Muncaster Fell

Muncaster Fell
The view west from Hardknott Pass in upper Eskdale, toward Muncaster Fell.
Highest point
Elevation	231 m (758 ft)
Prominence	193 m (633 ft)
Parent peak	Illgill Head
Listing	Marilyn, Outlying Wainwright
Coordinates	54°22′21″N 3°21′50″W / 54.37249°N 3.36382°W / 54.37249; -3.36382Coordinates: 54°22′21″N 3°21′50″W / 54.37249°N 3.36382°W / 54.37249; -3.36382
Geography
Muncaster Fell Location in Lake District, UK
Location	Cumbria, England
Parent range	Lake District
OS grid	SD115983
Topo map	OS Landranger 89/96, Explorer OL6

Muncaster Fell is a fell at the far western edge of the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, England. Muncaster Fell is a long, narrow ridge of land, approximately 1.2 km wide and 6 km long, lying between the River Mite to the north, and River Esk to the south. The fell rises from the coast near Ravenglass village to its highest point at Hooker Crag (231 m). The ridge then continues to the north-east, dropping gently to its furthest prominence at Silver Knott (174 m). The fell then falls away rapidly to the village of Eskdale Green at its north-eastern tip.

Landscape

The fell forms a long, low, yet steep-sided ridge that separates the southern portions of the valleys of Miterdale and Eskdale. The north-western slopes of the fell are characterised by steep crags and scree slopes, which drop abruptly to the fluvial floor of the Mite valley. The narrow-gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway tracks cling to the lower sides of this rocky face. The south-eastern, Eskdale slopes are not much less steep, but are shallow enough to allow the cultivation of a number of forestry plantations. Woodland abounds at the southernmost tip of the fell, with natural deciduous woodland and invasive rhododendron stands competing for space. On the very south-western point of the fell stands Muncaster Castle, its grounds planted with a wide variety of plant species, including a dense copse of bamboo.

Hooker Moss bog, atop Muncaster Fell

On the fell top the vegetation and landscape typifies the Cumbrian fell. A small tarn, Muncaster Tarn (GR: SD107978), sits amongst woodland on the slopes below the top of Hooker Crag. Much of the area between the crags and bogs is covered by moss, gorse, sedge and small clumps of bilberry bushes. In recent times, in common with much of the Lake District upland area, bracken has begun to take over, possibly due to a reduction in the number of sheep grazing on upland pasture.

Along the southern end of the fell ridge runs a straight track, climbing up past the tarn toward Hooker Crag. This is part of a Roman road which used to connect the large fort of Glannaventa near Ravenglass on the coast, approximately 2 km away, to the garrison at Hardknott Fort (known to the Romans as Mediobogdum) 14 km to the north-east, although the rest of the route along the ridge top has been lost. There is a small, low dolmen, which despite its stone age appearance is inscribed Ross's Camp 1883 on the top surface (GR: SD121987) and was apparently built by a shooting party of that date as a luncheon table.^[1]

Muncaster Fell is the subject of a chapter of Alfred Wainwright's walking guide book The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. He recommended a clockwise circuit starting from Muncaster Castle, following the ridge to Muncaster Head and returning along the lane south of the fell, and says that: "The supreme joy of Muncaster Fell is the delectable traverse of its ridge ... Here is enchantment."^[1]

Geology

Muncaster Fell is composed almost entirely of granite and microgranite, belonging to the Ordovician Eskdale Group. At the south-western end of the fell, between Ravenglass village and Muncaster Castle, is a restricted outcrop of hornfelsed lower Ordovician siltstones and sandstones, belonging to the Skiddaw Group, and andesite of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group.

Owing to its relatively steep-sided profile the fell is largely free of drift geology. The lowest slopes are generally covered in glacial diamicton derived from the igneous lithologies nearer the centre of the Lake District, and the steeper crags give rise to localised scree deposits. Between the crags along the top of the ridge small peat bogs are developed, the largest of these being Hooker Moss (GR: SD113984).

