Standing Crag
Standing Crag at 611m (2,005ft) is a rocky Birkett top on the Central Fells watershed, 1.2 km north-north-east of Ullscarf, with Blea Tarn 0.7 km to the north-north-west and Harrop Tarn 1.4 km to the east-north-east.
Summit conditions on Standing Crag
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 5°C, gusts to 55 mph, 17.6 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 Standing Crag
Both start from Dob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on foot; the last two rows give its parking and bus. Full maps further down.
| Compared | Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth | Birketts West of Thirlmere |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Dob Gill, Thirlmere | Dob Gill, Thirlmere |
| Distance and climb | 14.26 km, 601 m of climb | 23.11 km, 1,241 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~3¾–5¼ h | ~6½–9 h |
| Scrambling | Not mentioned in the route’s notes | Not mentioned in the route’s notes |
| Exposure | Moderate | Not assessed |
| Navigation | Hard | Moderate |
| Steepest stretch | Descent of about 24% at 9.5 km (Moderate) | Climb of about 29% at 0.8 km (Hard) |
| After the summit | Over Shivery Knott, Middle Crag, High Tove, Armboth Fell (Birkett) and Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top) | Over Coldbarrow Fell - High Saddle, Low Saddle, Bell Crags (Long Moss) (Blea Tarn Fell), Watendlath Fell (Long Moss), Shivery Knott, Middle Crag, High Tove and Fisher Crag |
| Walked or planned | Not yet personally walked | Planned: drawn, not yet walked |
| Car park at the start | Dob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on foot | Dob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on foot |
| Bus to the start | 555, 1.7 km walk from Thirlmere, at Armboth turn | 555, 1.8 km walk from Thirlmere, at Armboth turn |
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 Standing Crag?
The shortest way up we hold is Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth — 14.26 km, 601 m of ascent, ~3¾–5¼ h. On our scale its hardest axes are distance and navigation — Hard.
All axes: length: Hard · navigation: Hard · steepness: Moderate · terrain: Moderate · exposure: Moderate.
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 611 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Standing Crag
Parking
Ranked by straight-line distance to the summit, which is not the same thing as the start of a way up. Choose the ascent first: Routes up Standing Crag gives each route’s own car park and bus.
2 more places to park near Standing Crag
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 555 stops at Thirlmere, at Armboth turn. From there it is 1.7 km and 54 m of ascent to the start of Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and navigation) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 17.7 km in all, with the walk. Last bus: Monday to Friday 20:55 towards Keswick (555); Saturday 20:55 towards Keswick (555); Sunday 18:46 towards Keswick (555). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 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 Standing Crag
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Birketts West of Thirlmere
If you need to get off (the leg from Wythburn Fell): If the bogs become too exhausting, you can bail east towards Harrop Tarn, picking up the forestry tracks down to the western shore of Thirlmere; this line has not been checked for this guide as an escape.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Standing 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 Standing 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 Standing Crag
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Download GPX Not yet personally walked
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 Standing Crag
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Birketts West of Thirlmere route:
On the Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Standing Crag
My Strava hikes over Standing Crag
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- Ulscarf, Sargents Crag, Eagle Crag - The Director's Cut (opens in new tab) — 21.5 km · 967 m ascent · 5h 31m moving · 25 April 2026
Data from Strava.
Classifications & hill data
Is Standing Crag a Wainwright?
Standing 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
- Dale Head Hall Lakeside Hotel (opens in new tab) hotelabout 3.5 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).