Cumbrian Toponymy

I was in the Lake District for a short break last weekend. It's a beautiful part of the world, and also historically interesting.

I was fascinated by the survival of traces of old English and old Welsh (or 'Cumbric') in the local dialect. One example is the old method of counting sheep, still remembered by many older inhabitants in Cumbria, Yorkshire and Northumberland: "Yan, tan, tether, mether, pip...". Music fans might recognise these peculiar numerals from the chorus of the sad but lovely song Old Molly Metcalfe by English chanson singer Jake Thackray.

It's also a part of the country with some very interesting place names, reflecting the rich cultural inheritance of the area - Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Irish, Viking, Scot. I didn't manage quite as much hillwalking as would have been good for me, but I thought it might be edifying to look up the ten highest peaks in the Lake District. For general information, here they are, in ascending order of height:

Scarface Pike
Trumpton Pike
Grange Hill
Big Egg
Little Egg
Adolf Pike
Cuthbert's Knob
Furby Knoll
Craig David
Wazzock

Postscript: a friend visited the Lake District the following weekend. He told me: "I've climbed Craig David. I got there on Monday, set off on Tuesday, reached the top on Wednesday..."