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Seat Sandal

Coordinates:54°29′40″N3°00′57″W/ 54.49456°N 3.01585°W/54.49456; -3.01585
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Seat Sandal
Seat Sandal (left) and Fairfield (right)
seen from Helm Crag 2 km to the SW.
Highest point
Elevation736 m (2,415 ft)
Prominencec.150 m
Parent peakFairfield
ListingHewitt,Marilyn,Nuttall,Wainwright
Coordinates54°29′40″N3°00′57″W/ 54.49456°N 3.01585°W/54.49456; -3.01585
Geography
Seat Sandal is located in the Lake District
Seat Sandal
Seat Sandal
Location in Lake District, UK
LocationCumbria,England
Parent rangeLake District,Eastern Fells
OS gridNY343115
Topo mapOSLandranger90OSExplorer5

Seat Sandalis afellin theEnglishLake District,situated four kilometres (2+1⁄2miles) north of thevillage of Grasmerefrom where it is very well seen. Nevertheless, it tends to be overshadowed by its more illustrious neighbours in theEastern Fells,HelvellynandFairfield.

Name

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The unusual name comes from theOld Norselanguage,"Sandulfr"being anOld Norsepersonal name.[1]

The name element' Seat 'is fromOld Norse' sæter '. [a]

Toponym

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  • Sandulfr's sæter
  • Sandal's high summer pasture.[b][c]

Examples of place names with a similaretymologymight include:

The remains of structures have been found onSeat Sandalthat are assumed to have beensummer shielings(high altitude dwellings ) where people stayed during the summer months in order to watch over the animals. [d] [e] [f]

BothSeat SandalandSeatoller(Seat..oller ) are positioned on historic routes that traverse across the heart of theLake District, suggesting that these were important strategic places. [g] [h]

Topography

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Looking down Grisedale to Ullswater in the far distance from Seat Sandal summit;St Sunday Cragis the fell on the right.

The fell's western flanks aboveDunmail Raiseare grassy and smooth while its eastern slopes are steep and craggy as they fall away towardsGrisedale Hausewhich at 537 m (1,762 ft) contains Lakeland's highest substantial tarn, Grisedale Tarn. The fell reaches a height of 736 m (2,415 ft) and just scrapes into the list ofMarilynsby being givenprominenceof ‘around’ 150 metres from the higher fell of Fairfield. However, this must be regarded as a borderline case as there is noOrdnance Surveysurveyed height for the top of Grisedale Hause.Alfred Wainwrightgives it a height of 1,929 feet (588 metres) giving Seat Sandal a topographic prominence of only 148 metres (two metres short of Marilyn qualification).

Seat Sandal is distinctive in that itsdrainagereaches the sea at more widely spread points than any other Lakeland Fell, with Raise Beck going throughThirlmereandDerwent Waterto reach theIrish SeaatWorkington,Tongue Beck going through the lakes ofGrasmereandWindermereto reachMorecambe Bayand Grisedale Beck draining intoUllswaterand then to the sea at theSolway Firth.However, this is true only as a result of the diversion of Raise Beck north to feed Thirlmere Reservoir — before this (and still today when there is enough water in Raise Beck for it to flow both north and south),Dollywaggon Pikeshared in this distinction — Birkside Gill feeding Thirlmere, Raise Beck feeding Grasmere, and Grisedale Beck feeding Ullswater. The fell's main topographic attraction is Gavel Crag on its eastern side, which is connected to the main body of the fell by a fine rockarête.

Dunmail Raise provides the topographical connection between the Eastern andCentral Fells,Steel Fellrising on the other side of the pass.

Geology

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A hill ofandesitelavaforms the summit, the rocks beneath being thedaciticlapilli-tuffsof the Lincomb Tarns Formation.[8]

Ascents

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The fell can be ascended from Grasmere or Dunmail Raise although a start fromPatterdaleis quite feasible. The Grasmere or Patterdale starts use the oldpackhorseroute that links the two places; this is now part of Wainwright'sCoast to Coast Walk.When Grisedale Hause is reached it is a steep climb to the summit following a broken wall. The ascent from Dunmail Raise follows the bed of Raise Beck until it peters out at a height of 580 m (1,900 ft); it is then a walk south up easy slopes to reach the summit. There is also a direct ascent up the western slopes starting at Mill Bridge.

Summit

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The view from the top is limited by the nearby Helvellyn and Fairfield ranges although there is a good view of Lakeland to the west; the Solway Firth and Criffel are seen on a good day as is Morecambe Bay to the south.

References

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Notes

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  1. ^Definition ofOld Norse' sæter '
    • "A mountain pasture, a shieling".[2]
    • "Summer pasture".[3]
    • "Upland summer pasture or farmstead".[4]
  2. ^ "Sandal"is ananglicisationof theOld Norsepersonal name"Sandulfr"
  3. ^Olaf Sandal:The Viking rulerOlaf Sihtricson, King of Northumbria(r. 941 – 943 ), was also known as"Olaf Sandal".[5]
  4. ^Summer shielings:"...historical sites...Little Langdale...Seat Sandal".[6]
  5. ^Summer transhumance"We know from the evidence of Norse farming customs in north Scotland that Norse settlers in Britain continued the system of summer transhumance which was customary in their Scandinavian homeland."[6]
  6. ^SeeTranshumance>Scandinavian peninsula
  7. ^Historic Routes:The routes that the Scandinavian settlers might have used are mirrored by Wainwrights'sCoast to Coast Walkfrom St Bees Head to Keld:[7]
  8. ^It would be expected that meat and perhaps dairy might have been traded at these locations.

Citations

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  1. ^Nordic Names:Sandulfr
  2. ^Reaney 1969,p. 174.
  3. ^Rollinson 1981,p. 34.
  4. ^Gambles 1997,p. 4.
  5. ^Williams 2017,p. 290.
  6. ^abGambles 1997,p. 154.
  7. ^OS Maps 2000,p. 1.
  8. ^British Geological Survey:1:50,000 series maps,England & Wales Sheet 29:BGS (1999)

Sources

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Maps

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  • OS Maps (2000).Wainwrights's Coast to Coast Walk - St Bees Head to Keld.Ordnance Survey.ISBN0-319-26090-9.

Books

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