Gragareth is a mountain straddling the border between

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

and

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

in England. At , its summit is the second highest point in the post- 1974 county of Lancashire. The highest point in modern Lancashire is Green Hill (one metre higher), approximately to the north and the

Old Man of Coniston The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the Furness Fells in the Cumbria, English Lake District and is the highest point (county top) of the historic county of Lancashire. It is at least high, and lies to the west of the village of Coniston and ...

in the

Furness Fells The Furness Fells are a multitude of hills and mountains in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, the Furness Fells or High Furness is the name given to the upland part of Furness, that is, that part of Furness ...

of the Lake District at is the

county top The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...

of the traditional county of Lancashire. The summit of Gragareth lies about 200 m west of the county boundary, but inside the 2016 border of

Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland (Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was designa ...

. The western slopes are known as Leck Fell and the southern slopes form Ireby Fell. left, Three Men of Gragareth The summit has a

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

and extensive views towards

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

, the Lake District fells, the

Howgill Fells The Howgill Fells are uplands in Northern England between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, lying roughly within a triangle formed by the towns of Sedbergh and Kirkby Stephen and the village of Tebay.

, Ingleborough and the

Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...

. The county boundary wall running along the ridge is believed to be "one of the highest dry stone walls in the country."

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

it formed the boundary between the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. The Three Men of Gragareth are a group of tall cairns on the western side of the hill above Leck Fell House. The fell contains several caves including

Lost John's Cave Lost Johns' Cave is an extensive cave system on Leck Fell, Lancashire, England. With its three major vertical routes (''Dome Route'', ''Centipede Route'' and ''Monastery Route'') it is a popular place to practise single-rope technique (SRT) be ...

Rumbling Hole Rumbling Hole is a cave on Leck Fell, in Lancashire, England. Its entrance is a deep fenced shaft, and it rapidly descends a series of pitches to a low aqueous passage that has been connected to Lost Johns' Cave. It is part of the Three Count ...

and Ireby Fell Cavern. Wainwright includes "The ascent of Gragareth via Leck Fell returning via Ireby Fell" in his ''Walks in Limestone Country''. His route begins at Ireby village, following a lane from Todgill Farm on the Leck road to the tarmac road which leads to Leck Fell House, then "a steep scramble" up past the Three Men. His descent route is down a long enclosure formed by the county boundary to the east and the almost-parallel boundary between Leck and Ireby parishes, dropping down Ireby Fell past the opening of Ireby Fell Cavern, to return to Ireby.

References

External links

Walk route to the Trig. Point and the Three Men of Gragareth
{{City of Lancaster geography Mountains and hills of Lancashire Hewitts of England Geography of the City of Lancaster Highest points of English counties