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523 m · Wainwright — Central Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Eagle Crag - a rocky top above a green valley winding between fells, with hazy summits beyond under blue sky
Wainwright — Central FellsAlso a Birkett

Eagle Crag

Eagle Crag at 520m (1,706ft) is a magnificent rocky buttress above Langstrath, its eastern face dropping in great crags to the valley below.

523 m
Height
~2.5–3 h
Typical time
+9
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Eagle Crag

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

523 mWainwright — Central Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+9 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 523 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 16° to 14°C, gusts to 35 mph, 9.3 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
16° / 14°
💨 35 mph
🌧 9.3 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
15° / 12°
💨 27 mph
🌧 5.0 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
13° / 6°
💨 28 mph
🌧 1.3 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 2°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.6 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌫️
16° / 6°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 7°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 523 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

About the walk

Key information

Eagle Crag

Eagle Crag - a rocky top above a green valley winding between fells, with hazy summits beyond under blue sky
© Lee McCoy

Eagle Crag at 520m (1,706ft) is a magnificent rocky buttress above Langstrath, its eastern face dropping in great crags to the valley below. Wainwright was clearly impressed by it, describing it as one of the finest craggy summits in Borrowdale — the cliff face visible from the valley gives little idea of the walker's route which approaches from the rear. The ascent from Stonethwaite is excellent, with the valley of Langstrath providing superb scenery throughout. The summit views across to Glaramara and High Raise are outstanding.

🗒️ My notes
For a few months I was mulling over how I would summit this fell. Many on YouTube had taken it from the Stonethwaite side, wrestling with limited parking and the massive amounts of bracken. Many had done a multitude of routes, all struggling with navigation and getting hugely frustrated. I opted for the cheating route across Ullscarf and from the lower reaches of Thirlmere reservoir. That day was blistering hot, I caught the train and bus up, took the wrong route down after and ended up at Grasmere - the alternative had me going through the ominously labelled "The Bog". Eagle Crag itself, is a pleasant affair and a short trek over from Saregent's Crag. The summit has plenty of room to rest and chat with other hikers. If you check my route, you'll be able to see that on my way over from Ulscarf I made a mistake, was too stubborn to backtrack and ended up climbing a rock face. Don't do that. Either go properly up and over, or navigate the faint track below it.

Routes up Eagle Crag

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

Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag
14.8 km · ~4.2 hr
A rugged ~15 km round from Stonethwaite over three Wainwrights — the bold rocky nose of Eagle Crag, neighbouring Sergeant's Crag, and the broad whaleback of Ullscarf — returning down the quiet head of Borrowdale.
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Central
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
523 m
Height
1,716 ft
In feet
NY 2753 1210
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Stonethwaite (roadside, limited), about 2.4 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Eagle 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.

1.2 km SELining Crag542 m · Central
1.6 km ENEColdbarrow Fell - High Saddle675 m · Central
1.7 km NELow Saddle656 m · Central
2.0 km WRosthwaite Fell (Rosthwaite Cam)612 m · Southern
2.0 km WSWDovenest Top (Dovenest Crag) (Stonethwaite Fell)633 m · Southern
2.2 km SSELow White Stones731 m · Central
2.4 km ENEStanding Crag611 m · Central
2.8 km WSWCombe Head735 m · Southern
3.0 km WThornythwaite Fell574 m · Southern

Routes over Eagle Crag

Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's CragRevised
14.83 km · ~720 m ascent · loop · ~4–5.5 h
Summits: Lining CragUllscarfSergeant's CragEagle Crag

✎️ Walked and described first-hand by Lee. A serious round: the navigation over Ullscarf and Greenup Edge is boggy and featureless (a compass is essential in cloud), and the direct Eagle Crag line is steep and intricate — good-weather, sure-footed terrain. Carry OS Explorer OL4.

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: The direct Eagle Crag route (described here in descent) is a steep, intricate line of rock terraces and a wet gully that guidebooks recommend for ascent only, and only in good weather — consider walking the round the other way to climb it, and avoid it altogether in the wet.; On Eagle Crag's terraces, don't go too far right where the terrace narrows above steep drops; sight each terrace before committing.; The Bleak How step-stile has a rotted lower step — a big step down; take care and lift or assist dogs.; Lining Crag's north face is near-vertical into Greenup Gill with little warning from the grassy top — keep back from the lip.; Greenup Edge and the Ullscarf plateau are boggy and featureless — serious navigation in mist; rely on the old fence posts, cairns and bearings.

