Kentmere Pike

About Kentmere Pike

Rising above the head of the Kentmere valley, this broad, grassy ridge forms a vital link in the popular Kentmere Horseshoe. Though its summit is bisected by a long drystone wall, the high plateau offers an expansive perspective over the reservoir towards the steep, sculpted profiles of Ill Bell and Froswick.

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Did You Know?

• •The name Kentmere derives from the River Kent and the Old Norse 'marr', referring to the lake that once occupied the valley floor before it was largely drained. The 'Pike' suffix usually denotes a pointed hill, making it a slightly generous description for this rounded, broad-backed ridge.
• •Alfred Wainwright described the fell as a 'stony-topped elevation' on the long ridge leading to High Street. He pointed out that the true summit is a small mound of grass and stones on the eastern side of the wall, distinct from the man-made trig pillar.
• •The summit is famously split by a high drystone wall. While the Ordnance Survey trig pillar sits on the eastern side, walkers must use a step stile to access the western side for the best views down into the Kentmere valley.
• •Looking north-west from the summit, the view is dominated by the massive, steep-sided bulk of Mardale Ill Bell and the High Street range, which dwarfs the smaller fells to the south.
• •The transition from the summit to the neighbouring Shipman Knotts involves crossing a section of peat hags that, in wet weather, provides a masterclass in the creative use of trekking poles to gauge the depth of black sludge.