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

Great Crag - a rocky, heathery knoll topped by a small cairn, under a heavy grey sky
Wainwright — Central FellsAlso a Birkett

Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

Great Crag at 449m (1,473ft) is a small, craggy summit above Watendlath, its rocky top giving fine views of the charming hamlet and tarn below and across to Glaramara and the Borrowdale fells.

449 m
Height
~2.5–3 h
Typical time
+9
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →
449 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 449 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 14° to 10°C, gusts to 17 mph, 0.8 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
14° / 10°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.8 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
16° / 10°
💨 38 mph
🌧 19.7 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
☁️
13° / 7°
💨 12 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (74%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
15° / 8°
💨 32 mph
🌧 10.3 mm (96%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
14° / 9°
💨 33 mph
🌧 10.5 mm (100%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
11° / 9°
💨 33 mph
🌧 3.4 mm (96%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
11° / 9°
💨 38 mph
🌧 7.2 mm (98%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 449 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Great Crag (Stonethwaite) at a glance

Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

Great Crag - a rocky, heathery knoll topped by a small cairn, under a heavy grey sky
© Lee McCoy

Great Crag at 449m (1,473ft) is a small, craggy summit above Watendlath, its rocky top giving fine views of the charming hamlet and tarn below and across to Glaramara and the Borrowdale fells. Wainwright noted the excellent view of Watendlath Tarn from the summit. The ascent from Watendlath is short and pleasant. A fine small fell for those visiting Watendlath, one of the most picturesque spots in Lakeland.

Routes up Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

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

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Central
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
449 m
Height
1,473 ft
In feet
NY 2700 1468
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Great Crag (Stonethwaite) a Wainwright?

Great Crag (Stonethwaite) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Where do you park for Great Crag (Stonethwaite)?

The nearest car park we hold is Great Crag car park (paid), about 1.1 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Stonethwaite (roadside, limited), 1.1 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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite) (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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

Best parking to hike Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

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

Great Crag car park (paid) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Dovenest Top (Dovenest Crag) (Stonethwaite Fell), Thornythwaite Fell and Castle Crag — the 'The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round)' route starts 174 m away. Also serves 'Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag'. Paid parking (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Stonethwaite (roadside, limited) — 1.1 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) — 1.2 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) — 1.2 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, west car park (paid) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Castle Crag, King's How - Grange Fell, Grange Fell (Brund Fell) and Great Crag (Stonethwaite) — the 'Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag' route starts 10 m away. Also serves 'The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round)'.
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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite) by bus

The 77 stops at Rosthwaite General Store (near), 180 m from the start of Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag. The last bus is 20:05 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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Navigating Great Crag (Stonethwaite) in cloud

Severe

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. 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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite) 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: Great Crag car park (paid), about 1.1 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Great Crag (Stonethwaite) (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.

1.9 km EWatendlath Fell (Long Moss)515 m · Central
2.0 km ENEShivery Knott491 m · Central
2.1 km ENEMiddle Crag484 m · Central
2.3 km SELow Saddle656 m · Central
2.3 km NNWKing's How - Grange Fell392 m · Central
2.6 km SEColdbarrow Fell - High Saddle675 m · Central
3.0 km ENEArmboth Fell (Birkett)479 m · Central
3.0 km ESEStanding Crag611 m · Central

Routes over Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

14.11 km · ~795 m ascent · loop · ~4–5.5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

