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290 m · Wainwright — North Western Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Castle Crag - the war memorial plaque set into the summit rock, a poppy wreath below and Derwentwater beyond
Wainwright — North Western Fells

Castle Crag

Castle Crag at 290m (951ft) is the lowest of all the Wainwright fells, yet one of the most dramatic — a rocky prow standing sentinel in the narrowest part of the Borrowdale gorge between Grange and Rosthwaite.

290 m
Height
~2–2.5 h
Typical time
+1
Bonus Birkett
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Castle Crag

Written and walked by Lee McCoy

290 mWainwright — North Western Fellssummit is not a Birkett top+1 bonus Birkett within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 290 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Sat 12 Sep): 17° to 9°C, gusts to 34 mph, 19.3 mm of rain forecast.

Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
17° / 9°
💨 34 mph
🌧 19.3 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
16° / 11°
💨 10 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (6%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌦️
17° / 13°
💨 36 mph
🌧 3.8 mm (100%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌧️
16° / 11°
💨 37 mph
🌧 10.6 mm (98%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
12° / 10°
💨 27 mph
🌧 4.1 mm (70%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌧️
12° / 10°
💨 35 mph
🌧 16.8 mm (100%)
Fri 18 Sep
🌧️
13° / 10°
💨 37 mph
🌧 13.8 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 18:50 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 290 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

Castle Crag at a glance

Castle Crag

How long
~2–2.5 h
Height
290 m (951 ft)
Castle Crag - the war memorial plaque set into the summit rock, a poppy wreath below and Derwentwater beyond
© Lee McCoy

Castle Crag at 290m (951ft) is the lowest of all the Wainwright fells, yet one of the most dramatic — a rocky prow standing sentinel in the narrowest part of the Borrowdale gorge between Grange and Rosthwaite. Wainwright described it as 'the finest and most exciting climb in Borrowdale'. The summit, topped by a war memorial, gives extraordinary views of the gorge and the valley beyond. Short and steep from either Grange or Rosthwaite.

Field notes

This is a honeypot Wainwright that I never connected with. It was the first of a longer hike that took in the Birkett of King's How, and I rushed the route. I didn't fully scope it out and I plotted through a mass of slate scree as opposed to a more sensible line. I'm used to challenging conditions, but this just started my head off in the wrong way. I don't particularly like these slate mines — I find them cold, industrial and haunting. I was alone up there and didn't enjoy it. You might.

Routes up Castle Crag

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

Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag
14.1 km · ~4.1 hr
Borrowdale's small rough summits in one round — Castle Crag, King's How, Brund Fell and Great Crag. Nothing higher than 440 m, but with 58 path junctions near the line and four mapped crag features, it is a surprisingly easy day to wander off.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
North Western
Fellranger
Synge
290 m
Height
951 ft
In feet

The short answers

Is Castle Crag a Wainwright?

Castle Crag is a Wainwright. It is also on the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

My hikes over Castle Crag (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Parking & buses for Castle Crag

Best parking to hike Castle Crag

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

Castle Crag (layby) — 0.7 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Castle Crag (0.7 km), King's How - Grange Fell (0.9 km), Grange Fell (Brund Fell) (1.0 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Quay Foot Quarry, Borrowdale (NT, paid) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)
Old quarry car park below the Bowder Stone and Castle Crag. Fees: £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked Aug 2026). Free for NT members (checked Aug 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked Aug 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Rosthwaite (NT, paid) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)
Village car park for the central Borrowdale fells and Watendlath ridge. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked Aug 2026). The National Trust does not allow overnight parking here (NT, checked Aug 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
If it is full: Stonethwaite (roadside, limited) (1.8 km); Quay Foot Quarry, Borrowdale (NT, paid) (1.8 km); Seatoller (NT, paid) (1.8 km)
🚺 Rosthwaite Village (~389 m straight line) — Free · Accessible☕ The Flock-in
Great Crag, west car park (paid) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Castle Crag, King's How - Grange Fell, Grange Fell (Brund Fell) and Great Crag (Stonethwaite) — the 'Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag' route starts 10 m away. Also serves 'The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round)'.
Directions Something changed here?
Great Crag car park (paid) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Dovenest Top (Dovenest Crag) (Stonethwaite Fell), Thornythwaite Fell and Castle Crag — the 'The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round)' route starts 174 m away. Also serves 'Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag'. Paid parking (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (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 Castle Crag by bus

The 77 stops at Rosthwaite General Store (near), 180 m from the start of Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag. The last bus is 20:05 towards Keswick (78), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)
Seasonal (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Castle Crag

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 Castle Crag in cloud

Straightforward

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. 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 Castle Crag 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: Castle Crag (layby), about 0.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Castle Crag (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.

