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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 → Parking & buses →
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 (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 9°C, gusts to 25 mph, 1.0 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
12° / 9°
💨 25 mph
🌧 1.0 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 9°
💨 43 mph
🌧 28.8 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
13° / 8°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (62%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
15° / 8°
💨 32 mph
🌧 13.3 mm (100%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
14° / 8°
💨 34 mph
🌧 8.4 mm (89%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
11° / 9°
💨 32 mph
🌧 3.8 mm (78%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 36 mph
🌧 6.2 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 523 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Eagle Crag at a glance

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.

Field 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.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Central
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
523 m
Height
1,716 ft
In feet
NY 2753 1210
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Eagle Crag a Wainwright?

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

Where do you park for Eagle Crag?

The nearest car park we hold is Stonethwaite (roadside, limited), about 1.8 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Roadside parking for Great Crag (free), 2.1 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.

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.

Parking & buses for Eagle Crag

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) — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)
Small roadside area near the hamlet — Eagle Crag, Sergeant's Crag, Langstrath approaches.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Roadside parking for Great Crag (free) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
1.2 km from Great Crag. Added from the 5 Aug 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Great Crag (layby) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Lining Crag, Ullscarf, Sergeant's Crag and Eagle Crag — the 'Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag' route starts 17 m away. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Great Crag, south-west (layby) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Lining Crag, Ullscarf, Sergeant's Crag and Eagle Crag — the 'Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag' route starts 59 m away. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Rosthwaite Fell car park (paid) — 2.9 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), Seathwaite Fell (Great Slack - Seathwaite Fell), Green Gable and Base Brown — the 'Seathwaite, Green Gable, Base Brown' route starts 78 m away. Paid parking (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)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 Eagle Crag by bus

The 77 stops at Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road end, 420 m from the start of Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag. The last bus is 20:03 towards Keswick (78), 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 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 (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Eagle Crag

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 (opens in new tab) · 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 (opens in new tab)

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.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Stonethwaite (roadside, limited), about 1.8 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
2.2 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

14.83 km · ~720 m ascent · loop · ~4–5.5 h

✎️ 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. How to use this guide.

On the hill: terrain and water on Eagle Crag

Water & shelter on the way up

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

The view from Eagle Crag

The 360° skyline 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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Eagle Crag

Eagle Crag waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 May, when the sun is up for 55 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 06:30 against an almanac sunrise of 05:35. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east-north-east from here (73.2°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 7.02°.

40°50°60°70°05:18
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
Midsummer05:18 BST ±5.0 min04:37+41 min
Equinox07:01 GMT ±5.0 min06:16+45 min
Midwinter09:07 GMT ±5.0 min08:33+34 min

The northern horizon stands at about 0.76° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Eagle Crag

Eagle Crag loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when last light is 34 minutes before almanac sunset — 15:15 against 15:49. The sun goes down to the south-west from here (221.4°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.21°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:39 BST ±5.0 min21:53-14 min
Equinox18:13 GMT ±5.0 min18:26-13 min
Midwinter15:15 GMT ±5.0 min15:49-34 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 Eagle 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.

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)

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.

Places to stay near this fell

Seatoller House B&B (opens in new tab) 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 (opens in new tab).

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 (opens in new tab)

Other fells near Eagle Crag