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

Little Hart Crag - a grassy ridge above a green valley, Brothers Water below among the fells under heavy grey cloud
Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

Little Hart Crag at 637m (2,090ft) is the rocky subsidiary summit above the Dovedale valley, giving excellent views down to Brothers Water and across to Red Screes.

637 m
Height
~3–4 h
Typical time
+3
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

637 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 637 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 13°C, gusts to 41 mph, 14.2 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
15° / 13°
💨 41 mph
🌧 14.2 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
15° / 12°
💨 33 mph
🌧 3.9 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
13° / 4°
💨 27 mph
🌧 0.9 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 2°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 3°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
16° / 4°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 5°
💨 12 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 637 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

About the walk

Key information

Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

Little Hart Crag - a grassy ridge above a green valley, Brothers Water below among the fells under heavy grey cloud
© Lee McCoy

Little Hart Crag at 637m (2,090ft) is the rocky subsidiary summit above the Dovedale valley, giving excellent views down to Brothers Water and across to Red Screes. Wainwright described it as a craggy, interesting top with views that belie its modest height — the prospect of Dovedale and the Scandale valley from the summit is particularly fine. Most naturally reached from Hartsop or as part of the Red Screes–Middle Dodd circuit. A rewarding fell for the views of the quieter eastern valleys.

Routes up Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

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

Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag
11.9 km · ~3.6 hr
Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd
10.4 km · ~3.4 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
637 m
Height
2,090 ft
In feet
NY 3873 1003
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Kirkstone Pass (laybys / inn), about 2.5 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top) (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.

2.4 km NNEGale Crag512 m · Eastern
2.5 km SESt Raven's Edge593 m · Far Eastern
2.5 km ECaudale Moor - John Bell's Banner755 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

Hartsop Fells and Hart CragRevised
11.87 km · ~765 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h
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

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop DoddRevised
10.42 km · ~795 m ascent · loop · ~3–4.5 h
Summits: Middle DoddLittle Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)High Hartsop Dodd

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

The View from Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

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 Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)29 labelled tops shown (7 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 7 kmSt Sunday Crag · 4 kmHart Crag · 2 kmHigh Raise · 7 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 17 kmSwirl How · 15 kmGavel Pike · 4 kmIll Bell · 5 kmHart Side · 10 kmCaudale Moor · 3 kmKentmere Pike · 8 kmYoke · 6 kmGray Crag · 4 kmRest Dodd · 6 kmLoadpot Hill · 11 kmCarrock Fell · 24 kmPlace Fell · 7 kmSwineside Knott · 10 kmGreat Mell Fell · 15 kmDove Crag · 1 kmRed Screes · 2 kmAngletarn Pikes · 6 kmSwarth Fell · 12 kmLow Pike · 3 kmSleet Fell · 10 kmTop o' Selside · 20 kmHolme Fell · 12 kmClaife Heights · 13 kmLatterbarrow · 11 kmNethermost Pike · 6 kmWether Hill · 10 kmHigh Pike · 2 kmBirk Fell · 8 kmArnison Crag · 5 kmHallin Fell · 11 kmEycott Hill · 19 kmBlack Fell · 10 kmBigland Barrow · 26 kmSnowdon · 174 km · a handful of days a yearArenig Fawr · 182 km · a handful of days a yearYr Eifl · 194 km · a handful of days a yearMoel y Gamelin · 165 km · a handful of days a yearWisp Hill · 89 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 91 km · a rare clear dayLarriston Fells · 84 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), by direction
  • North: Birks (4 km), Place Fell (7 km), Heron Pike (8 km), Sheffield Pike (8 km), Swineside Knott (10 km), Birkett Fell (10 km), Hart Side (10 km), Common Fell (10 km), Great Mell Fell (15 km), Carrock Fell (24 km)
  • North-east: Hartsop Dodd (3 km), Gray Crag (4 km), The Knott (6 km), Rest Dodd (6 km), Rampsgill Head (6 km), Kidsty Pike (6 km), High Raise (7 km), Wether Hill (10 km), Loadpot Hill (11 km)
  • East: Caudale Moor (3 km), Froswick (5 km), Kentmere Pike (8 km)
  • South-east: Middle Dodd (1 km), Red Screes (2 km), Ill Bell (5 km), Yoke (6 km)
  • South-west: High Pike (2 km), Wetherlam (13 km), Kitty Crag (14 km), Great Carrs (15 km), Swirl How (15 km), Great How (15 km), Brim Fell (16 km), The Old Man of Coniston (17 km)
  • West: Dove Crag (1 km)
  • North-west: Hart Crag (2 km), Gavel Pike (4 km), St Sunday Crag (4 km), Nethermost Pike (6 km), Helvellyn (7 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (174 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (162 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (170 km, Wales), Arenig Fawr (182 km, Wales), Yr Eifl (194 km, Wales), Craig Cwm Silyn (182 km, Wales), Gyrn Ddu (191 km, Wales), Moel y Gamelin (165 km, Wales).

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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
39Wainwrights in view+10 marginal
174 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Morecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.

Far horizons
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 174 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 158 km clear
  • Irish Sea open waterSW · 75 km in view
  • Morecambe Bay bay/estuarySSW · 36 km in view
All 39 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

High Hartsop Dodd, Middle Dodd, Dove Crag, Red Screes, High Pike (Scandale), Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How), Hart Crag, Low Pike, Hartsop Dodd, St Sunday Crag, Gray Crag, Birks, Brock Crags (Wainwright), Froswick, Arnison Crag, Ill Bell, High Street, Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), The Knott (High Street), Rest Dodd, Nethermost Pike, Yoke, Rampsgill Head, Kidsty Pike, Helvellyn, High Raise (High Street), The Nab, Place Fell, Sheffield Pike, Wether Hill, Black Fell, Hart Side, Loadpot Hill, Hallin Fell, Holme Fell, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Great Mell Fell, Brim Fell, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)

How Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)’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.

Best parking to hike Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

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

Kirkstone Pass (laybys / inn) — 2.5 km from summit (straight line)
High start for Red Screes (30 min!), Caudale Moor and Middle Dodd.
Directions
Hartsop village (free, donation) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
For Hartsop Dodd, Gray Crag, High Street via Hayeswater, Brock Crags.
Directions

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.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag route:

🚌 Cow Bridge (29 m)🚌 Cow Bridge car park (33 m)🚌 Road End (306 m)

On the Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd route:

🚌 Cow Bridge (53 m)🚌 Cow Bridge car park (54 m)🚌 Road End (329 m)

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

Buses to Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top) 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.

My hikes over Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top) (Strava)

3 logged hikes pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Navigating Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top) in cloud

Care needed

Walkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. Take care in poor visibility — 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 Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top) compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

Maps & guidebooks for Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)

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