Bakestall - Izeria

Bakestall is a fell in the English Lake District, it is situated seven kilometres (4+1⁄4 miles) north of Keswick in the quieter, even secluded northern sector of the national park known as ‘Back o’ Skiddaw’.

1. Topography

Bakestall reaches a height of 673 m (2,208 ft) and strictly speaking it is not a separate fell being just an insignificant rise on Skiddaw’s northern slopes. AW Wainwright gave Bakestall a separate chapter in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells because of the impressive Dead Crags which fall beneath the summit and the fine waterfall of Whitewater Dash at the fells foot. Indeed Bakestall was not even mentioned on the old Ordnance Survey one-inch map for many years, a situation now rectified on its metric equivalent probably because of Wainwright’s having drawn attention to the fell. Dead Crags are composed of Skiddaw Slate and drop 150 metres (500 ft) down into the corrie on the northern side of the fell. The crags do not attract rock climbers because of the crumbly nature of the slate, which has much vegetation growing within it. Whitewater Dash is highly rated as one of the finest falls in the national park as Dash Beck descends in a series of cataracts; were it situated in a more accessible part of the Lake District it would be a major attraction. Bakestall had a lead mine on its slopes many years ago, the adit being situated at the side of Dead Beck on the western periphery of the fell. All drainage from Bakestall goes north to join Dash Beck and then to Bassenthwaite Lake.

1. Ascents

Bakestall can be climbed as part of the less crowded northern approach to Skiddaw using the rough track to Skiddaw House (part of the Cumbria Way) as far as Whitewater Dash falls and then ascending Birkett Edge to reach the summit. A fence can be followed up Birkett Edge although walking at the side of the corrie edge gives an opportunity to examine the crags. From the summit of Bakestall it is a two-kilometre (1+1⁄4-mile) walk south west and then south with 275 metres (900 ft) of ascent to reach the summit of Skiddaw.

1. Summit

The summit of the fell is at a turn in the fence, although Wainwright had his top of the fell 100 metres further north, which is a better viewpoint and is marked by a fair-sized cairn, unusual in the grassy northern fells. The view from the top of fell is severely curtailed by the bulk of Skiddaw to the south and there is no view of the main part of Lakeland. However, it is possible to view the Solway Firth and the Scottish Border hills.

1. References

Wainwright, A. (2005). A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells: Being an Illustrated Account of a Study and Exploration of the Mountains in the English Lake District (2nd ed.). London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 0-7112-2458-7.

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Dash Valley

The Dash Valley is a small valley in the English Lake District. It has only one dwelling, Dash Farm, the fields of which spread right across the valley. The valley is flanked on the northern side by Great Cockup, and on the southern side by Bakestall, part of the Skiddaw massif. At the head of the valley Dash Beck, the river which flows through the valley, falls dramatically forming Dash Falls (aka Whitewater Dash), which Wainwright called the finest succession of falls in the Lake District. A private road leads up the valley to Dash Farm, and a track branches off this and goes all the way up the valley, past Dash Falls to Skiddaw House, a former shepherd's hut now used as a youth hostel. The upper part of the valley is in the Skiddaw Group SSSI.

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Skiddaw

Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its 931-metre (3,054 ft) summit is traditionally considered to be the fourth-highest peak but depending on what topographic prominence is thought to be significant is also variously ranked as the third- and the sixth-highest in England. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, in the historic county of Cumberland and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the simplest of the Lake District mountains of this height to ascend (as there is a well-trodden tourist track from a car park to the north-east of Keswick, near the summit of Latrigg) and, as such, many walking guides recommend it to the occasional walker wishing to climb a mountain. This is the first summit of the fell running challenge known as the Bob Graham Round when undertaken in a clockwise direction. The mountain lends its name to the surrounding areas of Skiddaw Forest and Back o' Skidda, and to the isolated Skiddaw House, situated to the east, formerly a shooting lodge and subsequently a youth hostel. It also provides the name for the slate derived from that region: Skiddaw slate. Skiddaw slate has been used to make tuned percussion musical instruments or lithophones, such as the Musical Stones of Skiddaw held at the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery.

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Great Calva

Great Calva is a fell in the Lake District, England. It is in the Northern Fells, lying roughly at the centre of this region of high ground. As a result, it is distant from roads and quite remote by Lakeland standards. Great Calva stands at the head of a major geological fault running through the centre of the Lake District, and so from the summit it is possible to see all the way south over Thirlmere. The subsidiary summit of Little Calva lies to the west. It is in the centre of the Skiddaw Group SSSI.

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Skiddaw Group SSSI

Skiddaw Group SSSI is a site of special scientific interest in the Lake District High Fells, England. Its shape is approximately an irregular circle centred near Great Calva, with an area of 10,256.3 hectares (39.600 sq mi). The high ground creates a watershed between the Caldew Operational Catchment with water flowing north towards Carlisle, and the Ellen and West Coast and Derwent Operational Catchments flowing towards the west coast at Workington and Maryport. The area includes the Skiddaw Forest nature reserve. The SSSI is designated for its flora and fauna, and for its geology. The geology includes the Skiddaw Group of sedimentary rock formations, and the Caldbeck Fells former mining area. Fells above 2,000 feet (610 m) include High Pike, Carrock Fell, Knott, Great Calva, and Bowscale Fell. The highest peaks are in the Skiddaw area, including Skiddaw itself, Long Side, Carl Side, Little Man, Lonscale Fell and, further east, Blencathra. The SSSI is divided into a patchwork of "units" which are used as the level of geographic detail for reporting overall features and conditions. Each unit is identified by the Ordnance Survey grid reference at the centre of the unit, its area in hectares, the date it was last surveyed, and the drainage catchment it is located in. For example Bassenthwaite Common, which is unit 27, is nearly 700 ha (2.7 sq mi) centred at NY252299 in the Dash beck catchment. The habitat is there is dwarf shrub heath which, when surveyed in November 2010, was in an "unfavourable – recovering" condition.

Hiking Landmark