Scafell Pike

Like many of the Lake District’s finest fells, ‘Scafell Pike’ is an ancient name thought to derive from Old Norse (Nordic/Scandinavian).

England’s highest mountain at 978 metres, Scafell’s summit is rocky and exposed with a large cairn that not only provides shelter but also stands as a memorial to those who gave their lives in the Great War. The summit cairn was restored in 2018 by National Trust Rangers and a time capsule placed into the stone wall.

Our first memory of this much loved fell was hiking to the top with our cousins on a blistering summers day. There’s routes to the top to accommodate all abilities;  from the direct easy route up from Wasdale to the longer route from Sty Head.

The late Alfred Wainwright described Scafell Pike’s ‘necessary attributes’ as being its “roughness and ruggedness” which the mountain has in “greater measure than any other high ground in the country - which is just as it should be for there is no higher ground than this.”

(Ref: Wainwright 1960, The Southern Fells, Scafell Pike, 5)