Great Sca Fell

Great Sca Fell is a fell in the English Lake District, seven kilometres (4+1⁄2 miles) southwest of the village of Caldbeck. It is the highest of the four Uldale Fells, the other three being Longlands Fell, Meal Fell and Great Cockup. It is a Wainwright, and the lowest of the lakeland "Sca fells", the other two being Scafell and Scafell Pike.

1. Topography

The Uldale fells are a smooth and grassy sheep pasture which rise in three ridges from the low land to the north and culminate at the summit of Great Sca Fell at a height of 651 metres (2,136 ft). Although the hill is a ‘Wainwright’ fell and comfortably crests the 2000-foot mark, it does not meet the criteria for any of the other major hill lists; with a prominence of 13 metres (43 ft) to the higher fell of Knott it narrowly fails to qualify as a Nuttall. The fell has twin summits, Great and Little Sca Fell, with Little Sca Fell, which reaches an elevation of 635 metres (2,083 feet), lying 400 metres (1⁄4 mile) north of the main summit across a low col, it has a more substantial cairn and a strange depression which has been augmented by a low wall to make a wind shelter. The summit of Great Sca Fell itself is a broad flat plateau on which the highest point could be located almost at any point within a 15-metre radius, however it has a small cairn to mark the recognised top. Four ridges radiate from the summit to the adjoining fells of Knott (south), Brae Fell (north), Meal Fell (west) and Longlands Fell (north west) making Great Sca Fell strategically important when walking these lonely hills. The River Ellen has its source on the western slopes of Great Sca Fell, flowing westerly to the Solway Firth. Drainage from the east of the fell flows eventually into the River Caldew and then the Eden to again reach the sea at the Solway.

1. Ascents

Ascents of Great Sca Fell are usually started from the minor road which skirts the Uldale fells to the north west with the hamlets of Orthwaite and Longlands as likely starting points, either approaching up the valleys or climbing the other fells on the way and then approaching by the connecting ridges.

1. Summit

The highlight of the view from the top of the fell is northwards to the Solway plain and beyond to the Scottish Borders. The view of Lakeland to the south is severely curtailed by the Skiddaw massif but there is distant view of the Bowfell group of fells almost 30 kilometres away through a gap in the hills.

1. References

A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, The Northern Fells, Alfred Wainwright ISBN 0-7112-2458-7 Complete Lakeland Fells, Bill Birkett, ISBN 0-00-713629-3

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Skiddaw Group

The Skiddaw Group is a group of sedimentary rock formations named after the mountain Skiddaw in the English Lake District. The rocks are almost wholly Ordovician in age (Tremadoc through Arenig to Llanvirn epochs) though the lowermost beds are possibly of Cambrian age. This rock sequence has previously been known as the Skiddaw Slates, the Skiddaw Slates Group and the Skiddavian Series. Its base is not exposed but in its main outcrop area, it is considered to be in excess of 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) thick though less elsewhere. It consists largely of mudstones and siltstones with subordinate wacke-type sandstones. Their main occurrence is within the northern and central fells of the Lake District, either side of the major ENE-WSW aligned Causey Pike Fault, but inliers are found at Black Combe in the south of the Lake District and at Cross Fell in the North Pennines.

Landmark

Meal Fell

Meal Fell is a small fell in the northern region of the English Lake District, it is situated seven kilometres (4+1⁄4 miles) south-west of the village of Caldbeck and is one of the four main Uldale Fells (the others being Longlands Fell, Great Cockup and Great Sca Fell).

Hiking Landmark

Knott, Caldbeck

Knott is a mountain in the northern part of the English Lake District. It is the highest point of the Back o'Skiddaw region, an area of wild and unfrequented moorland to the north of Skiddaw and Blencathra. Other tops in this region include High Pike, Carrock Fell and Great Calva. The fell's slopes are mostly smooth, gentle, and covered in grass, with a few deep ravines. It stands a long way from a road and requires a long walk across the moor top get to it; this, as well as the fact that it is hidden from the rest of the Lake District by the two aforementioned giants, make it one of the most unfrequented tops in the Lakes. When it is climbed it is most often from Mungrisdale or from the north via Great Sca Fell. The word Knott is of Cumbric origin, and means simply "hill".

Hiking Landmark

Great Cockup

Great Cockup is a fell in the northern region of the English Lake District, one of the four Uldale Fells (the others being Longlands Fell, Great Sca Fell and Meal Fell).

Hiking Landmark