1.1 km NEKing's How - Grange Fell392 m · Central

Routes over Castle Crag

Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great CragRevised
14.11 km · ~795 m ascent · loop · ~4–5.5 h
Summits: Castle CragKing's How - Grange FellGrange Fell (Brund Fell)Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

⬇️ 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 Castle Crag

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag route:

🛖 map (8 m)🚺 map (11 m)🚌 General Store (N bound) (68 m)🚌 General Store (S bound) (82 m)🚌 Howe Lane End (S bound) (337 m)🚌 Howe Lane End (N bound) (339 m)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

The view from Castle Crag

The 360° skyline from Castle Crag

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
Computed 360-degree skyline from Castle Crag25 labelled tops shown (0 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 9 kmHelvellyn · 9 kmSkiddaw South Top · 13 kmGreat Gable · 7 kmNethermost Pike · 10 kmEsk Pike · 8 kmBlencathra · 14 kmDollywaggon Pike · 10 kmHigh Raise · 7 kmJenkin Hill · 12 kmCombe Head · 5 kmLong Side · 12 kmLonscale Fell · 12 kmColdbarrow Fell · 5 kmBase Brown · 5 kmDovenest Top · 5 kmMungrisdale Common · 15 kmHigh Seat · 4 kmBleaberry Fell · 5 kmEagle Crag · 5 kmGreat Crag · 2 kmGrange Fell · 2 kmRosthwaite Fell · 4 kmCat Bells · 4 kmKing's How · 1 kmScafell · 10 kmGreat End · 8 kmHigh Crag · 10 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 12 kmKnowe Crags · 13 kmGlaramara · 6 kmLow White Stones · 7 kmLow Saddle · 5 kmMiddle Crag · 4 km
What you can see from Castle Crag, by direction
  • North: Skiddaw Lesser Man (12 km), Jenkin Hill (12 km), Lonscale Fell (12 km), Skiddaw Little Man (12 km), Lonscale Pike (12 km), Carl Side (12 km), Long Side (12 km), Skiddaw South Top (13 km), Ullock Pike (13 km)
  • North-east: High Seat (4 km), Bleaberry Fell (5 km), Knowe Crags (13 km), Gategill Fell Top (13 km), Blencathra (14 km), Doddick Fell (14 km), Mungrisdale Common (15 km)
  • East: Watendlath Fell (4 km), Bell Crags (5 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (9 km), Helvellyn (9 km), Nethermost Pike (10 km), High Crag (10 km), Dollywaggon Pike (10 km)
  • South-east: Eagle Crag (5 km), Low Saddle (5 km), Coldbarrow Fell (5 km), Low White Stones (7 km), High Raise (7 km)
  • South: Dovenest Top (5 km), Combe Head (5 km), Glaramara (6 km), Allen Crags (8 km), Great End (8 km), Esk Pike (8 km), Broad Crag (9 km), Scafell Pike (9 km)
  • South-west: Base Brown (5 km), Green Gable (6 km), Great Gable (7 km), Scafell (10 km)

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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Castle Crag

Castle Crag waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when the sun is up for 39 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 05:16 against an almanac sunrise of 04:37. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the north-east from here (53.1°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.85°.

0°40°50°60°70°05:16
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 lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer05:16 BST ±5.0 min04:37+39 min
Equinox06:45 GMT ±5.0 min06:16+29 min
Midwinter09:08 GMT ±5.0 min08:33+35 min

The northern horizon stands at about 3.77° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Castle Crag

Castle Crag loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when last light is 143 minutes before almanac sunset — 19:30 against 21:53. The sun goes down to the west-north-west from here (287.1°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 17.09°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer19:30 BST ±5.0 min21:53-143 min
Equinox17:01 GMT ±5.0 min18:27-86 min
Midwinter14:51 GMT ±5.0 min15:49-58 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 Castle Crag. 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.

