Dove Crag

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited June 2023

Home › Fells › Dove Crag

792 mWainwright — Eastern Fells+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

Dove Crag at 792m (2,598ft) takes its name from the impressive cliff on its eastern face above Dovedale — a favourite with rock climbers and a dramatic feature visible from the valley below.

Summit conditions on Dove Crag

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 10° to 4°C, gusts to 59 mph, 13.0 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 53 mph times our exposure factor of 1.26. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 59 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.

Cloud on the top

Past the line

18 out of 100, the clear-top reading

Averaged over the daylight hours, from the forecast’s humidity and low cloud.

The line Our line: a clear-top reading under 20 out of 100, where our scorer says “summit likely clagged in”. There is no outside threshold to cite; it is our estimate. What cloud does to finding the way: navigating in cloud.

Not an observation: cloud lifts and drops within the hour.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

13.0 mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight

The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.

The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.

Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.

Also checked cold: feels like −1 °C, no ice or snow forecast. 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 Dove Crag

Choose the way up before the car park: these three routes start from three places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.

Compared	Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag	Fairfield Horseshoe	Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside
Starts from	Cow Bridge	Rydal (or Ambleside)	Ambleside
Distance and climb	11.87 km, 837 m of climb	16.92 km, 1,009 m of climb	22.39 km, 1,425 m of climb
Time, fast to steady	~3¾–5¼ h	~5–6¾ h	~6¾–9¼ h
Scrambling	Hands for a few steps: the last push onto Hart Crag (about km 4.5).	Hands for a few steps: High Pike and Low Pike, and a short down-climb by Sweden Crag above Low Sweden Bridge (km 9.4–12.2 and km 13.1–13.5). A little easy scrambling in places, but nothing obligatory.	Hands for a few steps: rocky steps between Dove Crag and Hart Crag (km 10.0–11.4).
Exposure	Moderate	Hard	Hard
Navigation	Moderate	Hard	Hard
Steepest stretch	Descent of about 41% at 9.3 km (Severe)	Climb of about 30% at 1.3 km (Hard)	Descent of about 28% at 18.6 km (Hard)
After the summit	Over Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top) and High Hartsop Dodd	Over High Pike (Scandale) and Low Pike	Over Hart Crag, Fairfield, Great Rigg, Heron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell), Heron Pike (Rydal) and Nab Scar
Walked or planned	Walked by Lee, July 2025	Walked by Lee, April 2023	Walked by Lee, April 2023
Car park at the start	Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid)	Pelter Bridge, Rydal (paid)	Ambleside, Lake Road (paid)
Bus to the start	508 at the start	555, 2.3 km walk from Rydal, at White Moss Common	555, 340 m walk from Ambleside, at Hayes Garden Centre

Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.

Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →

How hard is Dove Crag?

The shortest way up we hold is Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag — 11.87 km, 837 m of ascent, ~3¾–5¼ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.

All axes: steepness: Severe · length: Moderate · terrain: Moderate · navigation: Moderate · exposure: Moderate.

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

Full 7-day forecast

Tue 27 Oct

10° / 4°

59 mph

13.0 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

8° / 4°

41 mph

12.4 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

8° / 6°

28 mph

0.7 mm (33%)

Fri 30 Oct

7° / 5°

29 mph

0.0 mm (23%)

Sat 31 Oct

8° / 0°

12 mph

0.0 mm (18%)

Sun 1 Nov

6° / 0°

13 mph

0.0 mm (10%)

Mon 2 Nov

6° / 0°

16 mph

0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 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 Dove Crag

Parking

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

Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) — at the start of Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag

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

Directions When people arrive, and what it costs →Something changed here?

Pelter Bridge, Rydal (paid) — at the start of Fairfield Horseshoe

For Loughrigg and the Rydal side of the Fairfield Horseshoe. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37305 (LDNPA, checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: White Moss, Lower (paid) (2.4 km, 124 m up); Ambleside, Rydal Road (paid) (1.7 km); White Moss Common, Upper (paid) (2.3 km, 121 m up)

The Old School Room Tea Shop, Rydal Hall (~445 m straight line) — Free The Tea Room The Old School Room Tea Shop Badger Bar & Restaurant

Ambleside, Lake Road (paid) — 0.2 km from the start of Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside (straight line)

