Whiteside (Lake District)

Whiteside
Looking along the ridge from Hopegill Head to Whiteside. The east top is visible midway along
Highest point
Elevation	719 m (2,359 ft)
Prominence	c. 34 m
Parent peak	Hopegill Head
Listing	Wainwright, Hewitt, Nuttall
Coordinates	54°35′13″N 3°16′44″W / 54.587°N 3.279°W / 54.587; -3.279Coordinates: 54°35′13″N 3°16′44″W / 54.587°N 3.279°W / 54.587; -3.279
Geography
Whiteside Location in Lake District, UK
Location	Cumbria, England
Parent range	Lake District, North Western Fells
OS grid	NY175221
Topo map	OS Landranger 89, 90, Explorer OL4

Whiteside is a fell in the north-western area of the English Lake District. It stands at the western end of the Grisedale Pike- Hopegill Head ridge overlooking Crummock Water.

The North Western Fells occupy the area between the rivers Derwent and Cocker, a broadly oval swathe of hilly country, elongated on a north-south axis. Two roads cross from east to west, dividing the fells into three convenient groups. The central sector, rising between Whinlatter Pass and Newlands Pass, includes Whiteside.

The high ground in this group of fells is formed by a series of ridges in the form of the letter 'H' lying on one side. The northern ridge is formed by Whiteside, Hopegill Head and Grisedale Pike, while the Grasmoor to Causey Pike ridge runs parallel to the south. The bridge between the two is the pass of Coledale Hause. This stands at the head of two valleys, Coledale descending eastward and Gasgale Gill flowing west.

Whiteside forms a shallow crescent, concave to the south and fringed on that face by the great wall of Gasgale Crags. These drop 500 ft direct from the summit ridge into the valley below. The eastern end of the fell connects to Hopegill Head without any great loss of height, while the western end of the ridge descends steeply over Whiteside End to the Vale of Lorton. The subsidiary top of Whin Ben (1,355 ft) stands at the south west corner, overlooking the point where Gasgale Gill debouches into the fields of Lanthwaite.

The northern slopes are much more extensive with two long ridges being thrown out from the main mass of the fell. The shorter is Penn, while further to the east is Dodd (1,489 ft). The valley of Hopegill separates Dodd from Ladyside Pike and the northern ridge of Hopegill Head.

The southern crags expose rock of the Kirkstile Formation, comprising laminated mudstone and siltstone. To the north is the Loweswater Formation of greywacke sandstone. In the vicinity of Dodd the Hopebeck Formation is exposed, mudstone and siltstone with greywacke sandstone turbidities. There is also a minor intrusion of lamprophyre in this area.