References

1 2 Wainwright, A. (1974). "Muncaster Fell". The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. Kendal: Westmorland Gazette. pp. 186–191.

Akhurst, M.C.; Chadwick, R.A.; Holliday, D.W.; McCormac, M.; McMillan, A.A.; Millward, D.; & Young, B. (1997). Geology of the west Cumbria district. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, sheets 28, 37, 47 (England and Wales). British Geological Survey. Keyworth, Nottingham. pp. 138
British Geological Survey (1996). Ambleside. England and Wales Sheet 38. Solid Geology. 1:50 000. British Geological Survey. Keyworth, Nottingham. ISBN 0-7518-2889-0
Moseley, F. (Ed.) (1990). The Lake District (2nd ed.). Geologists' Association Guide No. 2. The Geologists' Association. pp. 213 ISBN 0-900717-73-4.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muncaster Fell.

Wainwright's The Outlying Fells of Lakeland

Chapters named for single summits	Beacon Fell Bigland Barrow Black Combe Blawith Knott Boat How Brant Fell Burney Caermote Hill Carron Crag Cartmel Fell Caw Claife Heights Clints Crags Cold Fell Dunmallet Dunnerdale Fells Faulds Brow Finsthwaite Heights Hampsfell Great Worm Crag Green Quarter Fell Gummer's How Hesk Fell Heughscar Hill High Knott Howes Hugill Fell Humphrey Head Irton Pike Knipescar Common Latterbarrow Muncaster Fell Newton Fell Orrest Head Ponsonby Fell Potter Fell Reston Scar School Knott Scout Scar Seat Robert Stainton Pike Staveley Fell Stickle Pike Top o'Selside Walna Scar Watch Hill Whitbarrow Whit Fell Woodland Fell

Chapters named for circuits, groups and horseshoes	Bannisdale Horseshoe Crookdale Horseshoe Devoke Water, Circuit of Flat Fell and Dent Naddle Horseshoe Wasdale Horseshoe Wet Sleddale Horseshoe

Full list of Wainwrights by area

Marilyns of Northern England

1. Northumberland	The Cheviot Housedon Hill Long Crag Peel Fell Ros Hill Shillhope Law Sighty Crag Tosson Hill

2. Northern Lakeland	Binsey Blencathra Knott Skiddaw

3. Western Lakeland	Blake Fell Dale Head Dent Grasmoor Great Gable Grisedale Pike High Stile Kirk Fell Lord's Seat Low Fell Mellbreak Pillar Robinson Seatallan Swinside Watch Hill

4. Central and Southern Lakeland	Black Combe Claife Heights Coniston Old Man Hard Knott Harter Fell High Raise High Rigg Holme Fell Illgill Head Kirkby Moor Lingmoor Fell Loughrigg Fell Muncaster Fell Pike of Blisco Scafell Pike Top o' Selside Whitfell

5. Eastern Lakeland	Arnside Knott Fairfield Grayrigg Forest Great Mell Fell Gummer's How Hallin Fell Helvellyn High Street Hutton Roof Crags Lambrigg Fell Little Mell Fell Place Fell Red Screes St Sunday Crag Seat Sandal Stony Cove Pike Tarn Crag Wansfell Whitbarrow

6. North Pennines and Durham	Burnhope Seat Cold Fell Cross Fell Dufton Pike Mickle Fell

7. Northern Yorkshire Dales	Baugh Fell The Calf Great Shunner Fell Hoove Kisdon Nine Standards Rigg Rogan's Seat Wild Boar Fell Yarlside

8. Southern Yorkshire Dales	Aye Gill Pike Birks Fell Buckden Pike Calf Top Cracoe Fell Dodd Fell Hill Fountains Fell Great Coum Great Knoutberry Hill Great Whernside Ingleborough Pen-y-ghent Rombald's Moor Sharp Haw Whernside

9. North York Moors to the Humber	Bishop Wilton Wold Cringle Moor Gisborough Moor Urra Moor

10. Forest of Bowland	Easington Fell Fair Snape Fell Longridge Fell Ward's Stone White Hill

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