Great Sca Fell
- Not to be confused with Scafell
| Great Sca Fell | |||
| Cumberland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Great Sca Fell (right) and Little Sca Fell (left) from Meal Fell | |||
| Range: | Uldale Fells | ||
| Summit: | 2,136 feet NY291338 54°41’39"N, 3°6’5"W | ||
Great Sca Fell is a fell in Cumberland, in the Lake District, it stands four and a half miles southwest of the village of Caldbeck and is the highest of the four Uldale Fells: the other three being Longlands Fell, Meal Fell and Great Cockup. It is a 'Wainwright', as it is given a chapter in Alfred Wainwright's volumes.
Landscape
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 2,136 feet.
Although Great Sca Fell is a 'Wainwright' fell and comfortably crests the 2,000-foot mark, it does not meet the criteria for any of the other major hill lists: with a prominence of 43 feet to the higher fell of Knott it narrowly fails to qualify for the 'Nuttall' list. 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 fell has twin summits, Great and . Little Sca Fell reaches a height of 2,083 feet, and is 450 yards 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 49 feet radius. A small cairn though stands to mark the recognised top.
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.
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.
Summit
The highlight of the view from the top of the fell is northwards to the Solway plain and beyond to the Galloway Hills. 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 17 miles away through a gap in the hills.
References
- Wainwright, Alfred: A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book Five — The Northern Fells (1962)
- Bill Birkett: Complete Lakeland Fells, ISBN 0-00-713629-3