loughrigg Fell Loughrigg Fell is a hill in the central part of the English Lake District. It stands on the end of the long ridge coming down from High Raise over Silver How towards Ambleside, and is separated from its neighbours by the depression of ...

. A secondary ridge projects southward from High Raise, terminating in the

Langdale Pikes Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England, the epithet Great distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale. Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells, elsewhere in ...

. These are a high rocky parapet looking down upon the valley of Great Langdale, fringing an area of moorland behind. This upland plateau has its highpoint in Thunacar Knott. Recent surveys give the fell a height of 723 metres (2,372 feet), a significant increase to the 2,351 feet given by

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'', published ...

in his ''

Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells ''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells (the local word for hills and mountains) of the Lake District in northwest England. Written over a period of 13 years from 1952, they ...

''. The fell is situated in

Great Langdale Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England, the epithet Great distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale. Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells, elsewhere i ...

in the midst of one of the most popular areas for walking in the district, surrounded by the much-loved Langdale fells of

Harrison Stickle Harrison Stickle is a fell in the central part of the English Lake District, situated above Great Langdale. The fell is one of the three (although the number is debated) fells which make up the picturesque Langdale Pikes, the others being Pike o ...

Pike of Stickle Pike of Stickle, also known as Pike o’ Stickle, is a fell in the English Lake District. It reaches a height of 709 metres (2,326 feet) and is situated in the central part of the national park in the valley of Great Langdale. The fel ...

Loft Crag Loft Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, situated west of Ambleside in the valley of Great Langdale. Along with the neighbouring fells of Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle it forms the picturesque Langdale Pikes, which when viewed f ...

and

Pavey Ark Pavey Ark is a fell in the English county of Cumbria. It is one of the Langdale Pikes, lying to the north of Great Langdale, in the heart of the Lake District, immediately to the north-east of Harrison Stickle. Topography From the shores of St ...

. Despite this, Thunacar Knott is often by-passed by walkers because of its uninspiring appearance, being just a slight rise on the moorland between Harrison Stickle and High Raise. Indeed, many people do not regard it as a separate fell, considering it just the outlying highest point of the spectacular Pavey Ark cliffs. Wainwright’s comments on the fell are not positive, saying: ‘Thunacar Knott is completely unphotogenic…this uninspiring characteristic extends to the whole fell, which is quite deficient in interest.’

Geology

Drift deposits cover most of the fell, but in the summit area there are outcrops of the underlying Seathwaite Fell Formation. This consists of

volcaniclastic Volcaniclastics are geologic materials composed of broken fragments (clasts) of volcanic rock. These encompass all clastic volcanic materials, regardless of what process fragmented the rock, how it was subsequently transported, what environment it ...

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) ...

with interbeds of

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 conglomerate.

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: Sheet 38: BGS (1998)

Ascents

Many walkers feel compelled to climb Thunacar Knott in order to complete their list of ‘Wainwright’ fells and they usually do this while climbing the more popular neighbouring fells. The usual starting point is the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Great Langdale and the route goes via Stickle Ghyll, Stickle Tarn and Pavey Ark. Thunacar Knott can also be climbed from Stonethwaite in Borrowdale, via Langstrath and the

Stake Pass Hill passes of the Lake District were originally used by people in one valley travelling to another nearby without having to go many miles around a steep ridge of intervening hills. Historically, in the Lake District of northwest England, trave ...

.Mark Richards: ''The Central Fells'': Collins (2003):

Summit

The summit of the fell has a small tarn and two tops. The southern top is the highest point while the northern top has the more significant

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 ...

and is often regarded as the true summit. Even though Thunacar Knott is quite insignificant it is slightly higher than all the surrounding area and gives good all-round views, the prospect to the west being especially fine.

References

{{Central Fells Fells of the Lake District Nuttalls