Cold Pike

Cold Pike is a fell in the Lake District’s Upper Duddon Valley. It stands as a southern ridge of Crinkle Crags, one of the cirque fells at Eskdale’s head. The fell sends out three parallel ridges like a trident’s prongs, with Cold Pike on the western arm. Its summit plateau rises above a broad grassy saddle below, while to the north lies Great Knott, a subsidiary top often grouped with Crinkle Crags. Beyond the summit, the ridge drops steeply over tiered crags called Wrynose Breast toward the Duddon Valley. The fell’s geology shows dacite lava flows at the top and volcanic sandstones to the south. Nearby Red Tarn, a clear shallow pool reputed to hold trout, marks a key junction for walkers. The tarn feeds into Great Langdale Beck via Oxendale and sits beside the wide path from Wrynose Pass to Stool End. Below Cold Pike lies Red Crag Mine, worked briefly from 1860 to 1875 for iron but never profitable. Visitors find three separate summits on the plateau, each topped with a cairn. The highest offers views across Crinkle Crags, the Langdale Pikes and Coniston Fells. On clear days, the Pennines above Windermere and Morecambe Bay over the Duddon Valley appear in the distance. The fell is often climbed from Wrynose Pass car park via Red Tarn, or approached from Great Langdale or Wrynose Bottom. Its position makes it a useful detour on the way to Crinkle Crags.