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from Eagle 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 Eagle Crag31 labelled tops shown (1 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 8 kmSkiddaw · 17 kmBowfell · 6 kmGreat Gable · 7 kmPillar · 10 kmEsk Pike · 6 kmBlencathra · 16 kmCrinkle Crags · 8 kmGrasmoor · 13 kmCrag Hill · 12 kmHigh Stile · 11 kmGrisedale Pike · 13 kmGlaramara · 3 kmHigh Raise · 3 kmDale Head · 6 kmLow White Stones · 2 kmClough Head · 12 kmLonscale Fell · 15 kmUllock Pike · 17 kmColdbarrow Fell · 2 kmHigh Seat · 6 kmLord's Seat · 16 kmGavel Fell · 17 kmPike of Stickle · 5 kmLow Saddle · 2 kmDovenest Top · 2 kmRosthwaite Fell · 2 kmSergeant's Crag · 1 kmLining Crag · 1 kmShivery Knott · 4 kmKing's How · 5 kmIll Crag · 7 kmScoat Fell · 12 kmKnowe Crags · 15 kmGreen Gable · 6 kmLooking Steads · 4 kmHigh Crag · 10 kmJenkin Hill · 15 kmHindscarth · 7 kmGrey Knotts · 6 kmScales Fell · 17 kmFleetwith Pike · 7 kmCausey Pike · 10 kmBleaberry Fell · 8 kmCombe Head · 3 kmWatendlath Fell · 3 kmGrange Fell · 4 kmCaermote Hill · 26 kmGreen Lowther · 107 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Eagle Crag, by direction
  • North: Knowe Crags (15 km), Jenkin Hill (15 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (16 km), Skiddaw Little Man (16 km), Gategill Fell Top (16 km), Carl Side (16 km), Blencathra (16 km), Doddick Fell (16 km), Skiddaw South Top (17 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (17 km), Skiddaw (17 km), Skiddaw North Top (17 km)
  • South: High Raise (3 km), Shelter Crags (7 km), Crinkle Crags (7 km), Crinkle Crags (8 km), Crinkle Crags (8 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (8 km)
  • South-west: Glaramara (3 km), Looking Steads (4 km), Allen Crags (5 km), Esk Pike (6 km), Great End (6 km), Bowfell (6 km), Ill Crag (7 km), Scafell Pike (8 km)
  • West: Green Gable (6 km), Great Gable (7 km), High Crag (10 km), Pillar (10 km), High Stile (11 km), High Stile (11 km), Scoat Fell (12 km), Red Pike (12 km)
  • North-west: Dale Head (6 km), Sail (11 km), Wandope (12 km), Crag Hill (12 km), Grasmoor (13 km), Grisedale Pike (13 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Green Lowther (107 km, Scotland), Queensberry (92 km, Scotland), Ballencleuch Law (99 km, Scotland), Hods Hill (102 km, Scotland), White Hill (75 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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Eagle Crag

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
52Wainwrights in view+6 marginal
—Sea in viewnone from here
All 52 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Sergeant's Crag, Ullscarf, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, High Raise (High White Stones), Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Glaramara, Grange Fell (Brund Fell), High Tove, Castle Crag, Pike of Stickle, Rossett Pike, Allen Crags, Grey Knotts, High Spy, Esk Pike, Great End, Brandreth, High Seat, Green Gable, Dale Head, Bowfell, Great Gable, Fleetwith Pike, Maiden Moor, Hindscarth, Bleaberry Fell, Scafell Pike, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Cat Bells (Catbells), High Crag (Buttermere), Pillar, Causey Pike, Barrow, High Stile, Sail, Wandope, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Red Pike (Buttermere), Clough Head, Grasmoor, Grisedale Pike, Lonscale Fell, Dodd (Skiddaw), Skiddaw Little Man, Barf, Carl Side, Lord's Seat, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Skiddaw, Knott

How Eagle 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.