Castle Crag is one of our picked Lake District viewpoints — what you can see from it, when the light is best, and where to park.

What you can see from Castle Crag

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
33Wainwrights in view+3 marginal
—Sea in viewnone from here
All 33 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Grange Fell (Brund Fell), Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Cat Bells (Catbells), High Seat, Eagle Crag, Base Brown, Bleaberry Fell, Sergeant's Crag, Glaramara, Ullscarf, Walla Crag, Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), Green Gable, Great Gable, High Raise (High White Stones), Allen Crags, Great End, Esk Pike, Latrigg, Scafell Pike, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Dollywaggon Pike, Scafell, Dodd (Skiddaw), Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Little Man, Carl Side, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Mungrisdale Common

How Castle Crag’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

Seatoller House B&B guest house

about 1.6 km from the start, in a straight line

Two named family rooms (Rabbit and Stag), both large with a private bathroom opposite, plus a dog policy precise enough to plan around — dogs in, but never in the dining room and dried off at the back door. The catch is timing: breakfast runs 8.00–8.30 only, which is late for a long Ullscarf day, and dinner is a single 7pm sitting that must be pre-booked 48 hours ahead if you did not book direct. It also shuts for the winter.

Worth knowing: “Well behaved dogs are allowed, they are not allowed in the dining room at any time,Please clean and dry all dogs on entering Seatoller via the back door.”

The house is 400 years old, has taken guests for more than a century, and is the largest building in the hamlet of Seatoller; every bedroom is named for a local animal — Badger, Eagle, Osprey, Otter, Owl, Rabbit, Squirrel, Stag, Hedgehog and the Bakehouse annexe.

  • Dogs “Well behaved dogs are allowed, they are not allowed in the dining room at any time,Please clean and dry all dogs on entering Seatoller via the back door.”
  • Family rooms “Rabbit Large Family room, Private bathroom directly opposite, great views of garden & Fells”
  • Evening meal “dinner is a set menu served at 7.00pm with the exception of Wednesdays, when Dinner is not served”
  • Parking “There are 10 bedrooms all with private bathrooms, a large award winning garden surrounding the house and ample private car parking.”

Worth knowing before you book

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

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.

Frequently asked questions about Castle Crag

Is Castle Crag a hard walk?

No — it's short and manageable for most walkers, though the finish has character: the final climb zig-zags up old slate spoil, steep and loose enough to want boots and a bit of care, especially coming down in the wet.

At 290 m (951 ft) it's the smallest fell in Wainwright's 214, and the reward-per-step from the summit — Derwentwater one way, the Jaws of Borrowdale the other — is out of all proportion.

How long does the Castle Crag walk take?

About 1.5–2 hours as a short round from Grange or Rosthwaite. Our walked circuit takes in Castle Crag with Brund Fell and Great Crag for a fuller Borrowdale day of about 14 km.

Where do you park for Castle Crag?

Grange (roadside and small paid options — fills early in summer) or Rosthwaite (National Trust car park). Borrowdale's 78 bus stops at both, and arriving by bus beats circling for a space on a fine weekend.

What did Wainwright think of Castle Crag?

He made it the only fell under 1,000 ft to get its own chapter — a measure of how highly he rated it. He wrote of it with unusual warmth as a small fell of exceptional character, guarding the Jaws of Borrowdale. (As ever, read his own words in the North Western Fells volume — they're better than any summary.)

The summit also carries a war memorial to the men of Borrowdale, and the top is riddled with old slate workings — keep children close around the quarry edges.

Is this the same Castle Crag as the ones at Haweswater and Thirlmere?

No — Lakeland has several Castle Crags. This is the famous Borrowdale one. The others with pages here are Castle Crag (Mardale), the hillfort spur above Haweswater, and Castle Crag (Shoulthwaite) near Thirlmere — both fine, much quieter objectives.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-07-20 · Suggest a question or correction

Other fells near Castle Crag