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Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

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493 mOutlying Fell — South Lakeland+2 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag at 493m (1,617ft) is a top on the long ridge between Bannisdale and Borrowdale, south of Shap, a remote moorland fell giving wide views to the Pennines.

Summit conditions on Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 53 mph, 9.0 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Routes up Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag Planned, not yet walked
21.61 km · ~809 m ascent · ~5½–7¾ h · loop · 9 summits
Hard effort Severe: distance
Park: Lamb Pasture (layby)

A Birkett round in Bannisdale, off to the east of the main fells — nine tops in 21.6 km with 809 m of climbing and a steepest sustained pull of about 26%.

Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →

How hard is Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag?

The shortest way up we hold is Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag — 21.61 km, 809 m of ascent, ~5½–7¾ h. On our scale its hardest axis is distance — Severe.

All axes: length: Severe · steepness: Hard · terrain: Hard · navigation: Hard · exposure: Not assessed.

These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 493 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
12° / 6°
53 mph
9.0 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
10° / 6°
40 mph
7.6 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
10° / 7°
23 mph
2.7 mm (41%)
Fri 30 Oct
9° / 5°
24 mph
0.0 mm (3%)
Sat 31 Oct
8° / 4°
5 mph
0.0 mm (6%)
Sun 1 Nov
8° / 3°
15 mph
0.6 mm (6%)
Mon 2 Nov
6° / -1°
7 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Parking & buses for Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Lamb Pasture (layby) — at the start of Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag
1.7 km from Lamb Pasture.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Swinklebank Crag (layby) — 2.5 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Swinklebank Crag (Ancrow Brow) (1.0 km), Cocklaw Fell (1.4 km), Ancrow Brow North Top (1.7 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Sadgill, Longsleddale (free, limited) — 3.3 km from summit (straight line)
Head of Longsleddale — Kentmere Pike, Shipman Knotts, Grey Crag, Tarn Crag.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
3 more places to park near Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag
High House Bank (layby) — 3.8 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: High House Bank (1.1 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
A6 Shap summit (layby) — 3.8 km from summit (straight line)
High laybys on the old A6 — Wasdale Pike, Crookdale and Borrowdale (Westmorland) fells.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Huck's Brow (free) — 3.9 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: High House Bank (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.

Buses

The nearest bus stop we hold is the 40, 43, 43A, 445, S5 and X6 stop at Kendal, outside Hayton's Garage, 11.9 km of walking from the start — no bus route we hold serves it.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

If you need to get off (the leg from White Howe): As you are now deep into the remote backcountry of the Shap Fells, bailing laterally into the valleys commits you to miles of trackless, exhausting bushwhacking. Stick to the ridge and the fence line and retreat the way you came.

Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag.

We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.

If you need Mountain Rescue

Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.

Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.

If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.

From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (opens in new tab) (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

2.9 km WNWGreat Howe (Longsleddale)494 m · Far Eastern
3.0 km NNWHarrop Pike637 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

21.61 km · ~809 m ascent · loop · ~5½–7¾ h
Hard effort Severe: distance

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: Road walking: about 1.4 km of this route is on the A6, a main road — the first 0.4 km and the last kilometre. Take care with traffic.

Route guide: Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag →

Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.

About Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

The summit shown here is the Birkett top and the fell's high point; the top Wainwright counted for the Outlying Fells is a rocky point about 160 m to the north. Part of the Bannisdale Horseshoe circuit beloved of Birkett baggers. The ridge walk is long and exposed; the terrain is grassy with some rocky outcrops.

Classifications & hill data

Is Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag a Wainwright?

Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag is one of Wainwright's Outlying Fells, not one of the 214 in the Pictorial Guides. It is also on the Birkett list and the Synge list.

Selected lists

493 m
Height
1,617 ft
In feet
NY 5159 0525
Grid ref

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

The summit is also a Birkett.

Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →

Places to stay near this fell

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Other fells near Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag