Scar Crags

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited May 2026

Home › Fells › Scar Crags

672 mWainwright — North Western Fells+10 bonus Birketts within 3 km Fewer traps in Clag

Scar Crags at 672m (2,205ft) is a craggy ridge summit above Coledale between Causey Pike and Sail, its rocky profile one of the features of the Coledale Horseshoe.

Summit conditions on Scar Crags

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 58 mph, 10.6 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

60 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 1.18. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 58 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

10.6 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 33 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 Scar Crags

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	Scar Crags, Causey Pike	Newlands Hause to the Coledale Tops
Starts from	Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas)	Newlands Hause
Distance and climb	12.16 km, 848 m of climb	11.4 km, 1,107 m of climb
Time, fast to steady	~3¾–5¼ h	~4–5½ h
Scrambling	Hands for a few steps: Causey Pike's top, up and down (km 5.9–8.2). From the summit of Causey Pike the route drops aggressively eastwards off the "bobble": steep, rocky, hands-on downclimbing over polished rock steps.	Not mentioned in the route’s notes
Exposure	Hard	Not assessed
Navigation	Hard	Hard
Steepest stretch	Descent of about 42% at 8.5 km (Severe)	Descent of about 43% at 9.4 km (Severe)
After the summit	Over Causey Pike and Rowling End	Over Sail, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Eel Crag (Birkett), Wandope, Thirdgill Head Man and Whiteless Pike
Walked or planned	Walked in part; km 2.9–3.4, km 4.4–5.2, km 7.2–11.8 from the map	Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the start	Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas)	Newlands Hause car park (free)
Bus to the start	77 at the start	77, 2.2 km walk from Buttermere Youth Hostel (near). 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 Scar Crags a hard walk?

Not once you are on the ridge. Scar Crags is the crest between Causey Pike and Sail, and the walking along it is easy on a good path, with the crag itself falling away on the south side above Rigg Beck — airy rather than difficult.

On our round the climb is the steep, loose pull from High Moss up to the ridge, and the hard part comes after Scar Crags: the round goes on east over Causey Pike, and leaving its summit is a short, steep downclimb over polished rock steps, slick in rain or ice. That day is 12.2 km with 848 m of ascent, graded severe for steepness. Scar Crags is the easy half of it.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 672 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast

Tue 27 Oct

11° / 5°

58 mph

10.6 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

8° / 6°

46 mph

7.9 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

8° / 7°

25 mph

0.7 mm (26%)

Fri 30 Oct

9° / 6°

25 mph

0.0 mm (31%)

Sat 31 Oct

10° / 1°

8 mph

0.0 mm (25%)

Sun 1 Nov

7° / 0°

5 mph

0.0 mm (12%)

Mon 2 Nov

7° / 2°

15 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 Scar Crags

Parking

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

Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) — 0.1 km from the start of Scar Crags, Causey Pike (straight line)

In the village centre, beside the primary school. The small car park there may be the one the Authority lists as 'Braithwaite School', open to the public at weekends and in school holidays only, with no overnight parking. The 'Scar Crags, Causey Pike', 'Stile End, Outerside, Causey Pike, Rowling End' and 'Ard Crags & Knott Rigg' routes start here; the 'Coledale Round' starts at the Whinlatter Pass road car park above the village, 0.7 km on foot.

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Noble Knott, Whinlatter (Forestry England, free) (1.7 km, 72 m up); Revelin Moss, Whinlatter (Forestry England, paid) (3.3 km, 117 m up); Stoneycroft Ghyll, Newlands (free) (2.3 km, 105 m up)

Outside Jasper's coffee shop (open when the shop is) (~89 m straight line) — Free Middle Ruddings Ivy House Jasper's Royal Oak Coledale Inn

Newlands Hause car park — at the start of Newlands Hause to the Coledale Tops

At Newlands Hause, the top of the Newlands Pass road above Buttermere. The 'Knott Rigg & Ard Crags Out-and-Back from Newlands Pass' route starts here. Added from the 5 August 2026 OSM candidate review.

Directions Something changed here?

Ard Crags (layby) — 1.3 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Ard Crags (0.8 km), Scar Crags (1.3 km), Causey Pike (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

4 more places to park near Scar Crags

Causey Pike (layby) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Causey Pike (1.3 km), Scope End (1.3 km), Rowling End (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Rowling End car park (free) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Rowling End (0.5 km), Causey Pike (1.3 km), Cat Bells (Catbells) (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Compacted surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Knott Rigg (layby) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Knott Rigg (0.8 km), Ill Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top) (0.8 km), Ard Crags (1.3 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Rowling End, south-east (layby) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Rowling End (0.5 km), Cat Bells (Catbells) (1.3 km), Skelgill Bank (1.3 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Compacted 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 X5 stop at Braithwaite, at Croft Terrace, a 10 m walk from the start of Scar Crags, Causey Pike — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (77): Tuesday to Sunday 17:37 to Keswick, 16:37 to Cockermouth. Towards Workington (X5): Tuesday to Thursday 22:27; Friday and Saturday 00:22 (after midnight); Sunday 20:17. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 24 September 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 Scar Crags

Notes from the Scar Crags, Causey Pike route

Leaving Causey Pike's summit is a short, steep downclimb over polished rock steps, slick in rain or ice. Take your time and face the rock if you need to.
The grassy drop off Rowling End is very steep and a slip hazard when wet.
The finish is along a narrow lane through the Newlands Valley, where cars can appear suddenly round blind, walled corners.