Best parking to hike Eagle Crag

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

Stonethwaite (roadside, limited) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
Small roadside area near the hamlet — Eagle Crag, Sergeant's Crag, Langstrath approaches.
Directions
🚺 Rosthwaite Village (1156m) — Free · Accessible☕ Peathouse Tea & Coffee Shop🍺 The Langstrath Inn
Seatoller (NT, paid) — 2.7 km from summit (straight line)
Pay & display at the foot of Honister. Bus terminus for Borrowdale.
Directions
🚺 Rosthwaite Village (1669m) — Free · Accessible🚺 Public toilets (1903m) — Free☕ Honisters Yew Tree Coffee House

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.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag route:

🚌 Stonethwaite Village (237 m)🚌 Chapel Howe Road End (375 m)🚌 Stonethwaite Road End (390 m)🚌 Longthwaite Road End (394 m)⛺ Chapel House Farm Campsite (322 m)

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

Buses to Eagle Crag from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 78 “Borrowdale Rambler”
Keswick – Lodore – Grange – Rosthwaite – Seatoller
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 or X4/X5)
Year-round, frequent in season. Serves all the Borrowdale starts — Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable via Seathwaite (alight Seatoller, 20 min walk up the lane).
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.

My hikes over Eagle Crag (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Hazard & Incident Information for Eagle Crag

Hazard: Moderate

A bold, craggy fell guarding the junction of Langstrath and Greenup above Stonethwaite — from the valley its vertical walls look impassable. A route does thread up through the crags, but it involves real scrambling with steep drops to Langstrath, and route-finding is critical: the way down through the crags is dangerous and not recommended, because cliffs hidden from above catch people out. Keswick Mountain Rescue Team covers this Borrowdale ground.

  • The crag route & scrambling: The line up the craggy nose involves hands-on scrambling with steep, exposed drops toward Langstrath. It demands careful route-finding — wander off the line and you meet impassable crag. Only for confident scramblers in dry conditions; treat any uncertainty as a reason to back off.
  • Descending through the crags (cragfast risk): Going down this way is not recommended: crags that can't be seen from above lead walkers into dead-ends and leave them cragfast or worse. Descend instead by the gentler Greenup Gill route, not back over the crag nose.
  • Route-finding & boggy ground: A key step-stile over the fence is easily missed — people who miss it end up lost descending Langstrath. The lower ground is boggy. Follow the route carefully and keep track of the correct line.
Who should attempt this fell: Eagle Crag is a small fell with a genuinely serious face. If you take the crag route, treat it as a proper scramble for the confident in dry conditions and stay exactly on the line — and crucially, do not descend that way: go down by the Greenup Gill bridleway instead, where the danger of becoming cragfast is removed. Watch for the step-stile, and save the crag for good conditions.

Most common causes: Scramblers becoming cragfast or off-route on the steep crag nose · Dangerous attempts to descend through the crags rather than via Greenup · Getting lost after missing the step-stile and dropping into Langstrath · Slips on steep, exposed or wet rock

Local Mountain Rescue: Keswick Mountain Rescue Team · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026

Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Report incorrect information

Navigating Eagle Crag in cloud

Severe

A rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

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 Eagle Crag compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Frequently asked questions about Eagle Crag

Where is Eagle Crag?

At the head of Borrowdale, standing over the meeting of Langstrath and Greenup Gill above Stonethwaite — one of the most dramatically positioned small fells in the district. It's 523 m (1,716 ft), a Central Fells Wainwright, and its craggy prow is the picture everyone photographs from the Stonethwaite valley floor.

How hard is Eagle Crag? Is it a scramble?

The steepest little Wainwright climb in Borrowdale, honestly told: the direct way up the nose weaves between crags on a steep, occasionally hands-on path — not a graded scramble, but rough, exposed-feeling ground where you want decent weather and boots. In the wet the rock and grass are slippery, and the descent the same way is harder than the ascent.

The gentler option is to take it from behind, via the col with Sergeant's Crag — our walked-country circuit links Eagle Crag, Sergeant's Crag and Ullscarf in a 15 km round.

Is Eagle Crag dog friendly?

Take care here: our route survey found a ladder stile and several stiles of unmapped type on the Stonethwaite round, so a dog will likely need lifting — awkward with a big dog on steep ground. Sheep graze throughout; leads on.

How long does Eagle Crag take?

Up and down from Stonethwaite, allow 2.5–3 hours. The full circuit with Sergeant's Crag and Ullscarf is around 15 km and 4–5 hours — a quiet, wild round for such a famous valley.

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 Eagle Crag

Maps & guidebooks for Eagle Crag

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