South end of town towards Waterhead. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026). 1h £2.60; 2h £4.40; 3h £5.80; 4h £7.40; 6h £8.80; all day £10.60. Early Bird: £1.40 all day if you arrive before 09:00. Motorcycles free. Blue Badge: +1h free. Cash/card/contactless; PayByPhone 9908. 3/7-day passes and permits accepted (W&F council, checked August 2026). Charges apply 08:00-20:00, 7 days a week incl. bank holidays. The council's own page is contradictory about access outside those hours - it says both open all day and open from 8am to 8pm - so do not count on getting in before 08:00 (W&F council, checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

5 more places to park near Dove Crag

A592 south of Windy Corner (car park) — 2.7 km from summit (straight line)

South of Windy Corner on the Kirkstone Pass side, about 480 m south of the Windy Corner bus stops. The nearest route starts are 'Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells', 2.6 km north on foot at Hartsop, and the two at Cow Bridge, 2.9 km north on foot. Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Windy Corner (layby) — 2.8 km from summit (straight line)

On the A592 at Windy Corner, beside the Windy Corner bus stops. The nearest route starts are 'Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells', 2.1 km north on foot at Hartsop, and the two at Cow Bridge, 2.3 km north on foot. Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Middle Dodd, north-east car park (free) — 2.9 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Middle Dodd (0.7 km), Caudale Moor - John Bell's Banner (1.0 km), Red Screes (1.3 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Caudale Bridge (layby) — 3.0 km from summit (straight line)

On the A592 south of Brothers Water, near Caudale Bridge and about 290 m from the Brotherswater Inn bus stops. The nearest route starts are 'Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells', 1.8 km north on foot at Hartsop, and the two at Cow Bridge, 2.0 km north on foot. Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Middle Dodd (layby) — 3.1 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Middle Dodd (0.6 km), Red Screes (0.9 km), St Raven's Edge (1.0 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

Of the pay-and-display machine tickets sold at Cow Bridge from 17 August 2024 to 31 March 2026, 34% were bought before 10am (our count of FOI/2026.500 ticket data). Contains public sector information provided by the Lake District National Park Authority and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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 508 and 509 stop at Hartsop, opposite Cow Bridge, a 30 m walk from the start of Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). The last bus is 19:51 towards Windermere (508) and 15:14 towards Hartsop (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 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.

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

Hazards on Dove Crag

Notes from the Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag route

If you need to get off (the leg from Hart Crag): If the weather turns on the high ridge, decide early between going back the way you came, down the Hartsop Above How ridge, and going on over Dove Crag and Little Hart Crag to Scandale Pass for the path down Caiston Glen. Neither is sheltered.

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

Navigating in cloud

Care needed

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of near-level ground around 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 Dove Crag 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 Dove Crag

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

2.3 km NWCofa Pike823 m · Eastern

2.5 km SWHeron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)621 m · Eastern

2.7 km NEGale Crag512 m · Eastern

3.0 km NGavel Pike784 m · Eastern

Routes over Dove Crag

Fairfield Horseshoe

Summits: Nab Scar Heron Pike (Rydal)Heron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)Great Rigg Fairfield Hart CragDove CragHigh Pike (Scandale)Low Pike

Download GPX Walked by Lee, April 2023

Best season: Any season in good conditions; save the broad, featureless summit for a clear day.

Warnings: Fairfield's broad summit plateau is confusing in cloud — carry a map and compass and take a bearing before descending. A little easy scrambling in places, but nothing obligatory.

Route guide: Fairfield Horseshoe →

Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag

Summits: Gale Crag Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How)Hart CragDove CragLittle Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)High Hartsop Dodd

Download GPX Walked by Lee, July 2025

Route guide: Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag →

Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside

Summits: Red ScreesDove CragHart Crag Fairfield Great Rigg Heron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)Heron Pike (Rydal)Nab Scar

Download GPX Walked by Lee, April 2023

Warnings: Red Screes: The summit plateau drops away into steep, loose scree and crags on more than one side. A simple slip near the edge — especially in wind, cloud or with tired legs on descent — can turn into a long, uncontrolled fall over broken ground. Keep back from the rim and don't shortcut down the screes. Fairfield: Featureless and flat, with steep ground on three sides; in mist it is very easy to walk off on the wrong bearing. A compass and the discipline to trust it are essential — don't rely on cairns.

