Walna Scar
| Walna Scar | |||
| Lancashire | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Walna Scar and beyond from Long House Gill | |||
| Range: | Furness Fells | ||
| Summit: | 2,035 feet SD257963 54°21’24"N, 3°8’41"W | ||
Walna Scar is a mountain in the Furness Fells of Lancashire, in the Lake District. It rises just south of a pass of the same name in the Coniston Fells and the famous Walna Scar Road which runs up from Coniston over the fells to Seathwaite in Dunnerdale. The summit of Walna Scar is at 2,035 feet, and the road comes almost this high, and of the many walkers who take the pass over the fell to Coniston or Dunnerdale, few step up to the summit of Walna Scar itself, or to head off from the top of the road northward to Dow Crag and the other Coniston Fells. Nevertheless, Walna Scar in itself provides a satisfying walk and on a good day has great views over Coniston (the lake and the village) and across Morecambe Bay.
Walna Scar is the highest of Wainwright's The Outlying Fells of Lakeland.[1] He describes an ascent from Coniston, continuing past the main summit to a second summit at White Maiden before returning to the south.
Walna Scar is usually climbed from Coniston but can be climbed just as easily from the Duddon Valley. Both routes meet at the top pass of the Walna Scar Road,[2] and then head south to the summit.
White Maiden
White Maiden is a subsidiary top of Walna Scar, found at SD2542895705. It rises to 1,995 feet, half a mile south-west of the main summit, between the summit and White Pike, a top about 500 yards west-south-west.
Alfred Wainwright treated White Maiden and White Scar as separate fells amongst the Furness Fells and was most appreciative of their rough beauty.
White Pike
- Main article: White Pike
White Pike at SD249955 is the south-westerly subsidiary top of Walna Scar, reaching 1,962 feet. It is south of the main quarries, and facing south and west over precipitous drops, looking out towards the Dunnerdale Fells.
Wainwright treated White Scar as a separate fell.
Rock
Geologically, Walna Scar contains a rich seam of distinctively striped slate which was quarried until the early 20th century. This was widely used for flooring in Lancashire.
The quarries of Walna Scar were once busy, and the carts bore stone up and down the Walna Scar Road, which became an important cart track. The quarry can still be seen today on the slopes overlooking the Duddon Valley.
References
- ↑ Wainwright, A. (1974). "Walna Scar". The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. Kendal: Westmorland Gazette. pp. 114–119.
- ↑ "Rights of Way Orders by Lake District National Park Authority 2009". http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk/pins/row_order_advertising/councils/2009/lake_district_national_park_authority.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-31.