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Whiteside (Lake District)
Encyclopedia
Whiteside is a fell
in the north-western area of the English Lake District. It stands at the western end of the Grisedale Pike
- Hopegill Head
ridge overlooking Crummock Water
.
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. The central sector, rising between Whinlatter Pass
and Newlands Pass
, includes Whiteside.
The high ground in this group of fells is formed by a series of ridges in the form of the letter 'H' lying on one side. The northern ridge is formed by Whiteside, Hopegill Head and Grisedale Pike, while the Grasmoor
to Causey Pike
ridge runs parallel to the south. The bridge between the two is the pass of Coledale Hause. This stands at the head of two valleys, Coledale descending eastward and Gasgale Gill flowing west.
Whiteside forms a shallow crescent, concave to the south and fringed on that face by the great wall of Gasgale Crags. These drop 500 ft direct from the summit ridge into the valley below. The eastern end of the fell connects to Hopegill Head without any great loss of height, while the western end of the ridge descends steeply over Whiteside End to the Vale of Lorton. The subsidiary top of Whin Ben (1,355 ft) stands at the south west corner, overlooking the point where Gasgale Gill debouches into the fields of Lanthwaite.
The northern slopes are much more extensive with two long ridges being thrown out from the main mass of the fell. The shorter is Penn, while further to the east is Dodd (1,489 ft). The valley of Hopegill separates Dodd from Ladyside Pike and the northern ridge of Hopegill Head.
and siltstone
. To the north is the Loweswater Formation of greywacke
sandstone
. In the vicinity of Dodd the Hopebeck Formation is exposed, mudstone and siltstone with greywacke sandstone turbidities. There is also a minor intrusion of lamprophyre
in this area.
There are two mining trials on the western slopes of Whiteside. On the northern side of Gasgale Gill there is a short level, perhaps aimed at picking up the course of the Force Crag vein from Coledale (see Force Crag mine). Beneath Whiteside End is a small working where some galena
was extracted.
accepted that it was not the highest point, but chose it as the summit in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
. This western top does have sufficient prominence to be classified as a Nuttall. Wainwright described the true summit as the "East top", this being 400 metres further along the ridge to Hopegill Head and substantially higher at 719 metres (2,359 feet). The Nuttalls describe the true summit as "Whiteside East Top" and the lower "Wainwright" summit as "Whiteside".
The third top lies further to the east, a similar distance beyond the true summit. This has a height of 703 m (2,306 ft) and is referred to in some guidebooks as Gasgill Crags.
and the hills of Scotland
. Closer at hand the view of the fells is interrupted by Grasmoor and Crag Hill
to the south and Hopegill Head to the east, although isolated groups of fells appear in the gaps. Crummock Water and Loweswater
are brought into view by descending a little to the west. The ridge walk between Whiteside and Hopegill Head is ranked as one of the best in the district with Alfred Wainwright
describing it as “an exhilarating high level traverse”, there are excellent views down into Gasgale Gill on the southern side.
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 north-western area of the English Lake District. It stands at the western end of the Grisedale Pike
Grisedale Pike
Grisedale Pike is a fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England situated west of the town of Keswick in the north-western sector of the national park. At a height of 791 m it is the 40th highest Wainwright in the Lake District; it also qualifies as a Hewitt, Marilyn and Nuttall...
- Hopegill Head
Hopegill Head
Hopegill Head is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria. It is located nine kilometres west of the town of Keswick and is well seen from the B5292 road which crosses the Whinlatter Pass.-Topography:...
ridge overlooking Crummock Water
Crummock Water
Crummock Water is a lake in the Lake District in Cumbria, North West England situated between Buttermere to the south and Loweswater to the north. Crummock Water is two and a half miles long, three quarters of a mile wide and 140ft deep. The River Cocker is considered to start at the north of the...
.
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. The central sector, rising between Whinlatter Pass
Whinlatter Pass
The Whinlatter Pass is a mountain pass in the English Lake District. It is located on the B5292 road linking Braithwaite, to the west of Keswick, with High Lorton to the south of Cockermouth....
and Newlands Pass
Newlands Pass
The Newlands Pass, also known as Newlands Hause, is a mountain pass in the English Lake District. It is located on an unclassified road linking the Newlands Valley, to the west of Keswick and Derwent Water, with the village of Buttermere...
