The sharp, rocky profile of Hopegill Head

Hopegill Head

Height791m (2,595ft)

Prominence189m (620ft)

RegionNorth Western Fells

Climbed4 Times

Hopegill Head serves as the spectacular, central crown of the high ridge line spanning between Braithwaite and Brackenthwaite, flanked by Grisedale Pike and Whiteside. Mapmakers officially recorded the mountain's name after Hope Gill, the steep-sided valley extending northwest from its slopes. Standing at its base, the mountain is defined by the immense, dark wall of Hobcarton Crag, which plunges a dizzying 130 meters down to the floor of Hobcarton Gill. Despite its formidable appearance, this crag is notoriously crumbly and entirely unsuitable for rock climbing, composed of highly unstable, weathered Skiddaw Slate.

"A high mountain ridge leaps like a rainbow from the woods and fields of Brackenthwaite and arcs through the sky for five miles to the east. This ridge has three main summits of which the central one (and the finest) is known locally as Hobcarton Pike and to mapmakers as Hopegill Head.” — Wainwright 1957, Book Two

The true summit of Hopegill Head is a sharp, pointed peak perched directly over the precipitous drop of Hobcarton Crag—making it a thrilling and highly exposed vantage point that is certainly not for the faint-hearted. When the weather clears, the exposure is rewarded with a staggering view: the Isle of Man can be spotted resting on the Irish Sea to the west, while the rolling profiles of the Scottish Border fells frame the far northern horizon.