Brock Crags - the summit cairn's stack of angular stones, with Patterdale and the head of Ullswater below under low cloud

Wainwright — Far Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Brock Crags at 561m (1,841ft) is a craggy little summit above Hayeswater, sitting between Angletarn Pikes and Rest Dodd on the ridge above Patterdale.

561 m

Height

~2.5–3 h

Typical time

Bonus Birkett

See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy

561 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+1 bonus Birkett within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 561 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 9°C, gusts to 20 mph, 1.7 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep

🌦️

12° / 9°

💨 20 mph

🌧 1.7 mm (100%)

Sat 12 Sep

🌧️

15° / 9°

💨 48 mph

🌧 19.8 mm (100%)

Sun 13 Sep

🌦️

12° / 6°

💨 12 mph

🌧 0.3 mm (62%)

Mon 14 Sep

🌧️

14° / 8°

💨 32 mph

🌧 11.3 mm (100%)

Tue 15 Sep

🌦️

14° / 8°

💨 35 mph

🌧 4.3 mm (89%)

Wed 16 Sep

🌦️

11° / 8°

💨 31 mph

🌧 2.0 mm (78%)

Thu 17 Sep

🌦️

11° / 8°

💨 36 mph

🌧 3.2 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 561 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Brock Crags (Wainwright) at a glance

Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Brock Crags at 561m (1,841ft) is a craggy little summit above Hayeswater, sitting between Angletarn Pikes and Rest Dodd on the ridge above Patterdale. Wainwright noted its fine views across to the High Street range and down to Hayeswater — one of the most secluded of the Lakeland tarns. The summit is most naturally reached as part of the Hayeswater circuit from Hartsop, combined with The Knott and Rest Dodd. A pleasant, quiet fell that rewards those who explore the less-travelled ridges above Patterdale.

Field notes

This is a summit that I always thought was a cheap bag as it's so close to many routes in the shape of the National Trust honesty car park to the east of Hartsop, or even the bus stop in the village. But it now holds higher esteem than my original estimations now I've visited it. The clear view you have over Brother's Water is pleasant, it's got it's own tarn, albeit much smaller and less interesting than Angel Tarn but as a one-Wainwright route this would be relatively unchallenging for most and much less trafficked than Place Fell or Angeltarn Pikes.

Routes up Brock Crags (Wainwright)

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

Angletarn Pikes and the Martindale round

22.2 km · ~6.7 hr · Hard

A long, quiet circuit of the Far Eastern fells above Patterdale — over Rest Dodd and out to the remote peak of The Nab, then back across Brock Crags to the twin tops of Angletarn Pikes, and home over Beda Fell and Place Fell. Twenty-two kilometres and six summits in some of the emptiest country in the National Park.

Brock Crags, Angletarn Pikes, Beda Fell & Place Fell

19.7 km · ~5.7 hr · Hard

A big, varied Far Eastern round above Patterdale and the quiet Boredale and Bannerdale valleys — over Brock Crags to lovely Angle Tarn (one of the prettiest sheets of water in the Lakes), along the grassy whaleback of Beda Fell, and up characterful Place Fell for its superb view down Ullswater. Nearly 20 km and a proper day out, but rarely hard underfoot.

Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells

22.5 km · ~6.6 hr

Rest Dodd, The Nab, Brock Crags and the Angletarn Pikes — six tops in 22.5 km with 1,279 m of climbing. Severe for both length and steepness and hard for navigation and exposure: about 6.6 hours and a full day out.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright

Far Eastern

Birkett

Fellranger

Synge

561 m

Height

1,841 ft

In feet

NY 4166 1366

Grid ref

The short answers

Is Brock Crags (Wainwright) a Wainwright?

Brock Crags (Wainwright) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Where do you park for Brock Crags (Wainwright)?

The nearest car park we hold is Hartsop village (free, donation), about 0.9 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid), 1.4 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

How hard is Brock Crags (Wainwright)?

The shortest way up we hold is Brock Crags, Angletarn Pikes, Beda Fell & Place Fell — 19.7 km, 1070 m of ascent, about 5.7 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Hard.

All axes: steepness: Hard · length: Hard · navigation: Moderate · terrain: Moderate · exposure: Easy.

My hikes over Brock Crags (Wainwright) (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells (opens in new tab) — 23.1 km · 1463 m ascent · 6h 01m moving · 14 Aug 2026

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Parking & buses for Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Best parking to hike Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Hartsop village (free, donation) — 0.9 km from summit (straight line)

For Hartsop Dodd, Gray Crag, High Street via Hayeswater, Brock Crags.

