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Blea Rigg is a fell in the English Lake District, lying between the
valleys of Easedale and Great Langdale.
One of the Central Fells,
it is a broad plateau with a succession of rocky tops and many routes of
ascent are possible, beginning either from Grasmere or Great Langdale,
though the paths are often poorly marked and hard to follow.
The
main spine of the Central Fells runs north to south from the Vale of
Keswick to its greatest elevation at High Raise.
A long ridge
runs out eastward from here, so that the range as a whole resembles the
letter 'L'.
This eastward ridge begins as Blea Rigg and then
continues over Silver How and Loughrigg Fell, before petering out near
the head of Windermere.
Blea Rigg is a broad plateau, around a
mile wide and two miles long, climbing roughly east to west. It connects
via a narrower section between Stickle and Codale Tarns to Sergeant Man
and ultimately High Raise in the west.
Stickle Tarn is the larger
of the two waterbodies, a 50 ft deep corrie tarn with the level
increased by a stone faced dam. It is used to supply water to the
residents of Great Langdale. Codale Tarn is a shallow pool set amid
rough ground, a little to the north east.
Blea Rigg has a number
of named tops in addition to the summit. Travelling west to east these
are Great Castle How (1,640 ft), Little Castle How (1,581 ft), Swinescar
Pike (1,348 ft) and Lang How (1,358 ft).
Drainage from the
southern side of the fell is via a number of feeders to Stickle Gill and
Great Langdale Beck.
Among the tributaries is White Gill, its
ravine being an interesting route of ascent. Water from the northern
flanks reaches Grasmere via Easedale Beck and its feeders.
Crags
look down over Easedale Tarn and Blindtarn Moss to the north, while
further rough ground looms over the Great Langdale road.
The fell
has many rocky tops and a number of sizeable tarns. Added to the network
of paths this can make the ridge a confusing place for walkers.
It is not always immediately obvious which outcrop forms the actual
summit, but a small cairn sits on rock above a stone shelter.
The
view takes in the eastern and southern fells, plus the nearby Langdale
Pikes.
Many routes of ascent are possible from either side of the
ridge, with a climb from Grasmere over Silver How also popular.
From the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Great Langdale the walker can climb
either via Stickle Tarn or up the ravine of White Gill.
From
Grasmere, Easedale Tarn is the preliminary objective. From here Blea
Crag can be outflanked on either side to arrive on the summit ridge to
the east or west of the summit.
Before World War II a stone
refreshment hut stood on the slopes of Blea Rigg, just above Easedale
Tarn. It is hard to imagine the scene today, with food and drink for
sale halfway up a fell.
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