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484 m · Birkett — Central (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — Central (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Middle Crag

Middle Crag at 484m (1,588ft) is a Birkett top on the rough fell above the Thirlmere reservoir in the Central Fells, its rocky character giving views across the long lake and towards the Helvellyn range.

484 m
Height
+9
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

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484 mBirkett — Central (not a Wainwright summit)+9 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 484 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 16° to 14°C, gusts to 32 mph, 4.0 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
16° / 14°
💨 32 mph
🌧 4.0 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
16° / 12°
💨 30 mph
🌧 4.6 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
13° / 5°
💨 29 mph
🌧 2.0 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 2°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 14 mph
🌧 5.4 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌫️
16° / 4°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 5°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.4 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 484 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

Middle Crag

Middle Crag at 484m (1,588ft) is a Birkett top on the rough fell above the Thirlmere reservoir in the Central Fells, its rocky character giving views across the long lake and towards the Helvellyn range. Part of the fell country between Armboth and Wythburn. A quiet summit above the rarely visited western shore of Thirlmere.

Routes up Middle Crag

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

Birketts West of Thirlmere
23.1 km · ~6.4 hr
Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth
14.3 km · ~3.8 hr
Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
484 m
Height
1,588 ft
In feet
NY 2879 1580
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Watendlath (NT, paid), about 1.5 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Middle Crag (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.

0.5 km SSEShivery Knott491 m · Central
0.9 km ENEArmboth Fell (Birkett)479 m · Central
0.9 km SWatendlath Fell (Long Moss)515 m · Central
1.8 km ENEFisher Crag421 m · Central
1.8 km SEBell Crags (Long Moss) (Blea Tarn Fell)559 m · Central
2.1 km SEBrown Rigg462 m · Central
2.5 km SLow Saddle656 m · Central
2.6 km SSEStanding Crag611 m · Central
2.9 km SColdbarrow Fell - High Saddle675 m · Central

Routes over Middle Crag

Birketts West of ThirlmerePlanned
23.11 km · ~1047 m ascent · loop · ~6–8.5 h
Summits: Wythburn FellStanding CragColdbarrow Fell - High SaddleLow SaddleBell Crags (Long Moss) (Blea Tarn Fell)Watendlath Fell (Long Moss)Shivery KnottMiddle CragHigh ToveFisher Crag

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: Access: The summit of Fisher Crag lies outside mapped CRoW open-access land. That records no statutory right of access — it is not a statement that access is forbidden, and permissive access is not recorded in that layer. This line is computed rather than walked, so treat the access as unchecked and look for the courteous way through — how we work this out.

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

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

Standing Crag, High Tove, ArmbothLive
14.26 km · ~545 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h
Summits: Standing CragShivery KnottMiddle CragHigh ToveArmboth Fell (Birkett)Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

Best parking to hike Middle Crag

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

Watendlath (NT, paid) — 1.5 km from summit (straight line)
End of the narrow Watendlath road — Grange Fell, Great Crag, Armboth fells.
Directions
Stonethwaite (roadside, limited) — 2.7 km from summit (straight line)
Small roadside area near the hamlet — Eagle Crag, Sergeant's Crag, Langstrath approaches.
Directions
🚺 Rosthwaite Village (1156m) — Free · Accessible☕ Peathouse Tea & Coffee Shop🍺 The Langstrath Inn

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 Birketts West of Thirlmere route:

🚺 map (29 m)

On the Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth route:

🚺 map (29 m)

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

Buses to Middle Crag from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 78 “Borrowdale Rambler”
Keswick – Lodore – Grange – Rosthwaite – Seatoller
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 or X4/X5)
Year-round, frequent in season. Serves all the Borrowdale starts — Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable via Seathwaite (alight Seatoller, 20 min walk up the lane).

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Other fells near Middle Crag

Maps & guidebooks for Middle Crag

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