The rough summit cairn on High Crag's grassy, rock-strewn top, with fells fading into haze beyond under a high sun and broken cloud.

High Crag (Buttermere)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited October 2026

Home › Fells › High Crag (Buttermere)

745 mWainwright — Western Fells+7 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

High Crag at 745m (2,444ft) is the south-eastern anchor of the Buttermere ridge, its dramatic Gamlin End providing the steepest descent in the three-peak circuit.

Summit conditions on High Crag (Buttermere)

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 4°C, gusts to 61 mph, 9.5 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 51 mph times our exposure factor of 1.23. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 61 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 (opens in new tab) 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

9.5 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 1 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 37 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 (opens in new tab)

Routes up High Crag (Buttermere)

Choose the way up before the car park: these three routes start from three places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.

Compared	The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise	High Stile, Seat via Buttermere	The Buttermere Ridge
Starts from	Buttermere village	Buttermere village, by the Bridge Hotel (roadside, free)	Buttermere village (NT, paid)
Distance and climb	12.88 km, 970 m of climb	12.97 km, 881 m of climb	13.39 km, 1,012 m of climb
Time, fast to steady	~4–5¾ h	~4–5½ h	~4¼–6 h
Scrambling	Hands for a few steps: the red scree up from Dodd to Red Pike, the loose ground on to High Stile, and the high rocky steps down off Seat (km 3.5–5.0 and km 7.7–8.1).	Not mentioned in the route’s notes	Hands for a few steps: high steps onto Seat, and the loose scree up Red Pike (about km 5.4 and km 8.2–9.4). The path to the summit is a steep, loose scramble up this red scree.
Exposure	Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed
Navigation	Hard	Moderate	Hard
Steepest stretch	Descent of about 38% at 7.1 km (Severe)	Climb of about 39% at 2.9 km (Severe)	Climb of about 35% at 6.0 km (Severe)
After the summit	Over Seat	Over Seat	Over High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile), High Stile, Red Pike (Buttermere) and Dodd (Buttermere)
Walked or planned	Walked by Lee, October 2026	Planned: drawn, not yet walked	Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the start	High Snockrigg (verge)	Buttermere village, by the Bridge Hotel (roadside, free)	Buttermere village (NT, paid)
Bus to the start	77, 330 m walk from Buttermere Youth Hostel (near). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.	77 at the start. The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.	77, 410 m walk from Buttermere, outside Court Hotel. The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. 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 →

Is High Crag hard to climb?

Yes, by one specific thing: Gamlin End, the slope that drops south-east from the summit towards Seat and Scarth Gap, is steep, loose and unrelenting, and it is the hardest half hour on the whole Buttermere ridge. Going up it is hard work; coming down it is worse, and that is the decision to make before you set off.

Our Buttermere ridge round is 13.4 km with 1012 m of ascent, graded severe for steepness and hard for navigation; the shorter High Stile and Seat round is 13.0 km and 881 m. Walking the ridge from Seat towards Red Pike (east to west), as our Buttermere ridge round does, puts that slope under your feet going up; our High Stile and Seat round goes the other way and comes down it.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 745 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast

Tue 27 Oct

11° / 4°

61 mph

9.5 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

8° / 5°

45 mph

7.8 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

8° / 6°

27 mph

1.1 mm (26%)

Fri 30 Oct

8° / 5°

27 mph

0.1 mm (31%)

Sat 31 Oct

9° / 0°

9 mph

0.0 mm (25%)

Sun 1 Nov

8° / 0°

7 mph

0.0 mm (12%)

Mon 2 Nov

6° / 0°

17 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 (opens in new tab)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for High Crag (Buttermere)

Parking

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

High Snockrigg (verge) — at the start of The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise

On the Newlands Pass road above Buttermere village, about 70 m from the Mountain Road junction bus stop. The 'High Snockrigg, Eel Crag & Lad Hows' route starts 60 m away, and 'Great Borne & Starling Dodd' and 'High Stile, Seat via Buttermere' about 210 m away in the village.

The Newlands Pass road above Buttermere with a rough verge beside it, a grassy fell rising ahead Taken October 2026

Directions Something changed here?

Buttermere village, by the Bridge Hotel (roadside, free) — at the start of High Stile, Seat via Buttermere

Walking base for Red Pike (Buttermere), High Stile, High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile) and High Crag (Buttermere) — the 'High Stile, Seat via Buttermere' route starts 5 m away. Also serves 'Great Bourne & Starling Dodd'. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Buttermere village (NT, paid) — at the start of The Buttermere Ridge

For Red Pike, High Stile, Robinson, Rannerdale Knotts. Fees: pay and display (LDNP directory, checked August 2026). £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026).

