The Central Fells

Pavey Ark

The rock outcrop at Pavey Ark summit, looking south to Harrison Stickle. The Dale Head group appear on the left with Crinkle Crags and Bowfell on the right.
Photograph taken: 25th April 2022

The rock outcrop at Pavey Ark summit, looking south to Harrison Stickle. The Dale Head group appear on the left with Crinkle Crags and Bowfell on the right.
Photograph taken: 25th April 2022
Pavey Ark as seen from the shore of Stickle Tarn. The line of Jack's Rake can be seen rising diagonally from lower right to upper left on the cliff face.
Photograph taken: 25th April 2022

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Location map for Pavey Ark

Wainwright top at Pavey Ark

Context

Pavey Ark is a Wainwright in The Central Fells area of the Lake District National Park.

Location

Grid Ref: NY 28456 07907
BNG e,n: 328456,507907
Lat/long: 54.461480,-3.105191
GeoJSON: [-3.105191,54.461480]
///W3W: origin.tissue.immediate
Feature: rock outcrop with occasional tiny cairn

Elevation

Height: 700m / 2,297ft
Drop: 15.0m
Rank: 89 / 214

Details: Locating Wainwright tops

It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that the Wainwright top is at the true summit of a fell. For many fells in the 214, this is not the case. Wainwright often chose a top because of its aspect or view rather than its height. This is what sometimes makes finding the Wainwright tops so confusing.

Locating a top is also complicated by the fact that features change over time. Cairns come and go, some grow and some shrink, fence posts are added or removed. Although the summit sketches in Wainwright's guides and the photographs in this guide are useful aids for identification, the features shown are subject to change, especially on popular fells. See Fleetwith Pike for an example of how cairns change.

Important: The accuracy of GPS on smartphones is ±5m at best but could be as much as 8m out. Please bear this in mind when using the location data.
Notes: Most often there is no cairn at this summit but the rocky top is distinctive. Wainwright: “The environs of the highest point are delectable. Slabs and walls of beautiful grey rock, of rough texture not unlike the gabbro of Skye, rise from pleasant bilberry terraces…”

Route planning

Fells

Harrison Stickle: 0.8km; 82m; 17min
Thunacar Knott: 0.7km; 35m; 11min

Details

There are 2 viable routes from Pavey Ark

The Wainwright guides indicate “ridge routes” from each fell and although this is useful, it doesn't always allow for effective route planning. The routes shown here are the Wainwright ridge routes (indicated with ) plus any other viable routes (indicated with ), not necessarily linked by a ridge. This list provides a more comprehensive network of potential routes that can be used when planning days out on the fells.

All routes have been plotted in the OS Maps app. The distance, ascent and time values are those given for the plotted routes. Time values are for moderately fit walkers without breaks. They should therefore be considered minimum values for the purposes of route planning.

Notes

Wainwright notes that there are no ridge routes from Pavey Ark because it is not on a ridge. However, he concedes that there are routes from Pavey Ark to its nearest neighbours, Thunacar Knott and Harrison Stickle.

Classification

DoBIH No

2423

Local

Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Wainwright

Birkett: Lake District hills over 1,000ft listed in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells. There are 541 Birketts, 211 are also Wainwrights.
Fellranger: Lake District hills included in Mark Richards' Fellranger walking series, a set of eight volumes inspired by the Wainwright guides. There are 230 Fellrangers, 209 are also Wainwrights. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.
Synge: Lake District hills over 300m listed in Tim Synge's The Lakeland Summits. The book aims to list every significant summit over 300m in height within the National Park, 646 in total. It includes all 214 fells in Wainwright's Pictorial Guides, including Castle Crag at 290m.
Wainwright: Lake District hills included in volumes 1-7 of Wainwright's A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. There are 214 Wainwrights in all. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.

National

Nuttall

Nuttall: Hills in England and Wales that are at least 2,000 feet (610m) high and with a drop of at least 15m on all sides, as published in the two volumes of The Mountains of England and Wales by John and Anne Nuttall. There are 169 Nuttalls in the Lake District, 114 are also Wainwrights.

Geology

Bedrock

Pavey Ark Breccia Member

BGS code

PAV

Type

Sedimentary

Age

449.0 – 458.4 Ma

Period

Ordovician

Parent

Seathwaite Fell Sandstone Formation ➔
Borrowdale Volcanic Group

Details

Members, formations and groups

Member: A smaller unit of rock that shares common charateristics and features, often used in geology to describe specific layers within a formation.
Formation: A larger unit of rock that is distinct from other formations above and below. A formation may include two or more members.
Group: A stratigraphic unit that includes two or more associated formations that are usually contiguous or contain significant features in common.
Suite: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of the same type, lacking discernable stratification.
Complex: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of different types, lacking discernable stratification.

Notes

These sedimentary rocks are formed as pebbly sandstone and volcaniclastic breccia, redeposited or reworked from pyroclastic deposits.

Daylight

Tuesday, 9th June 2026

Daylight

17 hours 11 minutes

Dawn