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The [[Helm Wind]] is a local phenomenon. An east wind causes air to rise slowly to the summit of the ridge and cool as it does so. At the summit, the dense, cool air drops rapidly down the steep western slope (causing the Helm Wind) and forces warmer ambient air to rise. Moisture in the ambient air condenses to form the Helm Bar&nbsp;– a stationary handle of thin cloud running along and outwards from the edge of the summit (see Picture Gallery below). The Helm Wind can be very strong where it is channelled down gullies in the side of the escarpment. It is experienced particularly in the villages of Milburn and Kirkland.<ref>The Helm Bar: [http://www.dufton.org.uk/the_helm_bar.htm an account]</ref> A Helm Wind also occurs at the head of the [[Eden Valley]], in [[Mallerstang]]. A similar feature can be found around [[Table Mountain]] near [[Cape Town]], [[South Africa]], where the local equivalent of the Helm Bar is known as the Table Cloth.
The [[Helm Wind]] is a local phenomenon. An east wind causes air to rise slowly to the summit of the ridge and cool as it does so. At the summit, the dense, cool air drops rapidly down the steep western slope (causing the Helm Wind) and forces warmer ambient air to rise. Moisture in the ambient air condenses to form the Helm Bar&nbsp;– a stationary handle of thin cloud running along and outwards from the edge of the summit (see Picture Gallery below). The Helm Wind can be very strong where it is channelled down gullies in the side of the escarpment. It is experienced particularly in the villages of Milburn and Kirkland.<ref>The Helm Bar: [http://www.dufton.org.uk/the_helm_bar.htm an account]</ref> A Helm Wind also occurs at the head of the [[Eden Valley]], in [[Mallerstang]]. A similar feature can be found around [[Table Mountain]] near [[Cape Town]], [[South Africa]], where the local equivalent of the Helm Bar is known as the Table Cloth.

==Routes to Cross Fell summit==

[[File:Crossfellmap.JPG|left|thumb|Sketch map of the approaches to Cross Fell]]

Cross Fell is crossed by the [[Pennine Way]] footpath en route from [[Dufton]] to [[Alston, Cumbria|Alston]]. Thus it may be climbed either from [[Dufton]] to the south east, or from [[Garrigill]] to the north west simply by following the Way. This section of the Way is well signposted and laid out. Some parts of the path are surfaced with stone slabs. The summit is about {{convert|7.5|mi|km|0}} from either village.

The easiest route to Cross Fell summit (around 4&nbsp;miles each way) is via a road from the village of Knock. This is a well graded, tarmac road which provides car access to the radar installation on Great Dun Fell and a quarry nearby. Great Dun Fell is the highest point in the British road system. The road is however private and attempting to drive up it is prohibited.<ref>{{cite book | last=Nuttall | first=John & Anne | title=The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 2: England | edition=2nd edition | year=1990 | publisher=Cicerone | location=Milnthorpe, Cumbria | isbn=1-85284-037-4| page=175}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Dillon | first=Paddy | title=Walking in the North Pennines | edition=illustrated | year=1991 | publisher=Cicerone | isbn=9781852840846| page=48}}</ref><ref>[http://www.leaney.org/outside_the_lakes_walk.php?walk_id=502 Picture showing private road sign to Great Dun Fell]</ref>

It is a relatively easy walk from this point along the summit ridge to Cross Fell. However, there is a very boggy area separating Little Dun Fell and Cross Fell, and the correct route between the two is marked by a tall [[cairn]] situated at the edge of Cross Fell and several hundred metres back from the ridge.
[[Image:Cf2.JPG|right|thumb|280px|on the north side of Cross Fell, May 2006]]

An interesting route to the summit is from the village of [[Kirkland, Eden|Kirkland]]. The walker can park his/her car by the side of the road going north out of the village and follow a track going past a group of holiday cottages<ref>Kirkland Hall cottages :[http://www.kirkland-hall-cottages.co.uk/ advertisement]</ref> and rising up to some ancient mine workings. A track leads from that point towards the west flank of Cross Fell. A direct approach to the summit from the west involves climbing a difficult scree slope, so an easier way is to follow the track (not well defined over its whole length) around to the north side of the fell, where it meets the Pennine Way at a cairn. One may then follow the Way up a gentle slope to the summit. This route offers fine views (up to {{convert|60|mi|km|0}} on a clear day) over both the Solway to the north and the Eden Valley to the south. In fair conditions, the walk from Kirkland to the summit takes between two and three hours.<ref>Walking Britain (OS) :[http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/m/walk_b1.php?id=3071 route guide and photographs]</ref>

