Selside Pike facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Selside Pike
Selside Pike Location in Lake District
Highest point
Elevation	655 m (2,149 ft)
Prominence	c. 40 m
Parent peak	Branstree
Listing	Wainwright, Nuttall, Hewitt
Geography
Location	Cumbria, England
Parent range	Lake District, Far Eastern Fells
OS grid	NY490111
Topo map	OS Explorer OL5, Explorer OL7

Selside Pike is a mountain, also called a fell, in the beautiful Lake District in England. It stands between two valleys named Mardale and Swindale. This mountain is part of the Far Eastern Fells area.

What Selside Pike Looks Like

The valleys of Mardale (near Haweswater Reservoir) and Swindale run side-by-side. Selside Pike is on a high ridge of land between them. This ridge is about two miles wide and five miles long.

The mountain Branstree is the first peak on this ridge. After Branstree, there are two more peaks of similar height. One of these is Selside Pike. A famous writer, Alfred Wainwright, thought Selside Pike was important enough to be a separate mountain in his book, Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells.

Slopes and Surroundings

The top parts of Selside Pike have smooth, grassy slopes. The very top looks like a dome from most directions. The lower slopes on the western side, which go down to Haweswater, are steeper. You can see areas of loose rocks, called scree, there.

Near the shore of Haweswater, there are two small groups of pine trees. These trees stand above what used to be the village of Mardale Green and an old inn called the Dun Bull. These places were covered by water when the lake was made bigger in the 1940s. This was done to provide drinking water.

The eastern side of Selside Pike forms the top of Swindale valley. This part of the valley is known as Mosedale. Swindale is a classic U-shaped valley, meaning it has a flat bottom and steep sides. Selside Pike's eastern slopes gently go down to about 2,000 feet. Then, they drop sharply over a wall of rock called Geordie Greathead Crag. Below this crag is a dry lakebed called Dodd Bottom.

A deep gully, named Hobgrumble Gill, runs down this rocky face. It separates Selside Pike from another ridge. Above the crags, this gully runs through a small hanging valley.

The Ridge Walk

The ridge leading southwest from Selside Pike to High Howes is wide and grassy. It crosses a wet area known as Captain Whelter Bog. Going northeast from Selside Pike, the ridge becomes narrower. It drops over a spot called High Blake Dodd to the Mardale Corpse Road. Beyond this is Hare Shaw, a smaller hill. This area has rough land on both sides of the Naddle Beck stream.

The Corpse Road

The Corpse Road was a special path used a long time ago. People from Mardale would carry their dead loved ones along this road to the nearest churchyard for burial. This path crossed into Swindale and then over more high ground to reach the village of Shap.

The very last time someone was carried on this road was on June 17, 1736. By then, the small Holy Trinity church in Mardale Green had been allowed to bury people. However, in 1936, plans were made to raise the level of Haweswater and flood Mardale Green. Because of this, about 100 burials from Holy Trinity church were dug up and reburied in Shap.

The Summit View

The very top of Selside Pike has a large pile of stones, called a cairn. All around the summit is grass. From the top, you can see some of the other Lakeland mountains, especially those at the head of Mardale. You also get a great open view of Haweswater, the village of Shap, and the Pennines mountain range.

How to Climb Selside Pike

You can climb Selside Pike from Mardale by following the Corpse Road and going over High Blake Dodd. You can also start from Swindale using the same path. Another way is to use the track that goes up Mosedale. However, cars are not allowed on the last mile and a half of the Swindale road, unless you live there.