Crag Fell

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited May 2025

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523 mWainwright — Western Fells+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

Crag Fell rises steeply above the southern shore of Ennerdale Water in the Western Fells, its craggy face — home to the Crag Fell Pinnacles — falling towards the lake.

Summit conditions on Crag Fell

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 60 mph, 1.2 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.

Wind on the top

Past the line

55 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 51 mph times our exposure factor of 1.08. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 60 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS (opens in new tab) describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.

Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.

Also checked cold: feels like 3 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 41 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20; rain: 1.2 mm in the day, under our 6 mm line. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.

Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.

Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; 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 Crag Fell

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

Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg Walked by Lee

13.07 km · ~623 m ascent · ~3½–5 h · loop · 4 summits

Moderate effort Moderate: distance, steepness and navigation

Park: Flat Fell (verge)

Four tops in the far western fells — Grike, Crag Fell, Whoap and Lank Rigg — in 13.1 km and 623 m.

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 →

Is Crag Fell an easy walk?

Among the easier western fells, yes. Our round with Grike and Lank Rigg is 13.1 km with 623 m of ascent, and we grade its steepness moderate — a grade fewer than one in four of our 198 routes earns.

The one thing to respect is the northern edge above Ennerdale Water, which is genuinely craggy and drops steeply to the lake. Stay on the crest and enjoy one of the best views of Ennerdale there is; the rest of the round is rough grass, with navigation graded moderate.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 523 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°

60 mph

1.2 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

10° / 7°

42 mph

3.0 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

10° / 8°

27 mph

0.1 mm (45%)

Fri 30 Oct

10° / 7°

25 mph

0.2 mm (12%)

Sat 31 Oct

9° / 3°

8 mph

6.0 mm (14%)

Sun 1 Nov

8° / 1°

12 mph

0.4 mm (2%)

Mon 2 Nov

7° / -2°

7 mph

0.0 mm (2%)

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)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Crag Fell

Parking

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

Flat Fell (verge) — at the start of Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg

0.7 km from Flat Fell.

Directions Something changed here?

Bleach Green, Ennerdale (free) — 1.5 km from summit (straight line)

At the western end of Ennerdale Water, for the lakeshore path. Fees: Free (not National Trust), per NT Ennerdale page (NT, checked August 2026). UU Ennerdale page states it has 'no plans to close or introduce car parking charges at any of the United Utilities car parks in the Ennerdale valley' - i.e. no charge currently applies (United Utilities, checked August 2026). If it is full, the National Park's car-parks directory (read 12 September 2026) says to try Bowness Knott car park.

Directions Something changed here?

Bleach Green, north-west (free) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)

At the west end of Ennerdale Water, 130 m north-west of Bleach Green car park, by the road in. The 'Round Ennerdale Water from Bowness Knott' route passes about 490 m away on foot (it joins at about km 8); 'Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg' starts 4.3 km away on foot, on the Cold Fell road. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

3 more places to park near Crag Fell

Ennerdale Bridge car park — 3.3 km from summit (straight line)

In Ennerdale Bridge village, beside the Cold Fell road. The nearest route starts are 'Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg', 2.3 km on foot on the Cold Fell road, and 'Birketts by Kirkland', 2.6 km on foot. Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.

Directions Something changed here?

Cold Fell road (verge) — 3.3 km from summit (straight line)

Verge parking on the Calder Bridge–Ennerdale road for Lank Rigg and Ponsonby Fell.

Directions Something changed here?

Blakeley Raise (verge, east) — 3.6 km from summit (straight line)

0.7 km from Blakeley Raise.

Directions 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 77 and 77A stop at Buttermere, outside Court Hotel, 14.3 km of walking from the start — no bus route we hold serves it. It is a seasonal service too: 1 November 2026 is its last day of the year (confirmed with the operator, 29 August 2026); it returns on 22 March 2027.

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

Hazards on Crag Fell

Notes from the Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg route

If you need to get off (the leg from Grike): Retrace your steps 1.4 km back along the fence line to Grike and descend via the main Kinniside track.

Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Crag Fell.

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.

Navigating in cloud

Care needed

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of steep ground within half a kilometre of the summit. Take care in poor visibility — carry map and compass, and know how to use them.

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 Crag Fell compares with all 214: the Clag Index (experimental).

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 Crag Fell

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

1.5 km SWhoap511 m · Western

1.9 km NEBowness Knott333 m · Western

2.3 km NEBrown How (Ennerdale)330 m · Western

2.8 km NEHerdus562 m · Western

2.9 km WSWBlakeley Raise389 m · Western

Routes over Crag Fell

Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg

13.07 km · ~623 m ascent · loop · ~3½–5 h

Moderate effort Moderate: distance, steepness and navigation

Summits: GrikeCrag FellWhoap Lank Rigg

Download GPX Walked by Lee, May 2025

Route guide: Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg →

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 Crag Fell

From the top there is a memorable view straight down the length of Ennerdale to Pillar and the High Stile range, with the Anglers' Crag path tracing the water below. It is usually climbed from Ennerdale Bridge or the Cold Fell road, often on a round with Grike and Caw Fell. A modest height for a fell with such a big outlook — one of the finest lower viewpoints in the west.

