Lining Crag
Lining Crag at 542m (1,778ft) is a rocky Birkett top at the head of Greenup Gill in the Central Fells, 0.7 km north-north-west of Greenup Edge and 0.9 km east of Sergeant's Crag.
Summit conditions on Lining Crag
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 62 mph, 14.3 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 Lining Crag
Choose the way up before the car park: these two routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.
| Compared | The Difficult Route up Eagle Crag | Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Stonethwaite | Stonethwaite |
| Distance and climb | 10.71 km, 611 m of climb | 14.83 km, 756 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~3–4¼ h | ~4–5¾ h |
| Scrambling | Hands for a few steps: the gully and rock terraces up Eagle Crag (km 2.9–3.4). | Hands for a few steps: the gully and rock terraces up Eagle Crag (km 0.0–3.2). |
| Exposure | Not assessed | Not assessed |
| Navigation | Hard | Hard |
| Steepest stretch | Climb of about 46% at 2.7 km (Severe) | Climb of about 45% at 2.6 km (Severe) |
| After the summit | No further tops | No further tops |
| Walked or planned | Planned: drawn, not yet walked | Walked by Lee, April 2026 |
| Car park at the start | Stonethwaite village (roadside, free) | Stonethwaite lane (layby) (free) |
| Bus to the start | 78, 710 m walk from Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road end. The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. | 78, 430 m walk from Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road end. The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. |
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 Lining Crag?
The shortest way up we hold is The Difficult Route up Eagle Crag — 10.71 km, 611 m of ascent, ~3–4¼ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · navigation: Hard · length: Moderate · terrain: Not assessed · exposure: Not assessed.
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 542 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 Lining Crag
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
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 78 stop at Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road end, a 430 m walk from the start of Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (78): Tuesday to Sunday 20:03. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 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 Lining Crag
Notes from the Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag route
- The direct Eagle Crag route (climbed here, not descended) is a steep, intricate line of rock terraces and a wet gully that guidebooks recommend for ascent only, and only in good weather — avoid it altogether in the wet, and do not come back down it.
- The Bleak How step-stile has a rotted lower step — a big step up from below; take care and lift or assist dogs.
- Lining Crag's north face is near-vertical into Greenup Gill with little warning from the grassy top — keep back from the lip.
- Greenup Edge and the Ullscarf plateau are boggy and featureless — serious navigation in mist; rely on the old fence posts, cairns and bearings.
If you need to get off (the leg from Ullscarf): Retreat: In poor visibility this stage is already the way off: keep to the post line down to Greenup Edge and take the main Greenup Gill path past Lining Crag.
Quoted from the route page: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Lining Crag.
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 Lining Crag
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Lining Crag
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Walked and described first-hand by Lee. A serious round: the navigation over Ullscarf and Greenup Edge is boggy and featureless (a compass is essential in cloud), and the direct Eagle Crag line is steep and intricate — good-weather, sure-footed terrain. Carry OS Explorer OL4.
Download GPX Walked by Lee, April 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 Lining Crag
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Lining Crag
Classifications & hill data
Is Lining Crag a Wainwright?
Lining Crag is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge 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
- Seatoller House B&B (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.6 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).