Typically full before 10:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 9 August 2026.

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: High Snockrigg (verge) (0.6 km, 20 m up); Car park for Rannerdale Knotts (1.7 km, 139 m up)

Buttermere village (~285 m straight line) — Accessible Syke Farm Tea Room Croft House Farm Café The Buttermere Court Hotel

5 more places to park near High Crag (Buttermere)

Gatesgarth Farm, Buttermere (paid) — 1.7 km from summit (straight line)

Farm car park at the foot of Haystacks, Fleetwith Pike and the High Stile ridge.

Directions Something changed here?

Fleetwith Pike (layby) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)

On the Honister Pass road (B5289), about 610 m east of the Gatesgarth Farm car park. The nearest route start is 'Fleetwith Edge and Haystacks', at the Gatesgarth Farm car park, about 0.6 km west in a straight line. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Honister Crag (layby) — 3.1 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Honister Crag (Black Star) (0.7 km), Fleetwith Pike (0.8 km), Dale Head (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Hassness (free) — 3.7 km on foot from the summit

On the B5289 above the north-east shore of Buttermere at Hassness, about 80 m from the Dalegarth bus stops. The nearest route starts are in Buttermere village: 'High Snockrigg, Eel Crag & Lad Hows', 1.7 km north-west on foot, and 'Great Borne & Starling Dodd', 1.8 km. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Rannerdale Knotts, south (layby) — 3.9 km from summit (straight line)

On the B5289 between Buttermere village and Crummock Water, about 1.1 km north-west of the village. The nearest route starts are in the village: 'The Buttermere Ridge', 0.8 km on foot, and 'Scale Fell and Mellbreak', 0.8 km on foot. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

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 and 77A stop at Buttermere, outside Court Hotel, a 100 m walk from the start of High Stile, Seat via Buttermere — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. 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. Last bus: Monday to Friday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Saturday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Sunday 18:20 towards Keswick (77). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”

Keswick – Portinscale – Hawes 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 (Summer 2026 timetable: 23 March to 1 November 2026). 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.

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

Hazards on High Crag (Buttermere)

Notes from the The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise route

The line follows the road for about 0.3 km at the start, down the Newlands Pass road into Buttermere village and along the B5289 past the Fish Hotel, and for about 0.25 km at the end, back up the Newlands Pass road from the Bridge Hotel. OpenStreetMap maps no pavement beside it.
Two stretches are steep and loose. The climb from Dodd to Red Pike is a path of red scree, about 125 m of height between about 3.5 and 3.8 km. The descent from High Crag down Gamlin End is the steepest ground of the walk, about 38% sustained around 7.1 km.
Crags are mapped beside the ridge path on its north side: Chapel Crags between Red Pike and High Stile, within a few metres of the path near 4.7 km, and the crags above Burtness Comb between about 5.6 and 6.6 km. Keep back from the edge, above all in mist or a strong wind.
The line crosses the outflow of Bleaberry Tarn, Sourmilk Gill, at a place OpenStreetMap maps as a ford near 2.7 km, and becks at mapped fords on Scarth Gap Pass near 8.5 and 9.6 km.
About 2.2 km of the line, in pieces, follows paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way; the longest is about 0.8 km between about 7.25 and 8.1 km, from below Gamlin End over Seat to Scarth Gap. The rest is public bridleways, a permissive path by the lake and the road in the village. That is a map-data note, not a ruling on access: check the access land and rights of way maps before relying on this stretch.

If you need to get off (the leg from High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile)): Do not leave the ridge north into Burtness Comb or south into Ennerdale: the ground is crag. Go on over High Crag and down Gamlin End, or back the way you came over Red Pike.

Quoted from the route page: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches High Crag (Buttermere).

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.

Navigating in cloud

Severe

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. 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 High Crag (Buttermere) 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 (opens in new tab) (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 High Crag (Buttermere)

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

0.8 km SESeat561 m · Western

1.3 km NWHigh Stile (Grey Crag)807 m · Western

1.9 km SSWPillar Rock780 m · Western

2.3 km SSELooking Stead (Pillar)628 m · Western

2.4 km NWDodd (Buttermere)641 m · Western

2.7 km SSWBlack Crag828 m · Western

3.0 km NNEHigh Snockrigg526 m · North Western

Routes over High Crag (Buttermere)

High Stile, Seat via Buttermere

Summits: Red Pike (Buttermere)High Stile High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile)High Crag (Buttermere)Seat

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide: High Stile, Seat via Buttermere →

The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise

Summits: Dodd (Buttermere)Red Pike (Buttermere)High Stile High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile)High Crag (Buttermere)Seat

This walk runs the Buttermere ridge the other way round from The Buttermere Ridge: the red scree below Red Pike is climbed, not descended, and Gamlin End is the way down.

