Scout Scar

Scout Scar, also called Underbarrow Scar, is a hill in the English Lake District, west of Kendal, Cumbria and above the village of Underbarrow. It reaches {{convert|771|ft|m}}.{{cite web|title=Scout Scar|url=http://peakery.com/explore/?nav=1&q=scout+scar|website=Peakery|accessdate=9 August 2015}} Scout Scar is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book The Outlying Fells of Lakeland,{{cite book|last=Wainwright|first=A.|authorlink=Alfred Wainwright|title=The Outlying Fells of Lakeland|year=1974|publisher=Westmorland Gazette|location=Kendal|pages=2–7|chapter=Scout Scar}} but the summit he describes is a lower summit at {{convert|764|ft|m}}, 270m south of the highest point.{{cite web|title=Scout Scar|url=http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?rf=2692|website=Hill Bagging|accessdate=11 August 2015}}{{cite web|title=Scout Scar (Wainwright summit)|url=http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?rf=2692|website=Hill Bagging|accessdate=11 August 2015}} Wainwright's anticlockwise recommended route also includes Cunswick Scar at {{convert|679|ft|m}}.{{cite web|title=Cunswick Scar|url=http://peakery.com/cunswick-scar-united-kingdom/|website=Peakery|accessdate=9 August 2015}} The higher summit of Scout Scar has a topographic prominence of 109m and is thus classified as a HuMP, a hill with a prominence of at least 100m.

Scout Scar and Cunswick Scar are both formed of Carboniferous Limestone and dip gently towards the east with a steep western scarp slope.{{cite web|title=Geology Factsheet|url=http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/171188/factsheet_geology.pdf|publisher=Lake District National Park Authority, Education Service|accessdate=1 September 2012|page=3|format=pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021194930/https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/171188/factsheet_geology.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2019}}

At the lower, southern, summit there is a shelter, locally known as "The Mushroom". It was built in 1912 as a memorial to King George V, and restored in 1969 and again in 2003.{{cite news|last=Griffin|first=Harry|title=Country diary: One small step|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/oct/20/ruralaffairs|accessdate=27 April 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=20 October 2003}} The structure includes a toposcope indicating the Central Fells and other landmarks.

Accessible route

There is a car park in an old limestone quarry not far from the summit of Scout Scar. The Lake District National Park Authority includes a walk on Scout Scar in its "Miles without stiles" project for accessible routes, and describes it as "A short, steep walk to one of the best views across the entire southern lakes".{{cite web|title=Miles Without Stiles 4: Scout Scar|url=http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/thingstodo/walking/mileswithoutstiles/mws4|work=Lake District National Park|accessdate=26 October 2013}} This route, accessible for "robust pushchairs", leads from the car park to a viewpoint below the top of the scar.

Protection

Scout and Cunswick Scars have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for their flora and fauna.{{cite web | url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1001960.pdf | title=Scout and Cunswick Scars | publisher=Natural England | accessdate=8 August 2021 |date=1989}} In 2005 they were included in a multi-site Special Area of Conservation, Morecambe Bay Pavements, which includes other limestone outcrops in Cumbria and Lancashire.

References

External links

{{cite book|last=Dewey|first=Gillian|title=A Geological Walk from Kendal: Sites to visit on Cunswick Scar and Scout Scar|publisher=Cumbria RIGS|author2=Michael Dewey | url=http://www.cumbriarigs.co.uk/?download=kendal_geological_walk.pdf | pages=12}}

{{coord|54|19|32|N|2|47|25|W|display=title|region:GB-CMA_type:mountain|}}

Category:Fells of the Lake District

Category:Mountains and hills of the United Kingdom with toposcopes

Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cumbria