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807 m · Birkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Eel Crag (Birkett)

Eel Crag at 839m (2,752ft) — known locally as Crag Hill — is the eastern summit of the Grasmoor range, its broad top giving outstanding views of the Coledale and Newlands valleys below.

807 m
Height
+9
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Eel Crag (Birkett)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

807 mBirkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)+9 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 807 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 13° to 12°C, gusts to 38 mph, 4.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
13° / 12°
💨 38 mph
🌧 4.8 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
13° / 10°
💨 28 mph
🌧 14.0 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
11° / 3°
💨 29 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
13° / 1°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
13° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
14° / 4°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
14° / 4°
💨 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 807 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

Eel Crag (Birkett)

Eel Crag at 839m (2,752ft) — known locally as Crag Hill — is the eastern summit of the Grasmoor range, its broad top giving outstanding views of the Coledale and Newlands valleys below. Wainwright described the Coledale Horseshoe — taking in Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head, Sand Hill, Eel Crag, Sail and Causey Pike — as one of the great circular walks of the Lake District. The summit gives a superb view of the Helvellyn range to the east and south to the Scafells. The descent to Coledale Hause is an excellent route connecting to the rest of the horseshoe circuit.

🗒️ My notes
Summitting this flat, rocky top wasn't too much of a challenge from my visit of Wandope. You've made much of the elevation already. It's a steady climb. Half way up, as you can see from my route, it was clear where I suddenly had the realisation that I could safely cut the corner off and try and catch the Birkett of the same name. There's nothing damaging about that decision as it was mostly bare rock. What has annoyed me was that I'm actually sure I made it to that top, but my GPS says different. If you wanted to come up directly Coledale Hause you'd definitely bag it, but I'm not sure if that outcome is worth the effort. Instead go the way I did, it's much more of a stroll.

Routes up Eel Crag (Birkett)

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

High Snockrigg, Eel Crag & Lad Hows
15.7 km · ~5.5 hr
Classifications & hill data
Birkett
807 m
Height
2,648 ft
In feet
NY 1902 2068
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Lanthwaite Green (NT), about 3.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Eel Crag (Birkett) (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 NNWSand Hill756 m · North Western
1.3 km SSWThirdgill Head Man734 m · North Western
1.4 km NNEHobcarton Crag (Hobcarton Head)738 m · North Western
1.8 km SSEIll Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)546 m · North Western
1.9 km NWGasgale Crags703 m · North Western
2.1 km NWWhiteside East Top (Whiteside) (Gasgale Crags)719 m · North Western
2.1 km NNWLadyside Pike704 m · North Western
2.3 km SWLad Hows426 m · North Western
2.8 km NHobcarton End634 m · North Western

Routes over Eel Crag (Birkett)

High Snockrigg, Eel Crag & Lad HowsPlanned
15.69 km · ~1399 m ascent · loop · ~5.5–7.5 h
Summits: High SnockriggWhiteless PikeThirdgill Head ManCrag Hill (Eel Crag)Eel Crag (Birkett)GrasmoorLad Hows

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

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

Best parking to hike Eel Crag (Birkett)

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

Lanthwaite Green (NT) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
At the foot of Grasmoor and Whiteside, Crummock Water.
Directions
Whinlatter Visitor Centre (paid) — 3.9 km from summit (straight line)
Forest centre — Lord's Seat, Barf, Whinlatter fells, Grisedale Pike's back route.
Directions
🚺 Whinlatter Forest Park Centre (120m) — Free☕ The Cottage in the Wood☕ Cafe Ambio

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 High Snockrigg, Eel Crag & Lad Hows route:

🛖 map (9 m)🛖 map (52 m)🚌 Mountain Road junction (11 m)🚌 Bridge Hotel (133 m)🚌 The Fish Hotel (184 m)🚌 Buttermere Youth Hostel (N bound) (209 m)⛺ Syke Farm Campsite (355 m)

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

Buses to Eel Crag (Birkett) from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

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 Eel Crag (Birkett) (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Other fells near Eel Crag (Birkett)

Maps & guidebooks for Eel Crag (Birkett)

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