My Strava hikes over Crag Fell

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg (opens in new tab) — 13.1 km · 630 m ascent · 2h 48m moving · 24 May 2025

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Crag Fell a Wainwright?

Crag Fell is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Fellranger list and the HuMP list.

Selected lists

523 m

Height

1,716 ft

In feet

NY 0972 1438

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 →

The view from Crag Fell

The 360° skyline from Crag Fell

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

The skyline as a list, by direction

North: Blake Fell (6 km), Carling Knott (6 km)
North-east: Herdus (3 km), Whiteless Pike (10 km), Grasmoor (10 km), Thirdgill Head Man (10 km), Wandope (10 km), Whiteside (10 km), Whiteside East Top (11 km), Knott Rigg (11 km), Crag Hill (11 km), Gasgale Crags (11 km), Ill Crag (11 km), Sail (12 km), Hopegill Head (12 km), Ard Crags (12 km), Causey Pike (14 km), Skiddaw (22 km), Skiddaw North Top (22 km)
East: Starling Dodd (5 km), Red Pike (6 km), High Stile (7 km), Black Crag (7 km), Pillar (8 km), High Crag (8 km), Robinson (11 km), Brandreth (12 km), Grey Knotts (12 km), Combe Head (16 km), Ullscarf (20 km), Cofa Pike (26 km), Fairfield (26 km)
South-east: Caw Fell (5 km), Haycock (6 km), Steeple (7 km), Scoat Fell (7 km)
South: Whitfell (22 km), Burn Moor (23 km), Buck Barrow (24 km), Black Combe (29 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (168 km, Ireland), Merrick (98 km, Scotland), Broad Law (109 km, Scotland), Snaefell (75 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (98 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Fleet (80 km, Scotland), Corserine (94 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (91 km, Scotland).

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Crag Fell

Crag Fell waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when the sun is up for 21 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 08:55 against an almanac sunrise of 08:34. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (136.0°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 1.99°.

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	04:46 BST ±5.0 min	04:38	+8 min
Equinox	06:27 GMT ±5.0 min	06:17	+10 min
Midwinter	08:55 GMT ±5.0 min	08:34	+21 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.2°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Crag Fell

Crag Fell holds the light. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does the sun leave this summit before almanac sunset — the ground falls away westward rather than standing over you, and at midsummer it is still in the sun 3 minutes after the valley has lost it.

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	21:57 BST ±5.0 min	21:54	+3 min
Equinox	18:33 GMT ±5.0 min	18:28	+5 min
Midwinter	15:57 GMT ±5.0 min	15:50	+7 min

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 Crag Fell

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

32Wainwrights in view+3 marginal

173 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction

2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.

Far horizons

Slieve Binnian Northern IrelandWSW · 173 km clear
Slieve Donard Northern IrelandW · 168 km clear
Merrick ScotlandNW · 99 km clear
Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 75 km clear
Criffel ScotlandNNW · 50 km clear
Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 39 km in view
Irish Sea open waterNW · 21 km in view

All 32 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Grike, Lank Rigg, Great Borne, Gavel Fell, Starling Dodd, Caw Fell, Blake Fell, Haycock, Red Pike (Buttermere), Steeple, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), High Stile, Pillar, High Crag (Buttermere), Whiteless Pike, Haystacks (Buttermere), Grasmoor, Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), Wandope, Robinson, Knott Rigg, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Sail, Hopegill Head, Brandreth, Grey Knotts, Ard Crags, Causey Pike, Graystones (Graystones North Top), Ullscarf, Binsey, Fairfield

How the view from Crag Fell compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed

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 Crag Fell. 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.

Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. 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.

Frequently asked questions about Crag Fell

Is Crag Fell an easy walk? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Crag Fell

Summit conditions on Crag Fell

Wind on the top

Routes up Crag Fell

Is Crag Fell an easy walk?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Crag Fell

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Crag Fell

Notes from the Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg route

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Crag Fell

Routes over Crag Fell

About Crag Fell

My Strava hikes over Crag Fell

Classifications & hill data

Is Crag Fell a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from Crag Fell

The 360° skyline from Crag Fell

Sunrise and sunset on Crag Fell

Last light — when the sun leaves Crag Fell

What you can see from Crag Fell

Frequently asked questions about Crag Fell

Other fells near Crag Fell