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) (0.9 km)

Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)

Paid car park by Brothers Water — Hartsop above How, Dovedale, Caudale Moor. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37323 (LDNPA, checked Aug 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

Gale Crag (layby) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Middle Dodd, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), High Hartsop Dodd and Gale Crag — the 'Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd' route starts 56 m away. Also serves 'Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Hartsop Dodd car park (free) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Hartsop Dodd (0.9 km), Gale Crag (1.2 km), Brock Crags (Wainwright) (1.6 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Compacted surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Arnison Crag, south-east (layby) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Arnison Crag (0.8 km), Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top) (1.5 km), Angletarn Pikes South Top (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Brock Crags (Wainwright) by bus

The 508 stops at Hartsop, in road end, 20 m from the start of Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells. The last bus is 17:44 towards Penrith (508) and 15:50 towards Keswick (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”

Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)

Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)

The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Brock Crags (Wainwright)

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Navigating Brock Crags (Wainwright) in cloud

Straightforward

Walkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How Brock Crags (Wainwright) compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Hartsop village (free, donation), about 0.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Brock Crags (Wainwright) (within 3 km)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.

2.7 km WSWGale Crag512 m · Eastern

Routes over Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Angletarn Pikes and the Martindale roundPlanned

22.23 km · ~1349 m ascent · loop · ~6.5–9 h · Hard

Summits: Rest Dodd The NabBrock Crags (Wainwright)Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top)Beda Fell (Beda Head)Place Fell

✎️ This is the antidote to Helvellyn on an August Saturday. The Nab is one of the least-visited Wainwrights precisely because of the deer forest, and the reward for the boggy trudge out to it is a summit almost nobody stands on. Angletarn Pikes and its tarn are the prettiest thing in the Far Eastern fells.

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Late spring to autumn. The ground between Rest Dodd and The Nab is notoriously boggy and the navigation is committing in cloud — save this one for a clear day with dry ground underfoot.

⚠️ Warnings: The Nab sits in the Martindale deer forest — England’s oldest deer herd. Access is by a permissive route only; keep to it, keep dogs on a lead, and do not wander. During the autumn rut the estate asks walkers to stay away entirely. Check before you go. The ground either side of The Nab is genuinely boggy — peat hags and wet channels that swallow the path. Expect wet feet and slow going, and do not judge your timings by the distance alone. A big day: over 22 km and 1,350 m of ascent, with navigation graded hard. The high ground is broad, rolling and short of landmarks — in cloud this is a compass-and-pacing exercise. Long, remote and thinly walked. You will not meet many people, which is the joy of it and also the point — carry what you need to get yourself out.

Full route guide ↗

🥾 Walked in part — Lee walked this ground in August 2026; km 0.2–1.4, km 15.9–18.0 of this line are from the map.

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

Brock Crags, Angletarn Pikes, Beda Fell & Place FellPlanned

19.71 km · ~1070 m ascent · loop · ~5.5–7.5 h · Hard

Summits: Brock Crags (Wainwright)Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top)Beda Fell (Beda Head)Place Fell

✎️ A grand tour of the quieter Far Eastern fells, with Angle Tarn and the Ullswater view from Place Fell as the highlights — a long but rewarding round.

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Year-round in good conditions, best in clear weather for the Ullswater and High Street views. A long day — the ridges and cols are boggy in places and slow when wet.

⚠️ Warnings: A long day (nearly 20 km, over 1,000 m of ascent) — start early, carry food, water and layers, and keep an eye on the time and the light. Boggy in places, especially along the Beda Fell ridge and the cols — slow when wet. The higher, quieter ground can be confusing in mist — carry map and compass. Livestock on the lower fells and valleys; keep dogs under close control.

Full route guide ↗

🥾 Walked in part — Lee walked this ground in August 2026; km 8.2–12.2, km 13.7–15.9 of this line are from the map.

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

Finishing of the Far Eastern FellsPlanned

22.5 km · ~1279 m ascent · linear · ~6.5–9 h

Summits: Rest Dodd The NabBrock Crags (Wainwright)Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top)Beda Fell (Beda Head)Place Fell

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

On the hill: terrain and water on Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Angletarn Pikes and the Martindale round route:

🚌 Road End (467 m)

On the Brock Crags, Angletarn Pikes, Beda Fell & Place Fell route:

🛖 map (42 m)🛖 map (55 m)

On the Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells route:

🛖 map (9 m)🛖 map (94 m)🚌 Road End (44 m)🚌 Patterdale Hotel (E bound) (63 m)🚌 Patterdale Hotel (W bound) (93 m)🚌 Cow Bridge car park (233 m)⛺ Patterdale Youth Hostel (428 m)⛺ Patterdale Youth Hostel camp site (454 m)

The view from Brock Crags (Wainwright)

The 360° skyline from Brock Crags (Wainwright)