If you need to get off (the leg from Outerside): Retreat: If you don't want to tackle the high ridge, drop down from High Moss heading east towards Stoneycroft Gill. This path leads down into the Newlands Valley.

Quoted from the route page: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Scar Crags.

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

Fewer traps in cloud

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of walkable ground near the summit that lies close to steep ground or crag. This top is in the lowest of the index’s four bands, and a low band never means “safe”: 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 Scar Crags 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 Scar Crags

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

1.7 km SSWIll Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)546 m · North Western

1.7 km NEStile End447 m · North Western

1.8 km WEel Crag (Birkett)807 m · North Western

2.0 km NWHobcarton Crag (Hobcarton Head)738 m · North Western

2.1 km ERowling End433 m · North Western

2.5 km WNWSand Hill756 m · North Western

2.7 km WSWThirdgill Head Man734 m · North Western

2.8 km NNEKinn374 m · North Western

2.8 km SEScope End412 m · North Western

3.0 km SSERed Knott452 m · North Western

Routes over Scar Crags

Newlands Hause to the Coledale Tops

Summits: Knott Rigg Ill Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)Ard CragsScar CragsSail Crag Hill (Eel Crag)Eel Crag (Birkett)Wandope Thirdgill Head Man Whiteless Pike

The start is the free car park at Newlands Hause, the top of the Newlands Pass road between Buttermere and Newlands. No bus stop is mapped within about 1.5 km.

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: OpenStreetMap maps crag edges within about 5 m of the path in four places: on the ridge between Sail and Crag Hill (Scott Crag, near 5.95 km), just past the top of Crag Hill (near 6.3 km), near 7.55 km before Wandope, and on Whiteless Edge (near 8.5 km). Between about 6.7 and 7.0 km, past the Eel Crag top, the line is up to about 130 m from any mapped path. From Whiteless Pike the line goes very steeply down to Sail Beck, about 43% sustained near 9.4 km, the steepest ground of the walk, then climbs about 250 m almost as steeply to the Knott Rigg path: about 50% over 250 m near 10.7 km. The line crosses streams at two points OpenStreetMap maps as fords: below Ard Crags near 3.15 km, and Sail Beck near 10.15 km. About 4.3 km of the line, in pieces, follows paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way; the longest are about 1.1 km from the top of Ard Crags towards Scar Crags (about 2.75 to 3.9 km), about 0.9 km from Crag Hill past the Eel Crag top (about 6.15 to 7.0 km) and about 2 km from Whiteless Pike to the Knott Rigg path (about 8.9 to 10.9 km). The rest is public footpaths. 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: Newlands Hause to the Coledale Tops →

Scar Crags, Causey Pike

Summits: Barrow OutersideScar CragsCausey Pike Rowling End

Download GPX Walked in part, May 2026 · km 2.9–3.4, km 4.4–5.2, km 7.2–11.8 from the map

Warnings: Leaving Causey Pike's summit is a short, steep downclimb over polished rock steps, slick in rain or ice. Take your time and face the rock if you need to. The grassy drop off Rowling End is very steep and a slip hazard when wet. The finish is along a narrow lane through the Newlands Valley, where cars can appear suddenly round blind, walled corners.

Route guide: Scar Crags, Causey Pike →

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 Scar Crags

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Newlands Hause to the Coledale Tops route:

shelter (weather shelter, mapped, not checked; 27 m off the line)

On the Scar Crags, Causey Pike route:

shelter (mapped, not checked; 6 m off the line) Police Station (W bound) (6 m from the start, straight line) Police Station (E bound) (7 m from the start, straight line) Thornthwaite Road (N bound) (420 m from the start, straight line) Thornthwaite Road (S bound) (426 m from the start, straight line) Hope Memorial Camp (462 m from the start, straight line)

About Scar Crags

Scar Crags, a Lake District fell — Photo: Mick Knapton at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Most naturally part of the Coledale Horseshoe circuit — the ridge between Causey Pike and Sail over Scar Crags is one of the more interesting sections of the horseshoe, with good views of the Coledale valley throughout.

