Illgill Head

Illgill Head
Highest point
Elevation	609 m (1,998 ft)
Prominence	314 m (1,030 ft)
Parent peak	Scafell Pike
Listing	Marilyn, Wainwright
Coordinates	54°25′58″N 3°16′57″W / 54.4327°N 3.28257°W / 54.4327; -3.28257Coordinates: 54°25′58″N 3°16′57″W / 54.4327°N 3.28257°W / 54.4327; -3.28257
Geography
Illgill Head Location in Lake District, UK
Location	Cumbria, England
Parent range	Lake District, Southern Fells
OS grid	NY169049
Topo map	OS Landranger 89, Explorer OL6

Illgill Head is a fell in the English Lake District. It is known more commonly as the northern portion of the Wastwater Screes. The fell is 609 metres high and stands along the south-east shore of Wastwater, the deepest lake in England.

The panorama of the Wastwater Screes across Wastwater is one of the most famous and awe-inspiring views in England. Poet Norman Nicholson described the Screes as "like the inverted arches of a Gothic Cathedral".

The title Wastwater Screes applies to the scree-covered north-western fellside which plunges dramatically down into Wastwater. This also includes Illgill Head's neighbour Whin Rigg, the continuation of the ridge to the south-west. The scree slope continues beneath the lake to a depth of 79 metres. The screes were formed as a result of ice and weathering erosion on the rocks. Geologically, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg are part of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, typical for the southern-western area of the Lake District.

In marked contrast to the north-western slope, the opposite flank of the fell, which descends to Burnmoor Tarn and Miterdale is much gentler and covered in heather and bracken.

The summit area has outcropping tuff, lapilli-tuff and breccia of the Lingmell Formation amid the drift deposits. The crags atop the screes reveal the plagioclase-phyric andesite lavas of the Birker Fell Formation.

The summit is a flat sheepwalk, giving no clue to the drama of the Screes. North west from the cairn the grassy plateau gradually tilts, until a few yards away it simply disappears over the brink. Illgill Head is a fine viewpoint for Wasdale Head, the surrounding fells all appearing as they soar up from the dalehead. Nearer views, with care, are possible down the Screes themselves.