Download GPX Walked by Lee, October 2026

Warnings: The line follows the road for about 0.3 km at the start, down the Newlands Pass road into Buttermere village and along the B5289 past the Fish Hotel, and for about 0.25 km at the end, back up the Newlands Pass road from the Bridge Hotel. OpenStreetMap maps no pavement beside it. Two stretches are steep and loose. The climb from Dodd to Red Pike is a path of red scree, about 125 m of height between about 3.5 and 3.8 km. The descent from High Crag down Gamlin End is the steepest ground of the walk, about 38% sustained around 7.1 km. Crags are mapped beside the ridge path on its north side: Chapel Crags between Red Pike and High Stile, within a few metres of the path near 4.7 km, and the crags above Burtness Comb between about 5.6 and 6.6 km. Keep back from the edge, above all in mist or a strong wind. The line crosses the outflow of Bleaberry Tarn, Sourmilk Gill, at a place OpenStreetMap maps as a ford near 2.7 km, and becks at mapped fords on Scarth Gap Pass near 8.5 and 9.6 km. About 2.2 km of the line, in pieces, follows paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way; the longest is about 0.8 km between about 7.25 and 8.1 km, from below Gamlin End over Seat to Scarth Gap. The rest is public bridleways, a permissive path by the lake and the road in the village. That is a map-data note, not a ruling on access: check the access land and rights of way maps before relying on this stretch.

Route guide: The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise →

The Buttermere Ridge

Summits: SeatHigh Crag (Buttermere)High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile)High Stile Red Pike (Buttermere)Dodd (Buttermere)

The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise walks the same ridge the other way round, up the red scree to Red Pike and down Gamlin End.

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide: The Buttermere Ridge →

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 High Crag (Buttermere)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the High Stile, Seat via Buttermere route:

Bridge Hotel (6 m from the start, straight line) The Fish Hotel (62 m from the start, straight line) Mountain Road junction (153 m from the start, straight line) Buttermere Youth Hostel (N bound) (312 m from the start, straight line) Syke Farm Campsite (217 m from the start, straight line)

On the The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise route:

Mountain Road junction (103 m from the start, straight line) Buttermere Youth Hostel (S bound) (219 m from the start, straight line) Buttermere Youth Hostel (N bound) (224 m from the start, straight line) Bridge Hotel (245 m from the start, straight line) Syke Farm Campsite (456 m from the start, straight line)

On the The Buttermere Ridge route:

Bridge Hotel (307 m from the start, straight line) The Fish Hotel (324 m from the start, straight line) Mountain Road junction (398 m from the start, straight line) Syke Farm Campsite (232 m from the start, straight line)

About High Crag (Buttermere)

Wainwright described the ascent from Scarth Gap via Gamlin End as one of the best ridge approaches in the Western Fells — steep, direct and immediately rewarding with views of Haystacks opposite. The traverse from High Crag to High Stile and Red Pike via the Buttermere ridge is one of the classic full-day walks in the western Lake District.

My Strava hikes over High Crag (Buttermere)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Red Pike, High Stile and High Crag (opens in new tab) — 12.9 km · 904 m ascent · 3h 44m moving · 17 October 2026

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is High Crag (Buttermere) a Wainwright?

High Crag (Buttermere) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list, the Fellranger list and the Hewitt list.

Selected lists

745 m

Height

2,444 ft

In feet

NY 1804 1399

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 High Crag (Buttermere)

The 360° skyline from High Crag (Buttermere)