From the hazard notes for Red Screes · Fairfield, each with its sources.

Route guide: Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside →

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.

On the hill: terrain and water on Dove Crag

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Fairfield Horseshoe route:

Church for Rydal Mount (146 m from the start, straight line) campsite (432 m from the start, straight line) Rydal Hall Youth Centre Bunkhouse (441 m from the start, straight line)

On the Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag route:

Cow Bridge (29 m from the start, straight line) Cow Bridge car park (33 m from the start, straight line) Road End (306 m from the start, straight line)

On the Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside route:

shelter (weather shelter, mapped, not checked; 6 m off the line) bus shelter (65 m off the line) bus shelter (77 m off the line) toilets (30 m off the line) toilets (108 m off the line) toilets (123 m off the line) Loughrigg Avenue (71 m from the start, straight line) Hayes Garden Centre (189 m from the start, straight line) Kelsick Road Stand 1 (256 m from the start, straight line) Ambleside Backpackers (19 m from the start, straight line)

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

About Dove Crag

Wainwright described the crag as one of the finest in the Eastern Fells, though the walkers' path keeps to the broad ridge, back from the crag. The summit is part of the classic Fairfield Horseshoe, and the high-level path along the Fairfield ridge gives good views across to Helvellyn and south to Windermere. An essential part of any full traverse of the Dove Crag-Hart Crag-Fairfield ridge.

Field notes

I've been up here twice, and there's good reason: it's a beautiful fell with lots of space to sit and wonder at this amazing place. There are plenty of rocks to perch on if the weather is inclement. Take your time with this one if possible.

— Lee McCoy, who walked it on 3 of our routes

My Strava hikes over Dove Crag

2 logged hikes pass over this summit:

4 Wainwrights, 3 Kids and a while load of "how far is the car?" (opens in new tab) — 16.0 km · 873 m ascent · 4h 41m moving · 25 June 2023
Bit of a hike in the Lake District (opens in new tab) — 23.0 km · 1488 m ascent · 6h 13m moving · 3 April 2023

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Dove Crag a Wainwright?

Dove Crag is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list, the Fellranger list and the Hewitt list.

Selected lists

792 m

Height

2,598 ft

In feet

NY 3745 1043

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 Dove Crag

The 360° skyline from Dove 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

The skyline as a list, by direction

North: St Sunday Crag (3 km), Stybarrow Dodd (9 km), Great Dodd (11 km)
East: Thornthwaite Crag (6 km), High Street (7 km), Rampsgill Head (7 km), Kidsty Pike (8 km), High Raise (8 km), Harter Fell (9 km)
South-west: Crinkle Crags (14 km), Crinkle Crags (14 km), Crinkle Crags (14 km), Crinkle Crags (14 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (14 km), Great Carrs (14 km), Swirl How (14 km), Brim Fell (16 km), The Old Man of Coniston (16 km)
West: Shelter Crags (14 km), Bowfell (14 km), Great End (15 km), Ill Crag (15 km), Broad Crag (16 km), Green Gable (16 km), Scafell Pike (16 km), Great Gable (16 km), Scafell (17 km), Pillar (20 km), Pillar Rock (20 km), Black Crag (21 km), Red Pike (21 km), High Stile (21 km), High Stile (21 km), Scoat Fell (22 km), Steeple (22 km)
North-west: Fairfield (2 km), Helvellyn (6 km), Catstye Cam (6 km), White Side (7 km), Raise (8 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (174 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (162 km, Wales), Aran Fawddwy (195 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (170 km, Wales), The Cheviot (122 km, England), Arenig Fawr (182 km, Wales), Yr Eifl (194 km, Wales), Craig Cwm Silyn (181 km, Wales).

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 Dove Crag

Dove Crag catches the sun before the valley does. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does this summit wait for first light — the eastern horizon falls away rather than standing over you, and at midsummer the light reaches it 4 minutes before almanac sunrise.

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	04:33 BST ±5.0 min	04:37	-4 min
Equinox	06:14 GMT ±5.0 min	06:15	-1 min
Midwinter	08:29 GMT ±5.0 min	08:32	-3 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.05°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Dove Crag

Dove Crag loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 July, when last light is 22 minutes before almanac sunset — 21:29 against 21:51. The sun goes down to the north-west from here (309.7°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.06°.

