Robinson (Lake District)
Encyclopedia
Robinson is a fell
in the English
Lake District
, its southern slopes descending to Buttermere
, while its northern side is set in the Newlands Valley
. Paths lead to the summit from the village of Buttermere
, from the nearby summit Dale Head
and from various locations in the valleys to the north.
, the name Robinson comes from a Richard Robinson who purchased estates in the Buttermere area many centuries ago. These included this unnamed hill which was then called "Robinson's Fell", later shortened to Robinson.
occupy the area between the rivers Derwent and Cocker, a broadly oval swathe of hilly country, elongated on a north-south axis. Two roads cross from east to west, dividing the fells into three convenient groups. Robinson stands in the southern sector. The principal ridge in this group of fells runs east from Buttermere, climbing over Robinson, Hindscarth
and Dale Head. It then turns north, descending gradually toward Derwentwater, the main tops being High Spy
, Maiden Moor
and Catbells
.
Robinson appears bland from Buttermere, smooth rounded slopes curving up from the valley floor. Viewed from Keswick or Newlands to the north, its character is altogether different. From here the wall of Robinson Crags drops from the summit of the fell, a great chunk of the hillside seemingly missing.
The western flanks of the fell fall to Buttermere, the village itself standing on Robinson’s territory. The top and bottom sections are quite steep but the slope levels out at 1,500 ft to accommodate Buttermere Moss, in Wainwright’s words “ a wide marshy depression from which water cannot escape except by being carried away in the boots of pedestrians.” At the head of the lower slope is the subsidiary top of High Snockrigg (1,725 ft), a fine viewpoint for the Buttermere valley. On the south western rim of the Moss is Goat Crag, overlooking Buttermere lake.
To the south of Robinson are Gatesgarthdale Beck and the road up Honister Pass
. This side of the fell presents a long and mainly featureless slope, although near the summit are the Hackney Holes, curious rocky depressions of uncertain origin.
Running south east from the summit is Littledale Edge an airy narrow ridge which connects to the neighbouring fell of Hindscarth. To the north of the Edge is a sharp descent into the head of Little Dale, part of the Newlands catchment. This valley runs north east, flanked by parallel ridges descending from Robinson and Hindscarth, its stream being named Scope Beck. Robinson’s north east ridge is rough and craggy towards the top before levelling out onto the grassy spur of High Snab Bank. This finally runs down to Newlands Church
and the hamlet of Little Town. Beneath the nose of the ridge is the confluence of Scope Beck and Keskadale Beck.
Keskadale forms the north western boundary of Robinson and is also the route of Newlands Pass, crossing the North Western Fells from Braithwaite
to Buttermere. Its summit at Newlands Hause (1,092 ft) lies beneath the northern edge of Buttermere Moss, from which the waterfall of Moss Force
drops within easy reach of the road.
of disrupted, sheared and folded mudstone
, siltstone
and sandstone
. West and north east of the summit are outcroppings of the Robinson Member. This comprises large olistoliths of greywacke
sandstone, with interbedded mudstone and siltstone. The southern flanks are a large area of landslip.
There has been considerable mining activity in the vicinity, particularly at the Goldscope Mine, but this has all taken place beneath the slopes of neighbouring Hindscarth. The remains of a small reservoir can still be seen in Little Dale. Robinson itself has a pair of short levels driven for lead
, near to the south east corner of Buttermere
lake. They appear not to have progressed beyond trials.
. There is another prominent cairn at the top of the north east ridge. From below this appears to be the summit, but disappointment awaits anyone so deceived by the convex slope. Fair paths run to Buttermere, Littledale Edge and the north east ridge, once the grass is reached.
The view is robbed of foreground by the broad plateau of the summit, but serried ranks of fells appear in all directions. All of the principal groups with the exception of the Far Eastern Fells
are in sight.
The north east ridge provides an excellent walk from the Newlands valley, rising up successive steps. Finally a great deal of height can be gained by car, if the fell is climbed from Newlands Hause. The route ascends to the right of Moss Force, before the path is lost for a while in the Moss itself. A rough climb to the summit then follows. By passing the Moss to the west, Newlands Hause provides speedy access to High Snockrigg for fine views and perhaps a picnic.
