Hindscarth

Hindscarth

Height: 727m (2,385ft)
Prominence: 71m (233ft)
Region: North Western Fells
Classifications: Nuttall, Hewitt, Wainwright, Birkett
Summit feature: Tumbled shelter
Times climbed: 5
Related trip reports:
The Newlands Round - 14/10/2018
The Buttermere Horseshoe - 08/04/2017
Hindscarth, Robinson, Knott Rigg & Ard Crags - 18/12/2016 
A Newlands Round - 22/08/2014
Dale Head & Hindscarth - 01/06/2014

What Wainwright said:

Hindscarth is a twin of Robinson. Both were created in the same upheaval and sculptured in the same mould. They turn broad backs to the Buttermere valley and go hand-in-hand together down Newlands".

Hindscarth stands between the valleys of Buttermere and Newlands in the North Western Fells. The fell's name is derived from two words from the Old Norse language, Hind and Skarth, and means the pass used by the red deer.

The northern ridge of Hindscarth which falls away to the Newlands valley has at its foot (at Scope End) one of the most famous former mines in the Lake District. The Goldscope mine has been designated as a major national important site by English Heritage who have stated that it should receive priority treatment for its protection and preservation. The mine was opened in 1564 and developed in its early days by German miners, who worked its rich veins of lead and copper. The mine was considered so important in its early days that it was requisitioned for the Crown by Elizabeth I from its then-owner, the Earl of Northumberland. There are considerable spoil heaps on the Newlands Beck side of Scope End and the shaft inside the hillside was sunk to such a considerable depth that it became uneconomical to pump out the water, leading to the closure of the mine at the end of the 19th century.

The summit carries an untidy cairn amid some embedded rocks. The view north into the Newlands Valley is excellent.

Return to Lake District – North Western Fells