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	21:31 BST ±5.0 min	21:52	-21 min
Equinox	18:27 GMT ±5.0 min	18:26	+1 min
Midwinter	15:50 GMT ±5.0 min	15:49	+1 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 Dove Crag

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

80Wainwrights in view+20 marginal

174 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction

1Sea in viewMorecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.

Far horizons

Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 174 km clear
Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 158 km clear
Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSE · 52 km clear
Whernside Yorkshire DalesSE · 46 km clear
Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 40 km clear
Cross Fell North PenninesNE · 39 km clear
Morecambe Bay bay/estuaryS · 37 km in view

All 80 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How), Great Rigg, High Hartsop Dodd, Fairfield, Middle Dodd, Red Screes, Heron Pike (Rydal), Nab Scar, Hartsop Dodd, Birks, Arnison Crag, Brock Crags (Wainwright), Gray Crag, Thornthwaite Crag, Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Loughrigg Fell, Silver How, Froswick, The Knott (High Street), Rest Dodd, High Street, Ill Bell, Place Fell, Tarn Crag (Easedale), Rampsgill Head, Yoke, Kidsty Pike, The Nab, Blea Rigg, High Raise (High Street), Beda Fell (Beda Head), Sergeant Man, Pavey Ark, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Kentmere Pike, Black Fell, Harrison Stickle, Thunacar Knott, Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), Loft Crag, Wether Hill, Hallin Fell, Loadpot Hill, Holme Fell, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Pike of Blisco, Wetherlam, Glaramara, Cold Pike, Arthur's Pike, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Allen Crags, Esk Pike, Great Carrs, Swirl How, Little Mell Fell, Great End, Base Brown, Great Mell Fell, Brim Fell, Dale Head, Grey Knotts, Green Gable, Brandreth, Scafell Pike, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Great Gable, Hindscarth, Scafell, Robinson, Harter Fell (Eskdale), High Crag (Buttermere), Pillar, Red Pike (Wasdale), High Stile, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Steeple, Red Pike (Buttermere)

How the view from Dove Crag 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 Dove 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.

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.

Places to stay near this fell

From Rydal: 6 places in Ambleside · From Ambleside or Grasmere: 3 places

Frequently asked questions about Dove Crag

Where is Dove Crag?

An Eastern Fells Wainwright of 792 m (2,598 ft) on the Fairfield Horseshoe ridge, between Hart Crag and High Pike. The fell takes its name from the great crag on its eastern face above Dovedale — the walkers' summit is on the ridge, well back from it.

Can you climb Dove Crag from Sykeside?

Yes — the Dovedale approach from Sykeside (Brotherswater) is the connoisseur's way up: quieter and more dramatic than the Ambleside ridge, climbing beneath the crag itself before gaining the ridge. Our walked Hartsop round (July 2026) starts from Cow Bridge and climbs the Hartsop Above How ridge, reaching Dove Crag along the main ridge from Hart Crag, not up Dovedale; the classic alternative is taking it on the Fairfield Horseshoe.

Is the Priest's Hole cave on Dove Crag?

Yes — the Priest's Hole is a small natural cave high on the face of the crag itself, famous from books and film as a wild overnight spot. Be clear-eyed about what it is: a ledge on a mountain crag, reached by a steep, loose and exposed scrambly path that is hard to find in mist and hazardous in the wet or dark — people have needed rescuing here. It is not a visitor attraction and not part of any walking route on this site.

If you want the fell, take the ridge or the Dovedale path. If you're set on the cave, treat it as a mountaineering objective: dry conditions, daylight in hand, and the judgement to turn back.

How long does Dove Crag take? Answered above: Routes up Dove Crag.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-07-20 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Dove Crag

Summit conditions on Dove Crag

Wind on the top

Cloud on the top

Rain, and the becks

Routes up Dove Crag

How hard is Dove Crag?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Dove Crag

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Dove Crag

Notes from the Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag route

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Dove Crag

Routes over Dove Crag

On the hill: terrain and water on Dove Crag

Water & shelter on the way up

About Dove Crag

Field notes

My Strava hikes over Dove Crag

Classifications & hill data

Is Dove Crag a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from Dove Crag

The 360° skyline from Dove Crag

Sunrise and sunset on Dove Crag

Last light — when the sun leaves Dove Crag

What you can see from Dove Crag

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Dove Crag

Other fells near Dove Crag