Fell
“Fell” is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of northern England.- Etymology :...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, its southern slopes descending to Buttermere
Buttermere
Buttermere is a lake in the English Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. Historically within the former county of Cumberland, the lake is now within the county of Cumbria. It is owned by the National Trust, forming part of their...
, while its northern side is set in the Newlands Valley
Newlands Valley
The Newlands Valley is in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is regarded as one of the most picturesque and quiet valleys in the national park, even though it is situated very close to the popular tourist town of Keswick and the busy A66 road.The valley forms part of the civil...
. Paths lead to the summit from the village of Buttermere
Buttermere
Buttermere is a lake in the English Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. Historically within the former county of Cumberland, the lake is now within the county of Cumbria. It is owned by the National Trust, forming part of their...
, from the nearby summit Dale Head
Dale Head
Dale Head is a fell in the northwestern sector of the Lake District, in northern England. It is 753 metres or 2,470 feet above sea level and stands immediately north of Honister Pass, the road between Borrowdale and Buttermere.-Topography:...
and from various locations in the valleys to the north.
Name
According to influential guidebook author Alfred WainwrightAlfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the...
, the name Robinson comes from a Richard Robinson who purchased estates in the Buttermere area many centuries ago. These included this unnamed hill which was then called "Robinson's Fell", later shortened to Robinson.
Topography
The North Western FellsNorth Western Fells
The North Western Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Including such favourites as Catbells and Grisedale Pike, they occupy an oval area beneath the Buttermere and Borrowdale valley systems...
occupy the area between the rivers Derwent and Cocker, a broadly oval swathe of hilly country, elongated on a north-south axis. Two roads cross from east to west, dividing the fells into three convenient groups. Robinson stands in the southern sector. The principal ridge in this group of fells runs east from Buttermere, climbing over Robinson, Hindscarth
Hindscarth
Hindscarth is a mountain between the valleys of Buttermere and Newlands, in the north-western part of the English Lake District. The fell's name is derived from two words from the Old Norse language, Hind and Skarth, and means the pass used by the red deer.-Topography:The North Western Fells occupy...
and Dale Head. It then turns north, descending gradually toward Derwentwater, the main tops being High Spy
High Spy
High Spy is a fell in the English Lake District it is situated on the ridge that separates the Newlands Valley from Borrowdale, eight kilometres south of Keswick.-Topography:...
, Maiden Moor
Maiden Moor
Maiden Moor is a fell in the English Lake District, it stands south of the town of Keswick and is part of the high ground that separates the Newlands Valley and Borrowdale, it has a modest height of and so fails to be mentioned on many UK mountain lists but it does have a separate chapter in...
and Catbells
Catbells
Catbells is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It has a modest height of but despite this it is one of the most popular fells in the area. It is situated on the western shore of Derwent Water within of the busy tourist town of Keswick...
.
Robinson appears bland from Buttermere, smooth rounded slopes curving up from the valley floor. Viewed from Keswick or Newlands to the north, its character is altogether different. From here the wall of Robinson Crags drops from the summit of the fell, a great chunk of the hillside seemingly missing.
The western flanks of the fell fall to Buttermere, the village itself standing on Robinson’s territory. The top and bottom sections are quite steep but the slope levels out at 1,500 ft to accommodate Buttermere Moss, in Wainwright’s words “ a wide marshy depression from which water cannot escape except by being carried away in the boots of pedestrians.” At the head of the lower slope is the subsidiary top of High Snockrigg (1,725 ft), a fine viewpoint for the Buttermere valley. On the south western rim of the Moss is Goat Crag, overlooking Buttermere lake.
To the south of Robinson are Gatesgarthdale Beck and the road up Honister Pass
Honister Pass
The Honister Pass, also known as Honister Hause, is a mountain pass in the English Lake District. It is located on the B5289 road, linking Seatoller, in the valley of Borrowdale, to Gatesgarth at the southern end of Buttermere...
. This side of the fell presents a long and mainly featureless slope, although near the summit are the Hackney Holes, curious rocky depressions of uncertain origin.
