Whitbarrow: Difference between revisions

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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Mtnbox start norange|

{{short description|Natural feature in Cumbria, England}}

Name=Whitfell|

{{Infobox mountain

Photo=Whitbarrow_from_near_Witherslack_School.jpg|

| name = Whitbarrow

Caption=Whitbarrow from near Witherslack School |

Photo| photo = Whitbarrow_from_near_Witherslack_School.jpg|

Location = [[Lake District]], [[England]]|

Caption| photo_caption = Whitbarrow from near Witherslack[[Oversands School |]]

Elevation=215 [[metre|m]] (706 [[foot (unit of length)|ft]])}}

| elevation_m = 215

{{Mtnbox prom|182 m}}

| elevation_ref =

{{Mtnbox topo|[[Ordnance Survey|OS]] ''Landranger'' 97}}

| prominence_m = 182

{{Mtnbox UK|grid_ref=SD441870|

| prominence_ref =

listing=[[Marilyn (hill)|Marilyn]], [[List of Wainwrights|Outlying Wainwright]]}}

| parent_peak = [[High Street (Lake District)|High Street]]

{{Mtnbox finish}}

| listing = [[Marilyn (hill)|Marilyn]], [[List of Wainwrights|Outlying Wainwright]]}}

Location| ___location = [[Lake District]], [[England]]|

| range =

| coordinates = {{coord|54.27557|N|2.85996|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| grid_ref_UK = SD441870

{{Mtnbox| topo| = [[Ordnance Survey|OS]] ''Landranger'' 97}}

| type =

| age =

| first_ascent =

| easiest_route =

| map = United Kingdom Lake District

}}

'''Whitbarrow''' is a hill in [[Cumbria]], England, designated a biological [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]]<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002151.pdf|title=Whitbarrow citation|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date=26 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271002151%27|title=Map of Whitbarrow|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date=26 July 2013}}</ref> and [[Nationalnational Naturenature Reserve]]reserve in(United [[CumbriaKingdom)|national nature reserve]], and formsforming part of the [[Morecambe Bay]] Pavements]] [[Special Area of Conservation]] due to its supporting some of the best European examples of natural [[limestone]] habitats. Also known as '''Whitbarrow Scar''' (though properly that term applies to the cliffs lining its western edge), the hill lies about {{convert|9|km|mi}} kilometres (5 miles) south-westsouthwest of [[Kendal]], just north of the [[A590 road]], close to the village of [[Witherslack]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/whitbarrow-hervey-memorial-reserve|title=Whitbarrow - Hervey Memorial Reserve|access-date=5 April 2017}}</ref> Part of the site is a [[local nature reserve]] called Whitbarrow Scar.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=whitbarrow&ID=1441|title=Whitbarrow Scar |series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|access-date=26 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271009237%27 |title=Map of Whitbarrow Scar|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|access-date=26 July 2013}}</ref> Whitbarrow's summit, known as '''Lord's Seat''', is at {{convert|215|m}} and has a [[topographic prominence|prominence]] of {{convert|182|m}}, classifying it as a [[List of Marilyns in the British Isles |Marilyn]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitbarrow - Lord's Seat |url=https://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=2697 |website=Hill Bagging |access-date=25 December 2023}}</ref>

It is a mixture of [[woodland]], [[grassland]] and [[limestone pavement]]. The hill is prominent from the [[A590 road]] with its steep limestone cliffs, laid down in the [[Carboniferous]] period some 350 million years ago. The main cliff faces are made up of rocks known as Dalton Beds, above which are Urswick Limestones, of which the limestone pavement (here and elsewhere around [[Morecambe Bay]], including [[Hutton Roof Crags]]) has been formed.

Whitbarrow, like most of the [[Lake District]], shows many signs of the last [[ice age]], including [[glacial erratic]]s (boulders left behind when the ice retreated), and the [[limestone pavement]] itself, formed when ice left bare limestone exposed to the elements which eroded it and left us with the grikes and clints we see today. The limestone has been used for many purposes including building, agricultural fertiliser, and production of millstones[[millstone]]s, but is now protected by law and it is an offence to remove any. Whitbarrow NNR is owned and managed by the Forestry Commission, [[Lake District National Park Authority]] and the [[Cumbria Wildlife Trust]].

Much of Whitbarrow is covered in woodland, initially naturally and from [[1919]] following planting; the [[Forestry Commission]] now holds leases on parts of the hill. A variety of techniques are used to manage the woodland, including [[coppicing]]; the variety of methods adds to the range of wildlife resulting.

Whitbarrow, like most of the [[Lake District]], shows many signs of the last [[ice age]], including glacial erratics (boulders left behind when the ice retreated), and the [[limestone pavement]] itself, formed when ice left bare limestone exposed to the elements which eroded it and left us with the grikes and clints we see today.

A {{convert|6.5|mile|adj=on}} anticlockwise walk to Whitbarrow's summit, Lord's Seat, from Witherslack, returning along the valley to the west, forms a chapter in ''[[List of Wainwrights#The Outlying Fells of Lakeland|The Outlying Fells of Lakeland]]'' by [[Alfred Wainwright]]. He describes it as "the most beautiful [walk] in this book; beautiful it is every step of the way. ... All is fair to the eye on Whitbarrow."<ref>{{cite book|last=Wainwright|first=A.|author-link=Alfred Wainwright|title=[[The Outlying Fells of Lakeland]]|year=1974|publisher=Westmorland Gazette|___location=Kendal|pages=36–41|chapter=Whitbarrow}}</ref>

Much of Whitbarrow is covered in woodland, initially naturally and from [[1919]] following planting; the [[Forestry Commission]] now holds leases on parts of the hill. A variety of techniques are used to manage the woodland, including coppicing; the variety of methods adds to the range of wildlife resulting.

==References==

The summit of Whitbarrow Scar is known as ''Lord&#8217;s Seat'', and a walk to here is featured in ''[[List_of_Wainwrights#The_Outlying_Fells_of_Lakeland|The Outlying Fells of Lakeland]]'' by [[Alfred Wainwright]].

{{reflist}}

{{Clear}}

[[File:Cairn on Whitbarrow, Cumbria.jpg|alt=Cairn on Whitbarrow|left|thumb|500x500px|Cairn on Whitbarrow]]

[[Image:Whitbarrow_ScarWhitbarrow Scar.jpg|thumb|700px|left|Northerly panorama from Lord's Seat (the summit of Whitbarrow Scar), extending from [[Old Man of Coniston]] to the [[Howgill Fells]]]]

{{Outlying Fells}}

<br clear="all">

{{Marilyns N Eng}}

[[Image:Whitbarrow_Scar.jpg|thumb|700px|left|Northerly panorama from Lord's Seat (the summit of Whitbarrow Scar), extending from [[Old Man of Coniston]] to the [[Howgill Fells]]]]

[[Category:Wainwrights]]

[[Category:Marilyns of England]]

[[Category:Fells of the Lake District]]

[[Category:SiteMarilyns of Special Scientific InterestEngland]]

[[Category:MarilynsNational ofnature reserves in England]]

[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cumbria]]

[[Category:Local nature reserves in Cumbria]]

[[Category:Nature reserves of the Cumbria Wildlife Trust]]