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Hartsop above How - the cairn on the lichen-covered summit rocks, with the Fairfield ridge and the head of the Dovedale valley beyond under heavy cloud

Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

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586 mWainwright — Eastern Fells+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km Fewer traps in Clag

Hartsop above How at 586m (1,923ft) is a long, grassy ridge above the Hartsop valley, its summit giving good views down Brothers Water and across to Place Fell. Wainwright included it as part of the ridge system above the Kirkstone Pass area.

Summit conditions on Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 54 mph, 16.5 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.

Wind on the top

Past the line

56 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 50 mph times our exposure factor of 1.12. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 54 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.

Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

16.5 mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight

The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.

The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.

Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.

Also checked cold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 27 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.

Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.

Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Routes up Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

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

Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag Walked by Lee
11.87 km · ~837 m ascent · ~3¾–5¼ h · loop · 6 summits
Moderate effort Severe: steepness
Park: Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) · Bus: 508 at the start

Six tops from Gale Crag over Hartsop Above How to Hart Crag: 11.9 km and 837 m, about 3¾–5¼ hours.

Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →

Is Hartsop above How a hard walk?

It is a long, narrowing ridge between Deepdale and Dovedale — grassy for the most part, but with considerable rock and steep flanks along the 2.8 km from Gale Crag to Hart Crag, and it climbs steadily the whole way toward Hart Crag. There is no sustained scrambling, though the last push onto Hart Crag has simple rocky steps where you may need your hands, and there is no let-up.

Our round over it with the Hartsop fells and Hart Crag is 11.9 km with 837 m of ascent, graded severe for steepness. It is a quiet ridge, much less walked than the Fairfield Horseshoe beside it. Near the top the ridge narrows to an airy crest with steep drops, especially rough above Dovedale.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 586 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
11° / 5°
54 mph
16.5 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
9° / 6°
41 mph
9.7 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
9° / 7°
28 mph
0.7 mm (33%)
Fri 30 Oct
8° / 6°
29 mph
0.0 mm (23%)
Sat 31 Oct
10° / 1°
12 mph
0.0 mm (18%)
Sun 1 Nov
8° / 1°
13 mph
0.0 mm (10%)
Mon 2 Nov
7° / 1°
16 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) — at the start of Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag
Paid car park by Brothers Water — Hartsop above How, Dovedale, Caudale Moor. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37323 (LDNPA, checked August 2026).
Directions When people arrive, and what it costs →Something changed here?
Caudale Bridge (layby) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
On the A592 south of Brothers Water, near Caudale Bridge and about 290 m from the Brotherswater Inn bus stops. The nearest route starts are 'Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells', 1.8 km north on foot at Hartsop, and the two at Cow Bridge, 2.0 km north on foot. Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Windy Corner (layby) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
On the A592 at Windy Corner, beside the Windy Corner bus stops. The nearest route starts are 'Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells', 2.1 km north on foot at Hartsop, and the two at Cow Bridge, 2.3 km north on foot. Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
3 more places to park near Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)
Brothers Water, east shore (free) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)
On the A592 by the east shore of Brothers Water (OpenStreetMap, 26 m from the road). The nearest route starts are 'Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells', 0.8 km north on foot at Hartsop, and the two at Cow Bridge, 1.0 km north on foot. Free (OSM-tagged). Compacted surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
A592 south of Windy Corner (car park) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)
South of Windy Corner on the Kirkstone Pass side, about 480 m south of the Windy Corner bus stops. The nearest route starts are 'Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells', 2.6 km north on foot at Hartsop, and the two at Cow Bridge, 2.9 km north on foot. Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Cow Bridge (layby) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Middle Dodd, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), High Hartsop Dodd and Gale Crag — the 'Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd' route starts 56 m away. Also serves 'Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

Of the pay-and-display machine tickets sold at Cow Bridge from 17 August 2024 to 31 March 2026, 34% were bought before 10am (our count of FOI/2026.500 ticket data). Contains public sector information provided by the Lake District National Park Authority and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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 508 and 509 stop at Hartsop, opposite Cow Bridge, a 30 m walk from the start of Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). The last bus is 19:51 towards Windermere (508) and 15:14 towards Hartsop (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

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.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Hazard & Incident Information for Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Checked by Lee McCoy, . Draws on published material from Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team. Editorial background, not a live callout feed.

