Whin Rigg 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 moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

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 District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

. It reaches only a modest altitude of 535 m (1,755 ft) but is part of one of the Lake District’s most dramatic landscapes in that the rugged and impressive Wastwater Screes (also known as "The Screes") fall from the fells summit to

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 ...

over 450 m (1,500 ft) below. The fell's name means ''“ gorse covered ridge”'' and originates from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

words “Hvin” meaning gorse and “Hryggr” meaning Ridge.

Topography and Geology

Whin Rigg is linked to the adjoining fell of

Illgill Head Illgill Head is a fell in the English Lake District. 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, the deepest lake in England. ...

, just 1.5 kilometres away at the northern end of The Screes by a path that gives precipitous views down to Wast Water. The Screes are a Site of Special Scientific Interest and are regarded as a classic geological locality and one of the best and most famous examples of

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 ...

s in Britain. The escarpment and screes are made up of hard wearing Borrowdale Volcanics rock, however there are areas of less resistant rock which have been eroded and this has led to deep gullies in the cliff face. The cliffs around the summit of Whin Rigg take the form of vertical rock buttresses which are split by the huge Great Gully and C Gully which give precipitous views of Wast Water. The gullies are spectacular but are a no go area for walkers, Great Gully has seventeen near vertical pitches and the remains of an aeroplane within it. Apart from The Screes, Whin Rigg has another fine geological feature in Greathall Gill. This is a granite ravine which rises up the fell from where the

River Irt The River Irt is a river in the county of Cumbria in northern England. It flows for from the south-western end of Wast Water, the deepest lake in England, leaving the lake at the foot of Whin Rigg, the southern peak of the famous Wastwater S ...

flows out of Wast Water to the 400 metre mark on the fell to the south west of the summit. The lower section of the ravine in steep sided and wooded and support a range of mosses,

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

s and herbs including Common wood sorrel, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium (opposite leaved golden saxifrage) and great wood rush.

Ascents

The path on the eastern side of Greathall Gill has developed into a popular way up the fell from Nether Wasdale and has become eroded in recent years, it is being monitored so any worsening of the situation can be reversed. Whin Rigg can be climbed either from Nether Wasdale in

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 ...

or Eskdale Green in Eskdale using the bridleway which links the two places to attain the western ridge of the fell, there are then 230 metres of ascent up the ridge to reach the summit. Walkers starting from the Wasdale side can also use the footpath by Greathall Gill as already mentioned.

Summit

The highlight of the summit panorama is the view down to Wast Water, and there are good views of the coastal plain and the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

.
Panorama
File:Whin_Rigg_and_Wast_Water_from_Yewbarrow.jpg, View from Yewbarrow file:Wasdale Sunset.jpg,

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 ...

and Whin Rigg illuminated by the setting sun file:Great Gully, Wast Water Screes.jpg, A vertigo-inducing view of Wastwater down Great Gully from the summit of Whin Rigg.

References

* Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Southern Fells, Alfred Wainwright * Complete Lakeland Fells, Bill Birkett
SSSI Information

{{Lake District Mid West Fells of the Lake District Borough of Copeland