Wasdale Head is a scattered agricultural hamlet in the Lake District National Park 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. Wasdale Head claims to be home of the highest mountain (Scafell Pike), deepest lake (

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 ...

), smallest church and biggest liar in England. The last of these claims refers to Will Ritson, who paradoxically proclaimed himself as such. In 1870-72 the

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

had a population of 49.

Topology

It is located at the head of the valley 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 Wastwa ...

, and is surrounded by some of England's highest mountains:

Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif. Scafell P ...

Sca Fell Scafell ( or ; also spelled Sca Fell, previously Scawfell) is a mountain in the English Lake District, part of the Southern Fells. Its height of makes it the second-highest mountain in England after its neighbour Scafell Pike, from which ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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. ...

Climbing and walking

The hamlet was the centre of the early years of British rock climbing. There is a famous climber's hotel here, the Wasdale Head Inn, made popular in the Victorian period by

Walter Parry Haskett Smith Walter Parry Haskett Smith (28 August 1859 – 11 March 1946) was an English barrister-at-law, athlete, traveller and pioneer rock climber. Background Born in Bognor Regis, England, he was the second son of the landowner Haskett Smith (1813–18 ...

Owen Glynne Jones 150px, Portrait and signature of Owen Glynne Jones from his book ''Rock-climbing in the English Lake District'' Owen Glynne Jones (2 November 1867 – 28 August 1899) was a Welsh rock-climber and mountaineer. He established many new routes in ...

and many other pioneers. Wasdale Head is a popular starting point for the ascent of

. On summer weekends, crowds of people can be found attempting this steep but straightforward walk. Today, it is the recognised starting point for the ascent of Scafell Pike as part of the

National Three Peaks Challenge The National Three Peaks Challenge is an event in which participants attempt to climb the highest mountains of England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours. It is frequently used to raise money for charitable organisations. Walkers climb each pe ...

, a vehicle-supported walk of the highest peaks of England, Scotland and Wales.

Church

In the hamlet is St Olaf's Church, which is claimed as being the smallest

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in England. The church has long been associated with British

climbers Climber may refer to: *Climber, a participant in the activity of climbing *Climber, general name for a vine *Climber, or climbing specialist, a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads * Climber (BEAM), a robot that ...

. The south window has a small pane within it with an etching of Napes Needle on

, serving as a memorial to members of the

Fell & Rock Climbing Club The Fell & Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District (in everyday usage the Fell and Rock Club or FRCC) is the senior climbing club covering the English Lake District. It was founded in 1906–1907 and, amongst its other activities, publ ...

who lost their lives in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Will Ritson

Will Ritson (1808–1890) BBC retrieved 14 July 2018
/ref> was a landlord of the Wastwater Hotel (now called the Wasdale Head Inn) in Wasdale, and he told grand fables. One, for example, was about a wounded eagle he found near the inn. He kept it in his chicken coop and nursed it back to health. One night the coop was raided by a bitch hound. The eagle was unscathed, but five months later the dog gave birth to a litter of winged hounds. The World's Biggest Liar competition is held annually in his memory.

References

* Adam Nicolson and

Nick Meers Nick Meers (born 1955) is a British landscape photographer and is the co-author of many published books that include his photography.

, ''Panoramas of England'', 1997, London: Orion (p. 102)

External links

The Cumbria Directory - Wasdale Head
{{authority control Villages in Cumbria Borough of Copeland