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys

What you can see from Brock Crags (Wainwright), by direction

North: Little Mell Fell (10 km)
North-east: Red Crag (4 km), Wether Hill (5 km), Loadpot Hill (6 km), Swarth Fell (7 km)
East: Rampsgill Head (3 km), High Raise (3 km)
South-east: The Knott (2 km)
South: Hartsop Dodd (2 km), Caudale Moor (4 km), Thornthwaite Crag (4 km), Red Screes (5 km), Ill Bell (6 km)
South-west: Little Hart Crag (5 km), Dove Crag (5 km), Hart Crag (5 km), High Pike (6 km)
West: Gavel Pike (4 km), St Sunday Crag (5 km), Cofa Pike (6 km), Fairfield (6 km), Catstye Cam (7 km), Nethermost Pike (7 km), Helvellyn (8 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (8 km), White Side (8 km)
North-west: Birkett Fell (8 km), Green Side (8 km), Raise (8 km), Hart Side (8 km), Stybarrow Dodd (9 km), Great Dodd (10 km), Scales Fell (17 km), Blencathra (17 km), Gategill Fell Top (17 km), Knowe Crags (17 km), Atkinson Pike (17 km), Bannerdale Crags (17 km), Bowscale Fell (19 km), Tarn Crags Top (19 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Wisp Hill (86 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (80 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (87 km, Scotland), Dun Rig (119 km, Scotland), Pikethaw Hill (84 km, Scotland), Peel Fell (89 km, England), Blackwood Hill (83 km, Scotland), Law Kneis (100 km, Scotland).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Brock Crags (Wainwright) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when the sun is up for 44 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:16 against an almanac sunrise of 08:32. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (140.8°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 4.02°.

Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.

Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
	First light	Almanac sunrise	Difference
Midsummer	04:42 BST ±5.0 min	04:36	+6 min
Equinox	06:46 GMT ±5.0 min	06:15	+31 min
Midwinter	09:16 GMT ±5.0 min	08:32	+44 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.22°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Brock Crags (Wainwright) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at the March equinox, when last light is 24 minutes before almanac sunset — 18:02 against 18:26. The sun goes down to the west from here (266.6°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.09°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
	Last light	Almanac sunset	Difference
Midsummer	21:36 BST ±5.0 min	21:52	-16 min
Equinox	18:02 GMT ±5.0 min	18:26	-24 min
Midwinter	15:33 GMT ±5.0 min	15:48	-15 min

Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Brock Crags (Wainwright). Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes. These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.

What you can see from Brock Crags (Wainwright)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.

43Wainwrights in view+3 marginal

—Sea in viewnone from here

All 43 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Rest Dodd, Hartsop Dodd, The Knott (High Street), The Nab, Arnison Crag, Rampsgill Head, High Raise (High Street), Place Fell, High Street, Birks, Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How), High Hartsop Dodd, Beda Fell (Beda Head), Thornthwaite Crag, Middle Dodd, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), St Sunday Crag, Wether Hill, Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), Dove Crag, Red Screes, Glenridding Dodd, Hart Crag, Birkhouse Moor, Loadpot Hill, Fairfield, Ill Bell, High Pike (Scandale), Hallin Fell, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Nethermost Pike, Helvellyn, Raise, White Side, Hart Side, Stybarrow Dodd, Great Dodd, Little Mell Fell, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Bannerdale Crags, Bowscale Fell

How Brock Crags (Wainwright)’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Places to stay near this fell

Greenbank Farm Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest house

about 1.8 km from the start, in a straight line

Ranked first despite being the eighth-nearest candidate because it answers more of the 6pm questions than anything else in the radius, and it answers them in its own sentences with prices attached: drying facilities, evening meals from £14.00, packed lunches at £6.00, and the only stated room composition on an independent B&B here. Its family room is a room for three, not four — which is exactly the fact a family of four needs before booking, and the reason a bare family_rooms=yes would have been a worse row than this one.

The farmhouse sits below Arnison Crag and looks across at Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes — the two fells this start's routes climb.

Drying room “We also have drying facilities and a large patio and garden to enjoy the view.”
Family rooms “Family: Room for three with a double and one single bed.”
Evening meal “We offer hearty home-cooked breakfasts and evening meals as well as packed lunches if required.”
Packed lunch “Packed Lunches £6.00”

Worth knowing before you book

These places state on their own site that they do not take children.

Patterdale Youth Hostel (YHA Patterdale) (opens in new tab) “Under 12s are not permitted in dorm rooms.”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Is Brock Crags an easy walk?

Yes, in itself — a low knobbly fell above Hartsop with a short climb and a rocky little top, and nothing on it that asks anything of you beyond a bit of route-finding among the outcrops.

Our routes over it are long chains rather than the short valley climb most people do: 19.7 km with 1070 m of ascent with Angle Tarn, Beda Fell and Place Fell, rated Hard. From Hartsop alone it is a considerably smaller morning than that.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Brock Crags (Wainwright) at a glance

Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Field notes

Routes up Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Classifications & hill data

The short answers

Is Brock Crags (Wainwright) a Wainwright?

Where do you park for Brock Crags (Wainwright)?

How hard is Brock Crags (Wainwright)?

My hikes over Brock Crags (Wainwright) (Strava)

Parking & buses for Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Best parking to hike Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Getting to Brock Crags (Wainwright) by bus

Hazards on Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Navigating Brock Crags (Wainwright) in cloud

Map & nearby Birketts

Birketts near Brock Crags (Wainwright) (within 3 km)

Routes over Brock Crags (Wainwright)

On the hill: terrain and water on Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Water & shelter on the way up

The view from Brock Crags (Wainwright)

The 360° skyline from Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Sunrise and sunset on Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Last light — when the sun leaves Brock Crags (Wainwright)

What you can see from Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Places to stay near this fell

Greenbank Farm Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest house

Worth knowing before you book

Frequently asked questions about Brock Crags (Wainwright)

Other fells near Brock Crags (Wainwright)