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

The skyline as a list, by direction

North: Grasmoor (6 km), Crag Hill (6 km), Eel Crag (7 km)
North-east: Skiddaw Lesser Man (16 km), Skiddaw Little Man (16 km), Skiddaw South Top (17 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (17 km), Skiddaw (17 km), Broad End (18 km), Knowe Crags (18 km), Gategill Fell Top (19 km), Blencathra (20 km), Atkinson Pike (20 km)
East: Helvellyn Lower Man (16 km), White Side (16 km), Helvellyn (16 km), Nethermost Pike (16 km), High Crag (16 km), Watson's Dodd (16 km), Raise (17 km), Dollywaggon Pike (17 km), Catstye Cam (17 km), Stybarrow Dodd (17 km), Great Dodd (17 km), Cofa Pike (18 km), Green Side (18 km), Fairfield (18 km), Dove Crag (20 km), Red Screes (22 km)
South-east: Green Gable (5 km), Great Gable (5 km), Glaramara (7 km), Broad Crag (8 km), Scafell Pike (8 km), Ill Crag (8 km)
South: Kirk Fell (4 km), Scafell (8 km)
South-west: Pillar (2 km), Scoat Fell (3 km), Haycock (5 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (176 km, Ireland), Snaefell (82 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (102 km, Scotland), South Barrule (100 km, Isle of Man), Slieve Croob (177 km, Ireland), Green Lowther (102 km, Scotland), Divis (178 km, Ireland), Queensberry (88 km, Scotland).

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

Sunrise and sunset on High Crag (Buttermere)

High Crag (Buttermere) sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (at the March equinox) first light is only 3 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

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 light	Almanac sunrise	Difference
Midsummer	04:39 BST ±5.0 min	04:38	+1 min
Equinox	06:19 GMT ±5.0 min	06:16	+3 min
Midwinter	08:36 GMT ±5.0 min	08:34	+2 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.03°).

Last light — when the sun leaves High Crag (Buttermere)

High Crag (Buttermere) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when last light is 23 minutes before almanac sunset — 21:30 against 21:53. The sun goes down to the north-west from here (310.3°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.24°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
	Last light	Almanac sunset	Difference
Midsummer	21:30 BST ±5.0 min	21:53	-23 min
Equinox	18:33 GMT ±5.0 min	18:27	+6 min
Midwinter	15:44 GMT ±5.0 min	15:50	-6 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 High Crag (Buttermere)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.

74Wainwrights in view+7 marginal

181 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction

2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.

Far horizons

Slieve Binnian Northern IrelandW · 181 km clear
Slieve Donard Northern IrelandW · 177 km clear
Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 83 km clear
Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSE · 69 km clear
Criffel ScotlandNNW · 54 km clear
Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 43 km in view
Irish Sea open waterW · 36 km in view

All 74 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

High Stile, Haystacks (Buttermere), Pillar, Fleetwith Pike, Steeple, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Robinson, Kirk Fell, Grey Knotts, Brandreth, Hindscarth, Dale Head, Rannerdale Knotts, Green Gable, Great Gable, Haycock, Whiteless Pike, Knott Rigg, Caw Fell, Wandope, Grasmoor, Ard Crags, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Lingmell, Sail, Scar Crags, Glaramara, Scafell Pike, Causey Pike, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Scafell, Hopegill Head, Crag Fell, Cat Bells (Catbells), Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Grike, Low Fell, Eagle Crag, High Raise (High White Stones), Ullscarf, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Pike of Stickle, Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top), Bleaberry Fell, Harrison Stickle, Harter Fell (Eskdale), Dodd (Skiddaw), Green Crag, Carl Side, White Side, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Skiddaw Little Man, Watson's Dodd, Raise, Dollywaggon Pike, Seat Sandal, Lonscale Fell, Catstye Cam, Stybarrow Dodd, Skiddaw, Great Dodd, Clough Head, Great Rigg, Fairfield, Heron Pike (Rydal), Dove Crag, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, High Pike (Scandale), Red Screes, Bowscale Fell, Yoke

How the view from High Crag (Buttermere) 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 High Crag (Buttermere). 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

Bridge Hotel (opens in new tab) hotelabout 0.0 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).

Frequently asked questions about High Crag (Buttermere)

Is High Crag hard to climb? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

High Crag (Buttermere)

Summit conditions on High Crag (Buttermere)

Wind on the top

Rain, and the becks

Routes up High Crag (Buttermere)

Is High Crag hard to climb?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for High Crag (Buttermere)

Parking

Buses

Hazards on High Crag (Buttermere)

Notes from the The Buttermere Ridge Anti-Clockwise route

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of High Crag (Buttermere)

Routes over High Crag (Buttermere)

On the hill: terrain and water on High Crag (Buttermere)

Water & shelter on the way up

About High Crag (Buttermere)

My Strava hikes over High Crag (Buttermere)

Classifications & hill data

Is High Crag (Buttermere) a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from High Crag (Buttermere)

The 360° skyline from High Crag (Buttermere)

Sunrise and sunset on High Crag (Buttermere)

Last light — when the sun leaves High Crag (Buttermere)

What you can see from High Crag (Buttermere)

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about High Crag (Buttermere)

Other fells near High Crag (Buttermere)