North Pennines
High Pike
537M
1762FT
About High Pike
Tucked between Barbondale and Dentdale, this rounded, grassy summit provides a wonderful sense of isolation. It forms a high-level link on the ridge toward Calf Top, offering walkers an uninterrupted perspective across the Lune Valley toward the Lake District and the distinctive, velvety slopes of the nearby Howgill Fells.
Key Statistics
Rank
150th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Yorkshire Dales
Prominence
?
25m
Nearest Town
Westmorland and Furness
Geology
High Pike is built from alternating layers of limestone, mudstone, and sandstone. This sequence of hard and soft rock creates the rugged landscape beneath your feet.
Classifications
Nearby Fells
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SD716823
Latitude
54.2356°N
Longitude
2.4372°W
Did You Know?
- •The name originates from the Old Norse 'pík', describing a pointed hill or summit, a term frequently used across the north of England for prominent features along a moorland ridge.
- •The summit offers a specific and impressive view of the 'sleeping elephants'—the smooth, grass-covered dome-like hills of the Howgills—across the valley to the north.
- •Walkers often reach the top as part of a high-level traverse starting from the village of Dent, following the ridge line that marks the watershed between the River Lune and the River Dee.
- •The hill sits in a geographically interesting spot where the limestone of the Yorkshire Dales begins to give way to the older Silurian rocks that characterize the neighbouring Howgill Fells.
- •Despite its name, High Pike is significantly lower than its immediate neighbour, Calf Top, proving that in the Southern Fells, height is often a matter of perspective rather than measurement.