Gasgale Crags
Gasgale Crags at 703m (2,307ft) is a dramatic Birkett top on the ridge of Whiteside above the Gasgale Gill ravine in the North Western Fells, its craggy summit giving views into the deep gully below and across to Hopegill Head.
Summit conditions on Gasgale Crags
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 4°C, gusts to 67 mph, 8.2 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Routes up Gasgale Crags
Both start from Lanthwaite Green (paid); the last two rows give its parking and bus. Full maps further down.
| Compared | The Grasmoor Round | The Grasmoor round: Whiteside, Hopegill Head and Whiteless Pike |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Lanthwaite Green (paid) | Lanthwaite Green (paid) |
| Distance and climb | 16.17 km, 1,304 m of climb | 16.17 km, 1,161 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~5¼–7¼ h | ~5–7 h |
| Scrambling | Easy scramble: the last 100 m up Hopegill Head from Whiteside (km 3.6–3.7). In the final 100 metres before the peak, where the hands-on scramble begins, take the left-hand line straight up onto the rocky peak. | Easy scramble: the last 100 m up Hopegill Head from Whiteside (km 3.5–3.6). Gasgale Crags is a narrow, airy ridge, and the last 100 m up Hopegill Head is an easy scramble — no place to slip. |
| Exposure | Hard | Hard |
| Navigation | Moderate | Hard |
| Steepest stretch | Climb of about 39% at 1.6 km (Severe) | Climb of about 41% at 1.5 km (Severe) |
| After the summit | Over Hopegill Head, Sand Hill, Grasmoor, Thirdgill Head Man, Whiteless Pike and Rannerdale Knotts | Over Hopegill Head, Sand Hill, Grasmoor, Wandope, Thirdgill Head Man, Whiteless Pike and Rannerdale Knotts |
| Walked or planned | Walked by Lee, August 2026 | Walked by Lee, August 2026 |
| Car park at the start | Lanthwaite Green (paid) | Lanthwaite Green (paid) |
| Bus to the start | 77 at the start. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. | 77 at the start. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. |
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 Gasgale Crags?
The shortest way up we hold is The Grasmoor Round — 16.17 km, 1304 m of ascent, ~5¼–7¼ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · length: Hard · exposure: Hard · terrain: Moderate · navigation: 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 703 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
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)
Parking & buses for Gasgale Crags
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Gasgale Crags
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 77 stops at Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite), a 20 m walk from the start of The Grasmoor Round — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. It returns on 22 March 2027. Confirmed with the operator: its last day on 29 August 2026, its return on 16 October 2026. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (77): Tuesday to Sunday 18:03. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
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 Gasgale Crags
Notes from the The Grasmoor round: Whiteside, Hopegill Head and Whiteless Pike route
- The climb straight up Whiteside from Lanthwaite is brutally steep — a relentless, loose, eroded pull with little respite. It is the hardest 500 m on this route and it comes first.
- Gasgale Crags is a narrow, rocky ridge. It is not a graded scramble like Sharp Edge, but the last 100 m up Hopegill Head is an easy scramble, the ridge is airy, the rock is loose in places, and it wants care in wind or wet.
- The descent off Whiteless Pike is a knee-breaker — steep, sustained and relentless, right at the end of a long day. It is one of the steepest sustained descents in the Lakes.
- A long day with 1,161 m of ascent and ten tops. Navigation is graded hard: the high ground is broad and the drops are real.
- The path runs right around the edge of Addacomb Hole, a steep half-crater with a high headwall. Keep back from the rim, especially in wind or cloud — a slip here drops into serious ground. Don't approach the lip for the view in poor visibility.
Quoted from the route page: its warnings.
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.
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
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.
Birketts within 3 km of Gasgale Crags
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Gasgale Crags
If you only do one round in the North Western Fells, this is it. Grasmoor is a bigger, wilder mountain than its modest reputation suggests, and the ridge from Whiteside over Gasgale Crags to Hopegill Head is as good as ridge walking gets outside the Langdales. Whiteless Pike at the end is a perfect little peak — and a punishing descent.
Download GPX Walked by Lee, August 2026
Route guide: The Grasmoor round: Whiteside, Hopegill Head and Whiteless Pike →
Download GPX Walked by Lee, August 2026
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 Gasgale Crags
Terrain & access
A 703 m top with a mapped path to within about 23 m of the summit. There is steep ground (over 30°) on the direct line. The summit is on CRoW open access land.
Computed from open data, not walked — pathless ground needs confident navigation, and mapped paths, barriers and access boundaries can be incomplete. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass); Natural England CRoW Access Land; DoBIH v18.4 (CC BY 4.0); Copernicus GLO-30. CRoW access layer: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. See the terrain & access report for how this is worked out across all 144 fells.
Water & shelter on the way up
On the The Grasmoor round: Whiteside, Hopegill Head and Whiteless Pike route:
On the The Grasmoor Round route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Gasgale Crags
Field notes
This point is a few meters lower than the Wainwright summit, but no less stunning. The sweeping views into the valley to the right and back down to Crummock Water are worth the effort getting up there. This potential resting place is less spacious than Grasmoor where you may be headed to as it's on the side of a precipice. But enjoy it in fine weather, keep going past in bad. It's a Birkett, you've bagged it, get away from the edge.— Lee McCoy, who walked it on 2 of our routes
My Strava hikes over Gasgale Crags
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- The Grasmoor Round (opens in new tab) — 16.0 km · 1166 m ascent · 4h 23m moving · 22 August 2026
Data from Strava.
Classifications & hill data
Is Gasgale Crags a Wainwright?
Gasgale Crags is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list.
Selected lists
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
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 →
Places to stay near this fell
- High Swinside Holiday Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 3.9 km
- Crummockwater Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.8 km
- Bridge Hotel (opens in new tab) hotelabout 4.2 km
We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).