Red Screes is a fell in the English Lake District, situated between the villages of Patterdale and Ambleside. It may be considered an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells, but is separated from its neighbours by low cols. This gives Red Screes an independence which is reflected in its prominence.
Topography
thumb|left|Sketch map of Red Screes
Red Screes is a ridge of high ground which runs for nearly in a north north-easterly direction from the town of Ambleside, and reaches a maximum height of . This ridge narrows at either end, giving it the shape of a long upturned boat. It is separated from neighbouring fells by Scandale Pass to the west (c.) and Kirkstone Pass to the east (). These two low cols mean that Red Screes is seen as an independent fell when viewed from the south of the Lake District. They also give the fell sufficient prominence to be classified as a Marilyn. There are two minor subsidiary tops: Snarker Pike () on the south ridge and Middle Dodd () on the north ridge. Each of these, however, has very little prominence above the ridge (less than ).
Red Screes forms part of the main watershed of the Lake District, which runs in an east-west direction across the summit and the two adjacent cols. All streams to the north eventually flow into the Solway Firth, and those to the south flow into Morecambe Bay. The boundaries of Red Screes are formed by the four streams in the adjacent valleys. To the south, Scandale Beck drains the western slopes and Stock Ghyll the eastern ones. These both join the River Rothay a few yards apart just to the west of Ambleside. To the north, Caiston Beck drains the western slopes and Kirkstone Beck the eastern ones, and these join where they reach more level ground at the end of the ridge. Thus the boundaries of Red Screes are formed symmetrically by four valleys, with the fell between them, rather than rising at the head of any one of them.
The broad southern ridge rises gently for from Ambleside. The lower slopes have been planted with small areas of mixed woodland and are extensively compartmentalised by an array of dry stone walls. North of the summit, the ridge narrows at Smallthwaite Band, before widening again to the summit of Middle Dodd. Beyond this, the descent is steep and rough though mainly grassy.
The western flanks are also rough, mainly grassy with some rock outcrops, rising steeply from Scandale and from Caiston Glen. The eastern side has been eroded by two steep corries (known at coves in Cumbria). These give it a more rocky appearance, with two miles of screeslope looming above almost the full length of Kirkstone Pass, and well seen from the A592 road which crosses the pass. It is from this view that the fell takes its name. Prominent on Ordnance Survey maps is Kilnshaw Chimney, although in reality this is just a narrow gully beneath the summit.
Summit
The summit area is a broad plateau with a dressing of grass and stones. Two unnamed corries are cut into the eastern face and between them a flat topped promontory juts out with the highest point on its northern edge. A number of large cairns have been built and an Ordnance Survey triangulation column stands nearby. Adjacent to that is a circular stone shelter. A few yards to the south is Red Screes Tarn, a small permanent waterbody with no plant life in evidence. A number of smaller pools can be found after rain. The view is excellent in all directions. Helvellyn is seen to good advantage, beyond the crags of Dove Crag and Fairfield and over Deepdale Hause. High Street and the Far Eastern Fells are seen over the immediate bulk of Caudale Moor. To the west the skyline is formed by the distant Coniston, Bowfell and Scafell fells. The immediate view down the eastern face to the Kirkstone Inn is spectacular.
The lowest (and oldest) rocks, around the base of the fell and on the southern half of the south ridge, belong to the Seathwaite Fell Sandstone Formation. This consists mainly of deposits of bedded volcaniclastic sandstone and siltstone, deposited rapidly in shallow water at a late stage during the volcanic activity. South of Snarker Pike there are more than 800 m of these sediments. Interbedded pyroclastic rocks vary from thin beds of fine tuff to thick units of breccia, and reveal some ongoing volcanic activity during the period of deposition.
Overlying those deposits are rocks of the Lincomb Tarns Tuff Formation, found on the eastern and western sides of the fell and the top of the southern ridge. At present Burlington Stone markets three types of stone called Kirkstone Brathay Blue/Black, Kirkstone Sea Green and Kirkstone Silver Green. Quarrying took place within the Seathwaite Fell Sandstone Formation. The green slate was formed from fine-grained sedimentary rock within that formation, which was later metamorphosed to form slate.
There are also the remains of a trial for copper on the eastern flank, a level being driven into the fell from close to the modern road. The screes which cover the steep eastern slopes above the Kirkstone Pass appear to have a reddish colouration.
Snarker Pike is probably ‘snake peak’ from Old English snaca, a snake, plus pike. In 1764 its name was recorded as Snake Pike. Originally it may have been Snake How (from snaca plus dialect how(e), a hill or mound), which became contracted to Snarker and then had ‘pike’ added. though adders are not uncommon in the Lake District. Pike is a dialect work for a peak or summit, from either Old English pīc or Old Norse pík. This is frequently used for the summit of a fell, and then for the fell itself. Some of these names are ancient, but many are more modern.
Image gallery
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Image:South_ridge_of_Red_Screes.jpg|Looking up the broad south ridge of Red Screes to Snarker Pike and the summit, from near Ambleside.
Image:Red Screes seen over Scandale Pass.jpg|Looking over Scandale Pass to Red Screes. Middle Dodd is on the left.
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<gallery widths="180px" heights="180px" >
Image:Red Screes seen over Middle Dodd.JPG|Red Screes and Middle Dodd seen beyond Brothers Water from the Patterdale Valley. On the right is High Hartsop Dodd.
Image:Middle Dodd and Red Screes seen from Hartsop-above-How.JPG|The north ridge: Middle Dodd and Red Screes, seen from Hartsop-above-How
Image:Red Screes - geograph.org.uk - 741181.jpg|Looking up to the summit of Red Screes from Middle Dodd
Image:Summit of Red Screes - geograph.org.uk - 741117.jpg|The summit of Red Screes
Image:Red Screes - summit tarn.JPG|The summit Tarn on Red Screes
Image:Red Screes seen from car park on Kirkstone Pass.JPG|Red Screes seen from the car park on Kirkstone Pass
Image:Red Screes From Cauldale Moor - geograph.org.uk - 1178350.jpg|Red Screes seen from Cauldale Moor. Notice the unnamed cove below the summit.
Image:Entrance and road to Pets Quarry - geograph.org.uk - 461223.jpg|Entrance to Kirkstone Quarry
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