My Strava hikes over Scar Crags

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

My knees didn't like that (opens in new tab) — 19.0 km · 1421 m ascent · 5h 33m moving · 16 May 2026

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Scar Crags a Wainwright?

Scar Crags 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

672 m

Height

2,205 ft

In feet

NY 2084 2066

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 Scar Crags

The 360° skyline from Scar Crags

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-east: Skiddaw Little Man (9 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (9 km), Skiddaw South Top (10 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (10 km), Skiddaw (10 km), Broad End (11 km), Knowe Crags (12 km), Gategill Fell Top (13 km), Blencathra (14 km), Atkinson Pike (14 km)
East: Watson's Dodd (13 km), Great Dodd (13 km), White Side (14 km), Stybarrow Dodd (14 km), Raise (14 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (14 km), Helvellyn (14 km), Catstye Cam (15 km)
South-east: Nethermost Pike (15 km), High Crag (15 km), Dollywaggon Pike (16 km), Cofa Pike (17 km), Fairfield (18 km)
South: Kirk Fell East Top (10 km), Great Gable (10 km), Great End (12 km), Broad Crag (13 km), Ill Crag (13 km), Scafell Pike (14 km), Esk Pike (14 km), Scafell (14 km), Bowfell (15 km), Great Carrs (21 km), Swirl How (21 km)
South-west: High Stile (7 km), High Stile (7 km), Pillar (9 km), Steeple (10 km), Scoat Fell (10 km)
West: Crag Hill (2 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Tinto (116 km, Scotland), Ingleborough (70 km, England), Green Lowther (96 km, Scotland), White Coomb (94 km, Scotland), Queensberry (82 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (87 km, Scotland), Culter Fell (110 km, Scotland), Wisp Hill (81 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 Scar Crags

Scar Crags sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 August) first light is only 6 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	04:38 BST ±5.0 min	04:37	+1 min
Equinox	06:21 GMT ±5.0 min	06:16	+5 min
Midwinter	08:32 GMT ±5.0 min	08:34	-2 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.39°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Scar Crags

Scar Crags loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 October, when last light is 42 minutes before almanac sunset — 18:08 against 18:50. The sun goes down to the west-south-west from here (256.9°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 5.56°.

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	21:38 BST ±5.0 min	21:54	-16 min
Equinox	17:52 GMT ±5.0 min	18:27	-35 min
Midwinter	15:54 GMT ±5.0 min	15:49	+5 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 Scar Crags

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

75Wainwrights in view+6 marginal

52 kmFurthest sightlineGreat Dun Fell

1Sea in viewSolway Firth

Far horizons

Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 52 km clear
Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 50 km clear
Solway Firth bay/estuaryN · 43 km in view

All 75 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Outerside, Ard Crags, Causey Pike, Sail, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Grisedale Pike, Knott Rigg, Barrow, Hopegill Head, Cat Bells (Catbells), Robinson, Maiden Moor, Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), Hindscarth, High Spy, Dale Head, Lord's Seat, Barf, Broom Fell, Walla Crag, Red Pike (Buttermere), High Stile, High Crag (Buttermere), Dodd (Skiddaw), Bleaberry Fell, Latrigg, Starling Dodd, High Seat, Carl Side, Long Side, Brandreth, Ullock Pike, Skiddaw Little Man, Pillar, Skiddaw, Green Gable, Lonscale Fell, High Rigg (Naddle Fell), Great Gable, Steeple, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Glaramara, Sergeant's Crag, Ullscarf, Great End, Clough Head, Watson's Dodd, High Raise (High White Stones), Great Dodd, Scafell Pike, Esk Pike, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, White Side, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, Scafell, Helvellyn, Thunacar Knott, Bowfell, Catstye Cam, Pike of Stickle, Pavey Ark, Nethermost Pike, Binsey, Harrison Stickle, Loft Crag, Dollywaggon Pike, Bowscale Fell, Seat Sandal, Fairfield, Great Rigg, Heron Pike (Rydal), Great Mell Fell, Great Carrs, Swirl How

How the view from Scar Crags 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 Scar Crags. 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

From Whinlatter: 10 places in Keswick

Frequently asked questions about Scar Crags

Is Scar Crags a hard walk? Answered above.

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

Scar Crags

Summit conditions on Scar Crags

Wind on the top

Rain, and the becks

Routes up Scar Crags

Is Scar Crags a hard walk?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Scar Crags

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Scar Crags

Notes from the Scar Crags, Causey Pike route

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Scar Crags

Routes over Scar Crags

On the hill: terrain and water on Scar Crags

Water & shelter on the way up

About Scar Crags

My Strava hikes over Scar Crags

Classifications & hill data

Is Scar Crags a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from Scar Crags

The 360° skyline from Scar Crags

Sunrise and sunset on Scar Crags

Last light — when the sun leaves Scar Crags

What you can see from Scar Crags

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Scar Crags

Other fells near Scar Crags