Lingmoor Fell

Lingmoor Fell
Westmorland
Lingmoor Fell from Black Fell
Range:	Lake District Southern Fells
Summit:	1,539 feet NY302046 54°26’6"N, 3°4’44"W

Lingmoor Fell is a fell in the Lake District, situated in western Westmorland, five miles west of Ambleside. It is considered to form part of Lakeland’s Southern Fells.

The fell reaches a modest height of 1,540 feet and divides the valleys of Great Langdale and Little Langdale. The fell's name originates from the Old Norse word lyng meaning "heather covered". The actual summit of the fell is named Brown How on Ordnance Survey maps.

Landscape

Although it is surrounded by higher and better known fells, Lingmoor Fell is quite separate and distinct with no connecting ridges to other fells, giving it a considerable topographic prominence of 804 feet (for such a small fell) making it a 'Marilyn' hill.

Lingmoor Fell has a subsidiary top, known as Side Pike (1,187 feet) which is to be found a mile to the north west, it is a fine rock tower that is only accessible from the west and south. Walkers wishing to visit Side Pike from Lingmoor Fell are blocked by unassailable crags and must traverse round to easier slopes to the south.

The fell's northern and eastern flanks are clothed in deciduous woodland up to the 200 metre contour, there are also patches of heather and bracken on these lower slopes. Lingmoor Tarn, an attractive mountain lake (about 200 yards in length) with a couple of small islands, lies 650 yards north of the summit. Half a mile north of the summit of the fell stands another topographic feature, this is the detached rock pinnacle of Oak Howe Needle. The needle is part of Oak Howe Crag, a popular climbing location on the fell, with over ten routes on Rhyolite crags.

Geology

The summit area is formed from a large sill of andesite, overlying the dacitic lapilli-tuff of the Lingmoor Fell Formation.

Quarrying

Lingmoor Fell's north eastern slopes above the villages of Elterwater and Chapel Stile have long been quarried for its high quality Westmorland green slate, the Burlington quarry at Elterwater has been worked for over 300 years and is still in production today, turning out over 800 tonnes of slate annually. Many of the quarries have closed over the years and the crags are now used by rock climbers.

Ascents

Lingmoor Fell can be climbed either from Elterwater in Great Langdale or from the Blea Tarn car park in Little Langdale (NY296043). The latter route makes use of an old quarry track for much of the way. The Elterwater route can be slightly confusing in its early stages as there are a jumble of paths through the lower woodland and quarries, the route becomes clear once the open fell has been reached.

Summit

The summit of the fell has a high dry stone wall crossing it, the wall in fact traverses the entire spine of the fell, starting at the eastern foot and terminating abruptly at the crags below Side Pike in the west before re-commencing on the plateau. The view from the summit of Lingmoor Fell is highly regarded, there is a classic view of the Langdale Pikes and all of the high fells around the head of Great Langdale can be well appraised. The Coniston Fells to the south west are also well seen.

Pictures

• 
  Looking NE from the summit of Lingmoor Fell with Chapel Stile and the Burlington quarry in view in Great Langdale
• 
  Blea Tarn from Lingmoor Fell

References

• Wainwright, Alfred: A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book Four — The Southern Fells (1960)
• Complete Lakeland Fells, Bill Birkett ISBN 0-00-713629-3
• www.ukclimbing.com on Oak Howe Crag