Hazard: Moderate

A long, narrowing ridge running out between Deepdale and Dovedale toward Hart Crag, grassy but with considerable rock and steep flanks for most of its length. Near the summit (Gill Crag) it becomes an airy promenade, and rocky faces — Gill Crag, Black Crag, Gale Crag — fall to Dovedale and Deepdale. Wet rock and the narrow section are the things to watch. Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • The narrow, airy summit ridge: Near the top the ridge narrows to an airy crest with steep drops, especially rough above Dovedale. Take it steadily, keep to the crest, and treat it with care in strong wind or when the rock is wet.
  • Steep flanks & rocky faces: Both flanks are steep for most of the ridge, with rocky faces (Gill Crag, Black Crag, Erne Nest Crag) above Deepdale and Dovedale. Don't drop off the ridge onto these — keep to the crest line.
  • Wet rock & navigation: The rock sections are unpleasant and slippery in the wet, and the long ridge needs a bearing in cloud to stay on line toward Hart Crag or back to the valley. Mind your footing and navigate carefully.
Who should attempt this fell: Hartsop above How is a fine ridge walk, but it narrows to an airy crest with steep, rocky flanks — keep to the ridge, take the narrow and wet-rock sections steadily, and navigate by compass in cloud over its long length. Save the rockier parts for drier days and treat it as full winter terrain when iced.

What to watch for: Slips on the narrow airy crest or the wet rock sections · Walkers straying onto the steep rocky flanks above Dovedale/Deepdale · Navigation errors on the long ridge in cloud · Winter ice on the rocky crest and steep flanks

Local Mountain Rescue: Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team

Safety: 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

Navigating in cloud

Fewer traps in cloud

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of steep ground within half a kilometre of the summit. This top is in the lowest of the index’s four bands, and a low band never means “safe”: carry map and compass and know how to use them.

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 Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag) compares with all 214: the Clag Index (experimental).

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 (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

1.0 km ENEGale Crag512 m · Eastern
1.7 km NWGavel Pike784 m · Eastern
2.4 km WCofa Pike823 m · Eastern

Routes over Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag
11.87 km · ~837 m ascent · loop · ~3¾–5¼ h
Moderate effort Severe: steepness
Summits: Gale CragHartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How)Hart CragDove CragLittle Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)High Hartsop Dodd

Download GPX Walked by Lee, July 2025

Route guide →

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 Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag route:

Cow Bridge (29 m from the start, straight line) Cow Bridge car park (33 m from the start, straight line) Road End (306 m from the start, straight line)

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

About Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Hartsop above How - the cairn on the lichen-covered summit rocks, with the Fairfield ridge and the head of the Dovedale valley beyond under heavy cloud
© Lee McCoy

The summit is pleasant open moorland, reached from the Hartsop valley up the steep northern end of the ridge. A walk with fine valley views; near the top the ridge narrows to an airy crest with steep drops.

My Strava hikes over Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag) a Wainwright?

Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Selected lists

Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
586 m
Height
1,923 ft
In feet
NY 3831 1200
Grid ref

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

The summit is also a Birkett.

