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. Mungrisdale Common carries a very small cairn at the approximate summit, constructed only after Wainwright first encouraged climbing of the fell by including it in his 1962 guidebook. Two more prominent ancient cairns also grace the fell, one to the west of the summit and the other on a tongue of ground between Sinen Gill and Roughten Gill. A small stone pillar (marked 'stake' on OS maps) stands on the watershed at the head of Glenderaterra Beck and a further prominent Cloven Stone marks its continuation higher up the slope. Both have served as boundary stones. Geology In common with much of the Northern Fells, the Kirk Stile Formation of the Skiddaw Group predominates. It is composed of laminated mudstone and siltstone with greywacke sandstone and is of Ordovician age. Unusually however, it is overlain by considerable beds of peat in the vicinity of Mungrisdale Common. The Glenderaterra valley was the scene of some mining activity in the 19th century. The northern workings were first named Glenderaterra Mine and later Brundholme Mine. They were driven primarily for lead but also copper ore and baryte. The returns were never economic, which led to the mine being abandoned in 1920. A little to the south was Blencathra Mine, which was worked unsuccessfully until about 1880. Summit Wainwright's displeasure was not restricted to Mungrisdale Common's profile: he also remarked: "Any one of a thousand tufts of tough bent and cotton-grass might lay claim to crowning the highest point… A thousand tufts, yet not one can be comfortably reclined upon, this being a summit that holds indefinitely all the water that falls upon it." The view includes a striking window to the southwest between Lonscale Fell and Blencathra, revealing unexpectedly a run of high fells from Pillar to Crinkle Crags. Elsewhere, the view is of the nearby fells surrounding Skiddaw Forest. Ascents "For people who won't be told" Wainwright suggested ascents from Keswick or Threlkeld via the Glenderaterra valley. An alternative would be from Scales or Mungrisdale via the Glenderamackin col. Most ascents are likely to be as part of a climb of Blencathra, the intervening ground being gentle of gradient. Trivia Apart from the sub 1,000 ft Castle Crag, Mungrisdale Common is