Running south east from the summit is Littledale Edge an airy narrow ridge which connects to the neighbouring fell of Hindscarth. To the north of the Edge is a sharp descent into the head of Little Dale, part of the Newlands catchment. This valley runs north east, flanked by parallel ridges descending from Robinson and Hindscarth, its stream being named Scope Beck. Robinson’s north east ridge is rough and craggy towards the top before levelling out onto the grassy spur of High Snab Bank. This finally runs down to Newlands Church
Newlands Church
Newlands Church is a 16th century church situated less than 500 metres west of the hamlet of Little Town, Cumbria, England in the Newlands Valley of the Lake District...
and the hamlet of Little Town. Beneath the nose of the ridge is the confluence of Scope Beck and Keskadale Beck.
Keskadale forms the north western boundary of Robinson and is also the route of Newlands Pass, crossing the North Western Fells from Braithwaite
Braithwaite
Braithwaite is a village in the northern Lake District, in Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland, it lies just to the west of Keswick and to the east of the Grisedale Pike ridge, in the Borough of Allerdale. It forms part of the civil parish of Above Derwent.The eastern end of the...
to Buttermere. Its summit at Newlands Hause (1,092 ft) lies beneath the northern edge of Buttermere Moss, from which the waterfall of Moss Force
Moss Force
Moss Force is a waterfall situated within the Lake District National Park in the English county of Cumbria. It is located 10 km SW of the town of Keswick at Newlands Hause, the pass between the Newlands Valley and the Buttermere Valley...
drops within easy reach of the road.
Geology and Mining
Robinson’s summit area is composed of rocks of the Buttermere Formation. This is an olistostromeOlistostrome
The term olistostrome is derived from olio - a dish of many ingredients or stew; a mixture of heterogeneous elements; hodgepodge. and stroma - a bed covering...
of disrupted, sheared and folded mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
, siltstone
Siltstone
Siltstone is a sedimentary rock which has a grain size in the silt range, finer than sandstone and coarser than claystones.- Description :As its name implies, it is primarily composed of silt sized particles, defined as grains 1/16 - 1/256 mm or 4 to 8 on the Krumbein phi scale...
and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
. West and north east of the summit are outcroppings of the Robinson Member. This comprises large olistoliths of greywacke
Greywacke
Greywacke or Graywacke is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lithic fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix. It is a texturally immature sedimentary rock generally found...
sandstone, with interbedded mudstone and siltstone. The southern flanks are a large area of landslip.
There has been considerable mining activity in the vicinity, particularly at the Goldscope Mine, but this has all taken place beneath the slopes of neighbouring Hindscarth. The remains of a small reservoir can still be seen in Little Dale. Robinson itself has a pair of short levels driven for lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, near to the south east corner of Buttermere
Buttermere
Buttermere is a lake in the English Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. Historically within the former county of Cumberland, the lake is now within the county of Cumbria. It is owned by the National Trust, forming part of their...
lake. They appear not to have progressed beyond trials.
Summit and View
The top is rounded and mainly of grass, but there are two low outcrops of rock with loose stones between. The more westerly of these is the summit and bears a cairnCairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
. There is another prominent cairn at the top of the north east ridge. From below this appears to be the summit, but disappointment awaits anyone so deceived by the convex slope. Fair paths run to Buttermere, Littledale Edge and the north east ridge, once the grass is reached.
The view is robbed of foreground by the broad plateau of the summit, but serried ranks of fells appear in all directions. All of the principal groups with the exception of the Far Eastern Fells
Far Eastern Fells
The Far Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Reaching their highest point at High Street they occupy a broad area to the east of Ullswater and Kirkstone Pass. Much quieter than the central areas of Lakeland they offer in general easier but less exciting walking as the...
are in sight.
Ascents
Buttermere Village provides a popular starting point, a good path leading up via High Snockrigg. Conditions deteriorate at the crossing of Buttermere Moss, followed by a stiff climb to the summit. Another route from Buttermere begins further south at Hasness, working around Goat Crag to join the main path above the moss. Access can also be gained from the Honister Pass road, from a point near the first bridge over the beck at about 500 ft. From here a direct line northward will bring the walker to Littledale Edge.The north east ridge provides an excellent walk from the Newlands valley, rising up successive steps. Finally a great deal of height can be gained by car, if the fell is climbed from Newlands Hause. The route ascends to the right of Moss Force, before the path is lost for a while in the Moss itself. A rough climb to the summit then follows. By passing the Moss to the west, Newlands Hause provides speedy access to High Snockrigg for fine views and perhaps a picnic.