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 →

The view from Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

The 360° skyline from Hartsop Above How (Gill 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 Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How)29 labelled tops shown (4 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHigh Crag · 4 kmFairfield · 2 kmHigh Street · 6 kmHart Crag · 2 kmHigh Raise · 7 kmDove Crag · 2 kmThornthwaite Crag · 5 kmStony Cove Pike · 4 kmBirkett Fell · 8 kmRed Crag · 7 kmRest Dodd · 5 kmLoadpot Hill · 10 kmWether Hill · 9 kmPlace Fell · 5 kmMiddle Dodd · 3 kmBirks · 2 kmDollywaggon Pike · 4 kmSt Sunday Crag · 2 kmCofa Pike · 2 kmGreat Mell Fell · 13 kmGavel Pike · 2 kmRed Screes · 4 kmLittle Mell Fell · 13 kmThe Knott · 5 kmLittle Hart Crag · 2 kmHartsop Dodd · 3 kmSwarth Fell · 10 kmHigh Hartsop Dodd · 2 kmHallin Fell · 9 kmCaudale Moor · 4 kmCross Fell · 38 km · clear daysAngletarn Pikes · 4 kmGowbarrow Fell · 10 kmBoulsworth Hill · 94 km · a rare clear daySighty Crag · 72 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 89 km · a rare clear dayBlackwood Hill · 86 km · a rare clear day
The skyline as a list, by direction
  • North: Birks (2 km), Sheffield Pike (6 km), Birk Fell (7 km), Birkett Fell (8 km), Little Mell Fell (13 km), Great Mell Fell (13 km)
  • North-east: Brock Crags (4 km), Angletarn Pikes (4 km), Angletarn Pikes South Top (4 km), Place Fell (5 km), The Nab (6 km), Red Crag (7 km), Wether Hill (9 km), Loadpot Hill (10 km), Swarth Fell (10 km), Bonscale Pike (11 km), Arthur's Pike (12 km), Cross Fell (38 km)
  • East: Hartsop Dodd (3 km), Gray Crag (4 km), Thornthwaite Crag (5 km), Rest Dodd (5 km), The Knott (5 km), High Street (6 km), Rampsgill Head (6 km), High Raise (7 km)
  • South-east: High Hartsop Dodd (2 km), Middle Dodd (3 km), Caudale Moor (4 km), Stony Cove Pike (4 km)
  • South: Little Hart Crag (2 km), Red Screes (4 km)
  • South-west: Hart Crag (2 km), Dove Crag (2 km)
  • West: Fairfield (2 km), Cofa Pike (2 km), Dollywaggon Pike (4 km)
  • North-west: Gavel Pike (2 km), St Sunday Crag (2 km), High Crag (4 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Boulsworth Hill (94 km, England), Sighty Crag (72 km, England), Cauldcleuch Head (89 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (81 km, Scotland), Peel Fell (91 km, England), Blackwood Hill (86 km, Scotland), Greatmoor Hill (89 km, Scotland), Larriston Fells (82 km, Scotland).

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 February, when the sun is up for 24 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 08:25 against an almanac sunrise of 08:01. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (124.0°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.62°.

0°30°40°50°60°04:36
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
Midsummer04:36 BST ±5.0 min04:36—
Equinox06:26 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+11 min
Midwinter08:44 GMT ±5.0 min08:32+12 min

The northern horizon stands at about 1.47° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when last light is 79 minutes before almanac sunset — 14:30 against 15:49. The sun goes down to the south-south-west from here (212.0°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 6.93°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer20:57 BST ±5.0 min21:52-55 min
Equinox17:32 GMT ±5.0 min18:26-54 min
Midwinter14:30 GMT ±5.0 min15:49-79 min

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 Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
30Wainwrights in view+4 marginal
37 kmFurthest sightlineCross Fell
—Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Cross Fell North PenninesNE · 37 km clear
All 30 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

High Hartsop Dodd, Hart Crag, Dove Crag, St Sunday Crag, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Birks, Fairfield, Middle Dodd, Hartsop Dodd, Arnison Crag, Red Screes, Brock Crags (Wainwright), Dollywaggon Pike, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Gray Crag, Thornthwaite Crag, Rest Dodd, The Knott (High Street), Place Fell, High Street, The Nab, Rampsgill Head, High Raise (High Street), Wether Hill, Hallin Fell, Loadpot Hill, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Little Mell Fell, Great Mell Fell

How the view from Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag) compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed

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 Hartsop Above How (Gill 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.

Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. 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

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.

Frequently asked questions about Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Is Hartsop above How a hard walk? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction

Other fells near Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)

Places nearby: Brothers Water