Sty Head is a mountain pass in the English Lake District, 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. C ...

. It is at an altitude of 1,600 feet (488 m) and there is a small tarn (

Styhead Tarn Styhead Tarn is a tarn in the English Lake District, near the top of the Sty Head pass, at the head of Borrowdale. It is on the route from Wasdale to Borrowdale, and is therefore a well visited point in the Lake District. It is also passed by wa ...

) near its summit. The pass is at the head 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 Wastw ...

, which contains the 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 ...

and it passes between the mountains of

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 ...

and

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 ...

(the latter is England's highest mountain). The path from Wasdale was an old packhorse trail. At the highest point is the confluence of paths from Wasdale, Eskdale,

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' ...

and

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 ...

. Sty Head also forms an important navigational and safety point between

and

, with the placement of the

Mountain rescue Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...

stretcher box at the head of the tarn. It is said this area is haunted by a ghoulish apparition without a visible head. Many local people have reported sightings of a strange man walking down the road with a bag moving "as if it contained cats". Although this local legend has many credible reports, various investigators have come to no conclusion or proof when tracing the real cause of this apparition.

External links

* {{coord, 54.47492, N, 3.19747, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(NY225095), display=title Mountain passes of the Lake District Allerdale Borough of Copeland

See also

External links