| Little Cockup | |
| Elevation M: | 395 |
| Prominence: | c. 3 m |
| Listing: | Birkett |
| Location: | Cumbria, England |
| Range: | Lake District, Northern Fells |
Little Cockup is a fell in the Northern Fells area of the Lake District, Cumbria, England. It is located in the Uldale Fells, about 5km (03miles) north of Skiddaw, near the larger fell of Great Cockup to the east, and has an elevation of . Another hill called plain Cockup is about to the south.
Little Cockup is located near the Great Cockup fell and was given its name of Little Cockup to distinguish it from Great Cockup. The name "Cockup" derives from the words in the Old English language for a secluded valley and Black Grouse.[1] Little Cockup has an elevation of .[2]
Little Cockup is smaller and lower than Great Cockup, which is . Little Cockup is often used by fellwalkers and hikers as part of one of several routes to ascend Great Cockup. There is no path up Little Cockup, and walkers have to go through patches of bracken on the way up. There is a circular stone ledge near the top of the fell and on the summit is a cairn with common heather growing around it. Great Cockup and Bassenthwaite Lake can be seen from its summit.[3] [4]
Little Cockup has been referred to in an edition of Punch magazine[5] and was also mentioned in Alfred Wainwright's walking guidebooks about the Lake District alongside Great Cockup. In 2011, Business Weekly published a news story suggesting that the Government of the United Kingdom's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' Technology Strategy Board was considering investing in nearby towns and the area around Little Cockup.[6]
Because the name of Little Cockup is a double entendre,[7] it is often included on lists of rude-sounding place names.[8]