Pike of Stickle

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Short description|Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Pike of Stickle | image = Pike_of_Stickle_from_Loft_Crag.jpg | image_caption = Pike of Stickle from [[Loft Crag]] | elevation_m = 709 | elevation_ref = | prominence = ''c.'' 54 m | parent_peak = [[High Raise (Langdale)|High Raise]] | listing = [[Hewitt (hill)|Hewitt]], [[List of Wainwrights|Wainwright]], [[Nuttall (hill)|Nuttall]] | location = [[Cumbria]], [[England]] | range = [[Lake District]], [[Central Fells]] | coordinates = {{coord|54.45586|N|3.12287|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | grid_ref_UK = NY273073 | topo = [[Ordnance Survey|OS]] ''Explorer'' OL6 | map = United Kingdom Lake District | map_caption = Location in Lake District, UK }}

'''Pike of Stickle''', also known as '''Pike o’ Stickle''', is a [[fell]] in the English [[Lake District]]. It reaches a height of {{convert|709|metres}} and is situated in the [[Central Fells|central part]] of the [[national parks of England and Wales|national park]] in the valley of [[Great Langdale]]. The fell is one of three fells which make up the picturesque [[Langdale Pikes]] (the others being [[Harrison Stickle]] and [[Loft Crag]]), one of the best-known areas in Lakeland. A "stickle" is a hill with a steep prominent rocky top, while a "pike" is a hill with a peaked summit, the name being therefore partly [[tautology (rhetoric)|tautological]].

==Topography== The Langdale Pikes form a raised rocky parapet around the southern and eastern edges of a high tableland centred upon [[Thunacar Knott]]. Pike of Stickle stands at the western end of this system and its crags fall south from the summit, presenting an arresting view from the valley floor {{convert|2000|ft|-2}} below, or from further afield.

[[Loft Crag]] stands next along the rampart, with Thorn Crag and [[Harrison Stickle]] further to the east. 'Behind' Pike of Stickle to the north is the depression of Harrison Combe, beyond which are the twin tops of Thunacar Knott. Westward the height of the land gradually falls away to Martcrag Moor, a wide plateau with a few small [[tarn (lake)|tarns]] near the summit {{convert|1795|ft}}. Martcrag Moor represents the end of the Central Fells as defined by [[Alfred Wainwright]],<ref name="wainwright">{{cite book |author=Wainwright, A |author-link=Alfred Wainwright |title= [[Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells|A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells]], Book 3 The Central Fells |publisher= Westmorland Gazette |year= 1958}}</ref> providing a high-level connection to [[Rossett Pike]] in the Southern Fells. [[File:Pike O'Stickle.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Pike of Stickle on the left, from the summit cairn of [[Pike of Blisco]]]]

==Geology== The rearward slopes show evidence of the Pavey Ark Member, pebbly [[sandstone]] and [[breccia]]. The Langdale face displays several strata: from the top The Lingmell Formation, Crinkle Member and Bad Step Tuff. These are composed, respectively, of [[tuff]], [[lapilli tuff]] and breccia; [[rhyolitic]] tuff and breccia; and rhyolitic [[lava]]-like tuff.<ref name="BGS">British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 38'': BGS (1999)</ref>

==Summit== Despite the peaked profile the summit is wide enough for a sizeable [[cairn]] surrounded by a small level area. Loft Crag and Gimmer Crag steal the attention in the foreground while [[Bowfell]] impresses across Langdale. A wide swathe of the [[Southern Fells]] is in view, whilst even distant [[Skiddaw]] puts in an appearance.<ref name="richards">Mark Richards: ''The Central Fells'': Collins (2003): {{ISBN|0-00-711365-X}}</ref>

==Ascents== Pike of Stickle rises steeply from Langdale, culminating in a narrow tapering summit which gives excellent views of the head of the valley, the fells of [[Bow Fell]] and [[Crinkle Crags]] showing well. The fell is usually climbed from Great Langdale with either the New or [[Old Dungeon Ghyll]] Hotels as the starting points. There are a number of routes, the most common ascent being a path that slants across the hillside from the New hotel passing between Thorn Crag and Gimmer Crag and then turning left at the [[mountain pass|col]]. A quieter route is by Troughton Beck; the walker starts from the Old hotel and goes {{convert|4|km|mile|abbr=off|spell=in|frac=4}} towards the head of the valley before bearing right and following a zigzag path at the side of Troughton Beck. This route gives the walker an unusual view of the fell from this unfrequented side. There is another route directly up the Stickle Stone Shoot: this route is steep and has become severely eroded in recent years and is no longer recommended as a means of ascent or descent. The Langdale or [[Borrowdale]] sides of [[Stake Pass]] can also be used, giving access onto Martcrag Moor.<ref name="wainwright"/><ref name="richards"/>

==Stone axe factory== Pike of Stickle is the site of one of the most important [[neolithic]] [[Langdale axe industry|stone axe factories]] in Europe. The most prominent quarries are situated above the scree slopes on the steep southern face of the fell. The factory was set up here because of a vein of [[Greenstone (archaeology)|greenstone]], a very hard [[Igneous rock|volcanic rock]], which comes to the surface around the head of the valley. Evidence of axe manufacture have been found in many areas of Great Langdale but it is the screes of Pike of Stickle which have yielded the most discoveries. There is a small cave at the top of the Stickle Stone Shoot near the summit of the fell which was part of the stone axe factory.<ref name="wainwright"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

<gallery> Image:Pike_of_Stickle_from_Troughton_Gill_B.jpg|Pike of Stickle as seen from Troughton Gill Image:Pike_O.jpg|Pike of Stickle as seen from [[Thunacar Knott]] </gallery>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pike Of Stickle}} [[Category:Fells of the Lake District]] [[Category:Hewitts of England]] [[Category:Nuttalls]] [[Category:Westmorland and Furness]]