An ascent of Cross Fell in anything but perfect weather conditions can become challenging. None of the available routes offers a well defined path all the way to the summit. To the north of the ridge lies an extensive area of featureless [[bog]] and [[moorland]], without obvious contours. The immediate area around Cross Fell is prone to hill fog and low cloud. Above {{convert|500|m|ft|0}}, visibility can suddenly drop to almost nothing. It is easy to become disoriented and lost.

[[Image:Crossf3.jpg|right|thumb|280px|Ascending the boulder field on the west flank of Cross Fell]]

The [[scree]] slopes on the edges of Cross Fell can be treacherous in conditions of snow or ice. The large boulders are not securely seated and move readily when a walker tries to cross them. It is easy to fall and break a limb. This particular line of approach to the summit is best avoided unless conditions are clear and dry.

Increasing numbers of walkers have come into the area since the Pennine Way opened in the 1960s and as car ownership has become more widespread. After a number of fatalities among walkers in the locality, a mountain rescue team was established at nearby Penrith in 1959. This team is called out to rescue lost, missing, or injured walkers in the Cross Fell area, on average about once every two weeks.<ref>Penrith Mountain rescue :[http://www.penrithmrt.btinternet.co.uk/callouts-06.htm callouts log]</ref>

That said, Cross Fell has much to offer the visitor. A climb to the summit is safe and easy so long as proper precautions are taken. The walker should be adequately dressed and equipped with map and compass. Most of the locality is within range of mobile phones.

==Views of Cross Fell==


Cross Fell is a conspicuous feature in the landscape. It dominates the skyline on almost the entire {{convert|20|mi|km|0}} length of the [[A66 road|A66 trunk road]] between [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]] and [[Stainmore]]. It can also be seen from [[Helvellyn]] summit in the Lake District and from high ground throughout [[Dumfriesshire]] and [[Northumberland]].
Cross Fell is a conspicuous feature in the landscape. It dominates the skyline on almost the entire {{convert|20|mi|km|0}} length of the [[A66 road|A66 trunk road]] between [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]] and [[Stainmore]]. It can also be seen from [[Helvellyn]] summit in the Lake District and from high ground throughout [[Dumfriesshire]] and [[Northumberland]].

[[Image:Cf5.JPG|centre|thumbnail|480px|[[Cow Green Reservoir]], with (l to r) [[Great Dun Fell]], Little Dun Fell and Cross Fell in the background at a distance of about {{convert|6|mi|km|0}}]]


==References==
==References==

{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


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* Stephen Goodwin, rucsacs article: [http://www.rucsacs.com/samples/65.pdf Cross Fell]
* Stephen Goodwin, rucsacs article: [http://www.rucsacs.com/samples/65.pdf Cross Fell]


==Picture gallery==
click on image to view full size
<gallery>
Image:CFell05.JPG|on the route from Kirkland to Cross Fell, April 2005. The sloping bed of carboniferous limestone that forms Cross Fell and adjoining fells is visible in the background
Image:Helmbar.jpg|the [[Helm Wind|Helm Bar]] as seen from near Knock with Dufton Pike in the foreground, May 2005
Image:Cfell07.JPG|approach to Cross Fell from the West, over scree slope, April 2007
Image:CrossFell-061023.jpg|The summit of Cross Fell, October 2006

</gallery>


{{North Pennines}}
{{North Pennines}}

Revision as of 23:32, 7 January 2011

Cross Fell
Cross Fell seen from the Eden Valley
Highest point
Elevation893 m (2,930 ft)
Prominence651 m (2,136 ft)
Parent peakHelvellyn
ListingHewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall
Geography
Cross Fell is located in Cumbria
Cross Fell
Cross Fell
Location of Cross Fell in Cumbria
LocationNorth Pennines, England
OS gridNY687343
Topo mapOS Landranger 91

Cross Fell is the highest point in the Pennine Hills of northern England. It is also the highest point in England outside of the Lake District. The summit, at 893 metres (2,930 ft), is a stony plateau, part of a 12.5 mile (20 km) long ridge running North West to South East, which also incorporates Little Dun Fell (842 metres (2,762 ft)) and Great Dun Fell (849 metres (2,785 ft)). The three adjoining fells form an escarpment that rises steeply above the Eden Valley on its south western side and drops off more gently on its north eastern side towards the South Tyne and Tees Valleys.

