⛰️ Hart Crag

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

823 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km

📖 Key Information

Hart Crag at 822m (2,697ft) is the rocky summit at the northern end of the Fairfield ridge above Dovedale, giving excellent views down the crag-girt hollow of Dovedale to Hartsop and Brothers Water below. Wainwright described the eastern face as impressively craggy, with Scrubby Crag and Hutaple Crag forming a dramatic backdrop to the valley. The summit is reached most naturally as part of the Fairfield Horseshoe from Ambleside, or via the direct ridge from Dovedale. Combined with Dove Crag for a fine circular route from Hartsop, exploring the quiet east face of the Fairfield group.

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

🎯 Bonus Birketts 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 NWCofa Pike823 m · Eastern
2.2 km NNEGavel Pike784 m · Eastern
2.7 km ENEGale Crag512 m · Eastern
2.8 km SSWHeron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)621 m · Eastern

⚠️ Hazard & Incident Information

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🦶 My hikes over Hart Crag (Strava)

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🅿️ Potential parking

Cow Bridge, Hartsop (free) — 3.9 km from summit (straight line)
Free car park by Brothers Water — Hartsop above How, Dovedale, Caudale Moor.
Directions ↗
Kirkstone Pass (laybys / inn) — 4.1 km from summit (straight line)
High start for Red Screes (30 min!), Caudale Moor and Middle Dodd.
Directions ↗

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

🚌 Buses from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

🌦️ 7-day summit forecast

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Open Hart Crag in the interactive explorer ↗