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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 faint path along the grassy top, looking down to Brothers Water with Hartsop Dodd and the Kirkstone fells under a heavy sky
Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

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 → Parking & buses →
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 (Fri 11 Sep): 11° to 8°C, gusts to 28 mph, 1.0 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 28 mph
🌧 1.0 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 8°
💨 48 mph
🌧 36.0 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (62%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
14° / 8°
💨 32 mph
🌧 11.3 mm (100%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
13° / 8°
💨 35 mph
🌧 4.3 mm (89%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 31 mph
🌧 2.0 mm (78%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 36 mph
🌧 3.2 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 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.

Little Hart Crag (West Top) at a glance

Little Hart Crag (West Top)

Little Hart Crag - a faint path along the grassy top, looking down to Brothers Water with Hartsop Dodd and the Kirkstone fells under a heavy sky
© 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 (West Top)

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

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
637 m
Height
2,090 ft
In feet
NY 3873 1003
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Little Hart Crag (West Top) a Wainwright?

Little Hart Crag (West Top) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list and the Fellranger list.

Where do you park for Little Hart Crag (West Top)?

The nearest car park we hold is Middle Dodd, north-east car park (free), about 1.6 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is High Hartsop Dodd car park (free), 1.6 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

My hikes over 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.

Parking & buses for Little Hart Crag (West Top)

Best parking to hike Little Hart Crag (West Top)

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

Middle Dodd, north-east car park (free) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Middle Dodd (0.7 km), Caudale Moor - John Bell's Banner (1.0 km), Red Screes (1.3 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
High Hartsop Dodd car park (free) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: High Hartsop Dodd (0.8 km), Middle Dodd (1.3 km), Caudale Moor - John Bell's Banner (1.3 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Middle Dodd (layby) — 1.7 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Middle Dodd (0.6 km), Red Screes (0.9 km), St Raven's Edge (1.0 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Middle Dodd car park (free) — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Middle Dodd (0.7 km), Red Screes (0.9 km), St Raven's Edge (0.9 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
High Hartsop Dodd (layby) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: High Hartsop Dodd (1.0 km), Hartsop Dodd (1.1 km), Gale Crag (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

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.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Little Hart Crag (West Top) by bus

The 508 stops at Hartsop, opposite Cow Bridge, 30 m from the start of Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag. 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. 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 (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Little Hart Crag (West Top)

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Navigating 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 (West Top) compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Middle Dodd, north-east car park (free), about 1.6 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near 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 (West Top)

11.87 km · ~765 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

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. How to use this guide.

On the hill: terrain and water on Little Hart Crag (West Top)

Water & shelter on the way up

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

The view from Little Hart Crag (West Top)

The 360° skyline from 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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Little Hart Crag (West Top)

Little Hart Crag (West Top) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when the sun is up for 30 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:02 against an almanac sunrise of 08:32. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (137.9°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.79°.

30°40°50°60°04:38
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
Midsummer04:38 BST ±5.0 min04:36+2 min
Equinox06:33 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+18 min
Midwinter09:02 GMT ±5.0 min08:32+30 min

The northern horizon stands at about 0.5° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Little Hart Crag (West Top)

Little Hart Crag (West Top) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 May, when last light is 51 minutes before almanac sunset — 19:55 against 20:46. The sun goes down to the west-north-west from here (288.2°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 6.31°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:13 BST ±5.0 min21:52-39 min
Equinox17:50 GMT ±5.0 min18:26-36 min
Midwinter15:45 GMT ±5.0 min15:49-4 min

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 Little Hart Crag (West Top). 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. 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 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)

How 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.

Places to stay near this fell

Greenbank Farm Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest house

about 1.8 km from the start, in a straight line

Ranked first despite being the eighth-nearest candidate because it answers more of the 6pm questions than anything else in the radius, and it answers them in its own sentences with prices attached: drying facilities, evening meals from £14.00, packed lunches at £6.00, and the only stated room composition on an independent B&B here. Its family room is a room for three, not four — which is exactly the fact a family of four needs before booking, and the reason a bare family_rooms=yes would have been a worse row than this one.

The farmhouse sits below Arnison Crag and looks across at Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes — the two fells this start's routes climb.

  • Drying room “We also have drying facilities and a large patio and garden to enjoy the view.”
  • Family rooms “Family: Room for three with a double and one single bed.”
  • Evening meal “We offer hearty home-cooked breakfasts and evening meals as well as packed lunches if required.”
  • Packed lunch “Packed Lunches £6.00”

Worth knowing before you book

These places state on their own site that they do not take children.

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Little Hart Crag (West Top)

Is Little Hart Crag a hard walk?

The fell is small and rocky-topped with twin summits, and the climbing on it is brief. It sits in the hollow between Scandale and Dovedale, so it is more sheltered and more intricate than the big ridges either side of it.

Our round with Middle Dodd and High Hartsop Dodd is 10.4 km with 795 m of ascent, and we grade its navigation hard. Most of the effort in that figure is Middle Dodd's steep nose, not this fell.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Other fells near Little Hart Crag (West Top)