Cross Fell summit is crowned by a cross-shaped dry-stone shelter, though this is not the reason for the naming of the hill. On a clear day there are excellent views from the summit across the Eden Valley to the mountains of the Lake District. On the northern side of Cross Fell there are also fine views across the Solway Firth to the Southern Uplands of Scotland.

The fell is prone to dense hill fog and fierce winds. A shrieking noise induced by the Helm Wind (see below) is a characteristic of the locality. It can be an inhospitable place for much of the year. In ancient times it was known as "Fiends Fell" and believed to be the haunt of evil spirits. It has been speculated that this last feature may be why the fell became known as Cross Fell ("cross" meaning "angry").[1] Another theory is that at some time a cross was placed at the summit in order to ward off the spirits. But the origin of the name is not known for sure.

A conspicuous local feature is the golf ball shaped radar installation on the summit of Great Dun Fell. This was built in the 1980s and supports civil air traffic control over the North Atlantic. The original site was built on the summit in 1949.

Local geography

Cross Fell and the adjoining fells are mainly a bed of hard, carboniferous limestone. Where this bed surfaces, there are steep rock faces. There are also strata of shale and gritstone that surface on the fell. On the south and west facing slopes of Cross Fell the rock faces have been broken up by frost action to give a scree slope made up of large boulders. The local terrain shows obvious evidence of recent glaciation and is covered by thin soil and acidic peat.

The summit of Cross Fell with Great Dun Fell in the background.The object in the centre is a triangulation point, used for mapping in the pre-satellite era.

Cross Fell, Great Dun Fell and Little Dun Fell form a block of high terrain which is all over 800 metres (2,625 ft) in altitude. This is the largest block of high ground in England and tends to retain snow-cover longer than neighbouring areas. Snow can be found in gullies on the north side of Cross Fell as late as May in most years. In some years, lying snow has been known to persist until July and fresh snowfall in June (mid-summer in the Northern Hemisphere) is common.

Precipitation on Cross Fell averages around 280 centimetres (110 in) per year. Local flora includes a number of rare alpine plants such as the Starry Saxifrage and a mountain Forget-me-not.[2] Cross Fell is covered by what is known as "siliceous alpine and boreal grassland". It is the southernmost outlier of this vegetation type, which is common to highlands in Scotland and Scandinavia. It is a designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Local farmers are required to keep free-roaming sheep off the tops of the fells in order to avoid damaging the natural flora.[3]

The Helm Wind is a local phenomenon. An east wind causes air to rise slowly to the summit of the ridge and cool as it does so. At the summit, the dense, cool air drops rapidly down the steep western slope (causing the Helm Wind) and forces warmer ambient air to rise. Moisture in the ambient air condenses to form the Helm Bar – a stationary handle of thin cloud running along and outwards from the edge of the summit (see Picture Gallery below). The Helm Wind can be very strong where it is channelled down gullies in the side of the escarpment. It is experienced particularly in the villages of Milburn and Kirkland.[4] A Helm Wind also occurs at the head of the Eden Valley, in Mallerstang. A similar feature can be found around Table Mountain near Cape Town, South Africa, where the local equivalent of the Helm Bar is known as the Table Cloth.

Cross Fell is a conspicuous feature in the landscape. It dominates the skyline on almost the entire 20 miles (32 km) length of the A66 trunk road between Penrith and Stainmore. It can also be seen from Helvellyn summit in the Lake District and from high ground throughout Dumfriesshire and Northumberland.

References

  1. ^ North Pennines AONB Partnership article on Cross Fell
  2. ^ Cumbrian Wildlife: plants
  3. ^ Joint Nature Conservation Committee: listing of sites
  4. ^ The Helm Bar: an account
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cross Fell.


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