depression at the head of Rossett Gill, to make for Rossett Pike. The continuation of this ridge provides the connection to the Central Fells, forming the northern wall of Great Langdale as it crosses Martcrag Moor, bound for the Langdale Pikes. Geology The predominant rocks on Bowfell are the volcaniclastic sandstones of the Seathwaite Fell Formation, with interbeds of andesite outcropping near the summit. The pebbly sandstone and breccias of the Pavey Ark Member also cross the fell. Summit The summit area is a ridge running north–south with the final pyramid near the south-west corner and crags on three sides. The southern face is formed by Bowfell Links, a wall of rock scarred by nine vertical gullies and with corresponding tongues of scree at its foot, all of which are loose rock channels. The eastern face includes Flat Crag, Cambridge Crag and the Bowfell Buttress, the latter two providing good climbing. Flat Crag includes the Great Slab, a tilted sheet of rock. At the base of Great Slab a spring gushes forth from the bare rock: Wainwright claims, "And no water anywhere else tastes better." Below these faces runs the Climber's Traverse, a narrow path providing a high-level walking route to the summit from the highest point of The Band. This largely horizontal line contours around beneath many of Bowfell's steeper crags, finally reaching the summit via a rocky route known as the River of Boulders, running parallel to the Great Slab. Finally on the north- east corner of the summit ridge is Hanging Knotts, a complex series of faces and outcrops looking down upon Angle Tarn. The highest point carries not so much a cairn as a rearrangement of some loose rock at the apex of the pyramid. Every major group of fells in Lakeland is seen from this vantage-point — the Helvellyn range from end to end and the Langdale Pikes across Langdale — according to Wainwright, the piece of the view is Scafell Pike towering above Eskdale. Panorama Ascents The Band provides the most popular means of ascent. Other routes from Langdale climb via Rossett Gill and Three Tarns. Bowfell can be reached from Stonethwaite via Angle Tarn although the way is long. Equally time-consuming although perhaps more picturesque is the long march up Eskdale from Brotherikeld, gaining the ridge at either Ore Gap or Three Tarns. Indirect climbs can also be made via Crinkle Crags, Esk