Mungrisdale Common
| Mungrisdale Common | |
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Seen from Atkinson Pike on Blencathra, 1.5 km to the SE with Great Calva in the background.
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 633 m (2,077 ft) |
| Prominence | c. 2 m |
| Parent peak | Atkinson Pike |
| Listing | Wainwright |
| Coordinates | 54°39′08″N 3°04′10″W / 54.65227°N 3.06938°WCoordinates: 54°39′08″N 3°04′10″W / 54.65227°N 3.06938°W |
| Geography | |
 Mungrisdale Common
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| Location | Cumbria, England |
| Parent range | Lake District, Northern Fells |
| OS grid | NY312292 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 90, Explorer OL4, OL5 |
Mungrisdale Common, pronounced mun-grize-dl, with emphasis on grize, is a fell in the English Lake District. Although Alfred Wainwright listed it as one of the 214 featured hills in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells it was his least favourite. He commented that it "has no more pretension to elegance than a pudding that has been sat on". There is some speculation that Wainwright included the fell in his guide simply as a way to fill space, but that has never been proven. Mungrisdale Common is oddly named, as it is a number of miles from the village of Mungrisdale, which lies in a different river catchment.
Mungrisdale Common lies north of Blencathra of which it is an outlier. Gently graded grassy slopes fall from Atkinson Pike, Blencathra's northern summit. Upon meeting the head of Blackhazel Beck, the shoulder divides in two, the northeastern arm connecting to Bannerdale Crags and the north western branch continuing to descend to Mungrisdale Common. Beyond an almost imperceptible depression the reascent is only 6 ft.
After the brief plateau of the summit the descent continues westward toward Skiddaw Forest. Confusingly, the forest contains no trees other than the windbreak of Skiddaw House, but it is a marshy upland area, at around 1,300 ft, surrounded on all sides by higher fells. Three streams flow from Skiddaw Forest, dividing the Northern Fells into three sectors. Dash Beck runs north west, the River Caldew north east and the Glenderaterra Beck south. The three ranges of the Northern Fells are the Skiddaw massif to the southwest, the Blencathra group including Mungrisdale Common to the south east and the area colloquially known as 'Back o'Skiddaw' to the north. Skiddaw House, the lone building in the forest, has variously seen service as a shepherds' bothy and a Youth Hostel.
The Glenderaterra Beck lies to the west of Mungrisdale Common and its tributary, Roughten Gill, forms the southern boundary. A further feeder on this flank is Sinen Gill, whose waterfall is one of the fell's most notable features. The River Caldew lies to the north, across which is Great Calva, most southerly of the Back o'Skiddaw fells. Despite its uninspiring appearance Mungrisdale Common does therefore stand on the important Eden-Derwent watershed, though it is not well defined at this point. Water from the southern flanks reach the sea at Workington while rain falling on the northern side heads for the Solway Firth via Carlisle. The watershed continues across Skiddaw Forest between the headwaters of the Caldew and Glenderaterra, linking onward to Lonscale Fell in the Skiddaw range.
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Wikipedia