Original Paintings of Wastwater and Scafell

by Sandra Hugill

The character of the Lake District owes much to its geology, which is complex. The rock formations, although not as ancient as those to be found in the Scottish Highlands, have been similarly folded and uplifted before being subjected to the actions of glaciers and meltwater. The valleys and lakes radiate outwards like the spokes of a wheel and at its rocky heart stands England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike, 978m (3,210ft) overlooking its deepest lake, Wastwater, perhaps the most awe-inspiring and most visited of all the lakes and embraced by an amphitheatre of peaks including Great Gable, Lingmell and Yewbarrow.