Water & shelter on the way up

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

The view from Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

The 360° skyline from Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite)36 labelled tops shown (1 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 7 kmIll Crag · 9 kmSkiddaw Middle Top · 14 kmBowfell · 9 kmGreat Gable · 7 kmPillar · 10 kmNethermost Pike · 7 kmEsk Pike · 8 kmRaise · 8 kmFairfield · 9 kmDollywaggon Pike · 8 kmGreat Dodd · 9 kmGategill Fell Top · 14 kmStybarrow Dodd · 8 kmCrinkle Crags · 10 kmLingmell · 9 kmSwirl How · 14 kmKirk Fell · 9 kmGrisedale Pike · 11 kmSail · 9 kmHigh Raise · 5 kmDale Head · 5 kmHigh Crag · 9 kmJenkin Hill · 13 kmHindscarth · 6 kmClough Head · 10 kmLonscale Fell · 13 kmGreat Knott · 10 kmUllock Pike · 14 kmColdbarrow Fell · 3 kmHigh Seat · 4 kmLord's Seat · 14 kmStanding Crag · 3 kmLining Crag · 4 kmGrange Fell · 2 kmCastle Crag · 2 kmHelvellyn Lower Man · 7 kmHigh Crag · 7 kmWhite Side · 7 kmSkiddaw Lesser Man · 13 kmGlaramara · 5 kmDow Crag · 17 kmHopegill Head · 11 kmCarl Side · 14 kmLow White Stones · 5 kmBrandreth · 6 kmScar Crags · 9 kmCalfhow Pike · 9 kmHigh Spy · 4 kmCausey Pike · 8 kmHaystacks · 8 kmBleaberry Fell · 5 kmSergeant's Crag · 3 kmBarf · 13 kmLow Saddle · 2 kmDovenest Top · 4 kmBrown Crag · 6 kmHigh Tove · 3 kmQueensberry · 90 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Great Crag (Stonethwaite), by direction
  • North: Skiddaw Lesser Man (13 km), Knowe Crags (13 km), Skiddaw Little Man (13 km), Gategill Fell Top (14 km), Skiddaw South Top (14 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (14 km)
  • North-east: Watson's Dodd (8 km), Stybarrow Dodd (8 km), Little Dodd (9 km), Great Dodd (9 km)
  • East: Helvellyn Lower Man (7 km), White Side (7 km), Helvellyn (7 km), Nethermost Pike (7 km), High Crag (7 km), Raise (8 km), Dollywaggon Pike (8 km), Cofa Pike (9 km), Fairfield (9 km)
  • South: Bowfell (9 km), Shelter Crags (10 km), Crinkle Crags (10 km), Crinkle Crags (10 km), Crinkle Crags (10 km), Crinkle Crags (10 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (10 km), Great Carrs (14 km), Swirl How (14 km), Dow Crag (17 km)
  • South-west: Glaramara (5 km), Great Gable (7 km), Great End (8 km), Esk Pike (8 km), Kirk Fell East Top (8 km), Kirk Fell (9 km), Ill Crag (9 km), Lingmell (9 km)
  • West: Pillar (10 km), Scoat Fell (12 km)
  • North-west: Grisedale Pike (11 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Queensberry (90 km, Scotland), Ballencleuch Law (96 km, Scotland), Hods Hill (99 km, Scotland), White Hill (72 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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

Great Crag (Stonethwaite) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 December, when the sun is up for 51 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:02 against an almanac sunrise of 08:11. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (138.9°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 4.92°.

30°40°50°60°70°05:01
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
Midsummer05:01 BST ±5.0 min04:37+24 min
Equinox06:41 GMT ±5.0 min06:16+25 min
Midwinter09:22 GMT ±5.0 min08:33+49 min

The northern horizon stands at about 0.94° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

Great Crag (Stonethwaite) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 May, when last light is 25 minutes before almanac sunset — 20:22 against 20:47. The sun goes down to the west-north-west from here (293.4°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.89°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:37 BST ±5.0 min21:53-16 min
Equinox18:11 GMT ±5.0 min18:26-15 min
Midwinter15:25 GMT ±5.0 min15:49-24 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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite). 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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
58Wainwrights in view+9 marginal
Sea in viewnone from here
All 58 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

How Great Crag (Stonethwaite)’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 Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

Is Great Crag a hard walk?

Short and rocky rather than hard. Great Crag sits above Stonethwaite in a knot of small crags, heather and boggy hollows, and the climbing is brief — but the ground is more broken than the height suggests and there is no single obvious line to the top.

Our round with Castle Crag and Brund Fell is 14.1 km with 795 m of ascent. Note this is the Stonethwaite Great Crag; there is another fell of the same name, which is worth checking before you set off from the wrong valley.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Other fells near Great Crag (Stonethwaite)