, includes Whiteside.
The high ground in this group of fells is formed by a series of ridges in the form of the letter 'H' lying on one side. The northern ridge is formed by Whiteside, Hopegill Head and Grisedale Pike, while the Grasmoor
Grasmoor
Grasmoor is a mountain in the north-western part of the Lake District, northern England. It is the highest peak in a group of hills between the villages of Lorton, Braithwaite and Buttermere, and overlooks Crummock Water....
to Causey Pike
Causey Pike
Causey Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the Newlands Valley, 5 km south west of the town of Keswick. Even though it has a modest height of 637 metres it is one of the most distinctive fells when viewed from the Derwent Water and Keswick area due to its...
ridge runs parallel to the south. The bridge between the two is the pass of Coledale Hause. This stands at the head of two valleys, Coledale descending eastward and Gasgale Gill flowing west.
Whiteside forms a shallow crescent, concave to the south and fringed on that face by the great wall of Gasgale Crags. These drop 500 ft direct from the summit ridge into the valley below. The eastern end of the fell connects to Hopegill Head without any great loss of height, while the western end of the ridge descends steeply over Whiteside End to the Vale of Lorton. The subsidiary top of Whin Ben (1,355 ft) stands at the south west corner, overlooking the point where Gasgale Gill debouches into the fields of Lanthwaite.
The northern slopes are much more extensive with two long ridges being thrown out from the main mass of the fell. The shorter is Penn, while further to the east is Dodd (1,489 ft). The valley of Hopegill separates Dodd from Ladyside Pike and the northern ridge of Hopegill Head.
Geology and Mining
The southern crags expose rock of the Kirkstile Formation, comprising laminated mudstoneMudstone
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...
and 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...
. To the north is the Loweswater Formation 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
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,...
. In the vicinity of Dodd the Hopebeck Formation is exposed, mudstone and siltstone with greywacke sandstone turbidities. There is also a minor intrusion of lamprophyre
Lamprophyre
Lamprophyres are uncommon, small volume ultrapotassic igneous rocks primarily occurring as dikes, lopoliths, laccoliths, stocks and small intrusions...
in this area.
There are two mining trials on the western slopes of Whiteside. On the northern side of Gasgale Gill there is a short level, perhaps aimed at picking up the course of the Force Crag vein from Coledale (see Force Crag mine). Beneath Whiteside End is a small working where some galena
Galena
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...
was extracted.
Summits
Whiteside has three summits: the "Wainwright" top stands at the Crummock Water end of the ridge and has a height of 707 metres (2,320 feet). 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...
accepted that it was not the highest point, but chose it as the summit in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells of the Lake District in northwest England...
. This western top does have sufficient prominence to be classified as a Nuttall. Wainwright described the true summit as the "East top", this being 400 metres further along the ridge to Hopegill Head and substantially higher at 719 metres (2,359 feet). The Nuttalls describe the true summit as "Whiteside East Top" and the lower "Wainwright" summit as "Whiteside".
The third top lies further to the east, a similar distance beyond the true summit. This has a height of 703 m (2,306 ft) and is referred to in some guidebooks as Gasgill Crags.
View
There is a fine vista of West Cumberland, the Solway FirthSolway Firth
The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very...
and the hills of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Closer at hand the view of the fells is interrupted by Grasmoor and Crag Hill
Crag Hill
Crag Hill is a mountain in the North Western part of the English Lake District. It was formerly known as Eel Crag; however, the Ordnance Survey now marks Eel Crag as referring to the northern crags of the fell....
to the south and Hopegill Head to the east, although isolated groups of fells appear in the gaps. Crummock Water and Loweswater
Loweswater
Loweswater is one of the smaller lakes in the English Lake District. The village of Loweswater is situated at the foot of the lake.The lake is not far from Cockermouth and is also easily reached from elsewhere in West Cumbria. The group of fells to the south of Loweswater is known as the Loweswater...
are brought into view by descending a little to the west. The ridge walk between Whiteside and Hopegill Head is ranked as one of the best in the district with Alfred Wainwright
Alfred 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...
describing it as “an exhilarating high level traverse”, there are excellent views down into Gasgale Gill on the southern side.