Bakestall looking fairly mountainous
Bakestall
Strictly speaking, Bakestall cannot be considered a fully independent mountain; it manifests primarily as a minor, northern rise sloping off the main mass of Skiddaw. With a mere 7 meters of separate prominence, it would likely pass entirely without comment by standard mountaineering measures. However, Alfred Wainwright dedicated an individual chapter to it in his Pictorial Guides due to the arresting, dramatic features scoring its hidden flanks.
Chief among these scenic features are the impressive walls of Dead Crags, which break open abruptly right beneath the high plateau. At the foot of these vertical drops flows Dash Beck, cascading into the spectacular waterfall of Whitewater Dash. Highly rated as one of the single finest cataracts in the entire national park, this series of rushing, stepped waterfalls would be a headline tourist attraction were it located in a more accessible pocket of Lakeland, rather than hidden in the empty northern backcountry.
Bakestall's summit cairn looking north
The true geographical highest point is situated right at a sharp angle along a modern boundary fence running across the hill. However, Wainwright preferred to place his official "summit" roughly 100 meters further north. This secondary point functions as a vastly superior overlook, marked clearly by a fair-sized stone pile. Standing at this northern viewpoint entirely cuts out any glimpse of the core Lakeland fells, exchanging them instead for a sweeping, coastal perspective over the Solway Firth to the distant hills of the Scottish Border.
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