Tarn Crag at 549m (1,801ft) above Easedale is a craggy little summit above the head of the Sour Milk Gill path from Grasmere. The ascent from Grasmere via Easedale Tarn is excellent — the tarn itself is one of the finest in the Central Fells.
Summit conditions on Tarn Crag (Easedale)
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 5°C, gusts to 62 mph, 14.3 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
57mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour
The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 52 mph times our exposure factor of 1.1. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 62 mph, before any exposure factor.
under 25
25–35
35–45
45–55
55+
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
14.3mm 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 checkedcold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 20 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
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 →
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.
Hands for a few steps: Helm Crag's summit rocks (about km 4.0). Helm Crag: The actual highest point is a slab/pinnacle of rock needing a short but genuinely exposed scramble, with big drops below.
Exposure
Moderate
Moderate
Navigation
Moderate
Moderate
Steepest stretch
Climb of about 24% at 4.8 km (Moderate)
Descent of about 27% at 15.7 km (Hard)
After the summit
Over Codale Head, Sergeant Man, Blea Rigg, Swinescar Pike and Silver How
No further tops
Walked or planned
Walked by Lee, March 2025
Walked by Lee, June 2024
Car park at the start
Red Bank Road, Grasmere (W&F, paid)
Stock Lane Car & Coach Park (LDNPA, paid)
Bus to the start
555, 320 m walk from Grasmere, opposite Heaton Cooper Studio
555 at the start
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 Tarn Crag (Easedale)?
The shortest way up we hold is West of Grasmere — 15.44 km, 863 m of ascent, ~4½–6¼ h. On our scale its hardest axis is distance — Hard.
All axes: length: Hard · steepness: Moderate · terrain: Moderate · navigation: 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 549 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
Red Bank Road, Grasmere (W&F, paid) — at the start of West of Grasmere
Walking base for Tarn Crag (Easedale), Codale Head, Sergeant Man and Blea Rigg — the 'West of Grasmere' route starts 6 m away. Also serves 'Helm Crag & Far Easedale'. Fees: pay and display. Charges apply 08:00-20:00, 7 days a week incl. bank holidays. The council's own page is contradictory about access outside those hours - it says both open all day and open from 8am to 8pm - so do not count on getting in before 08:00 (W&F council, checked August 2026). Fees: 1h £2.60; 2h £4.40; 3h £5.80; 4h £7.40; 6h £8.80; all day £10.60. Motorcycles free. Blue Badge: +1h free. CASHLESS - card (Visa/MasterCard/contactless) or PayByPhone 9919 only. 3/7-day passes and permits accepted (W&F council, checked August 2026).
Stock Lane Car & Coach Park (LDNPA, paid) — at the start of Helm Crag, Gibson Knott, Calf Crag, Steel Fell and Tarn Crag
Walking base for Lang How, Swinescar Pike, Castle How (Raw Pike) and Stone Arthur — the 'Castle How & Lang How - Birketts' route starts 11 m away. Also serves 'Stone Arthur from Grasmere'. For Helm Crag, Silver How, the Easedale fells and the Far Easedale round. Signed as Stock Lane Car & Coach Park at the entrance. Pay and display (OSM-tagged).
Typically full before 10:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 9 August 2026.
New Dungeon Ghyll (LDNPA, paid) — 3.0 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Sergeant Man, High Raise (High White Stones), Thunacar Knott and Pavey Ark — the 'Langdale Pikes Round' route starts 127 m away. Also serves 'Langdale Horseshoe'. Fees: pay and display at the machine; whether it takes cards is not published (the Authority's machine records, FOI/2026.500).
Stickle Ghyll (NT, paid) — 3.1 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Pavey Ark, Harrison Stickle, Thorn Crag and Loft Crag — the 'Langdale Horseshoe' route starts 67 m away. Also serves 'Langdale Pikes Round'. Paid National Trust car park - the prices we used to show here came from an aggregator rather than the Trust, so we no longer publish a figure; check the machine on arrival, and members should bring their card (National Trust car-park list, checked August 2026). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged). Height barrier (community-reported). Direct start up Stickle Ghyll for the Langdale Pikes.
Typically full before 10:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 9 August 2026.
Of the pay-and-display machine tickets sold at New Dungeon Ghyll from 17 August 2024 to 31 March 2026, 33% were bought before 10am (our count of FOI/2026.500 ticket data). Contains public sector information provided by the Lake District National Park Authority and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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 Grasmere, at School, a 110 m walk from the start of Helm Crag, Gibson Knott, Calf Crag, Steel Fell and Tarn Crag — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: distance). Last bus: Monday to Friday 20:46 towards Keswick (555); Saturday 20:46 towards Keswick (555); Sunday 18:36 towards Keswick (555). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.
If you need to get off (the leg from the start): Turn around and descend the clear, well-trodden paths back from Easedale Tarn to Grasmere.
Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Tarn Crag (Easedale).
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
Care needed
Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of steep ground within half a kilometre of the summit. 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 Tarn Crag (Easedale) 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.
Warnings:Helm Crag: The actual highest point is a slab/pinnacle of rock needing a short but genuinely exposed scramble, with big drops below. It is not for the nervous or inexperienced — many people sensibly admire it from beside rather than standing on top. Attempt it only if you are a confident scrambler and the rock is dry; a slip here would be serious. Calf Crag: The ridge to Gibson Knott and Steel Fell is very boggy with unclear paths weaving among many small knolls. On a clear day it's straightforward; in mist it's a different proposition — accurate map-and-compass work is needed and many diversions are required to dodge the worst peat.
Warnings:Blea Rigg: Ridge-upon-ridge of rocky knolls, several tarns and a web of faint, poorly-marked paths make this a genuinely confusing place — it's not always obvious which outcrop is the summit. Carry a compass and a 1:25k map, and be deliberate about your line, especially in cloud. Silver How: The Grasmere-facing side is steep and craggy, and the lower reaches are broken — only a few lines get safely off the summit plateau. Don't improvise a descent down the craggy east side; keep to the known paths.
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 Tarn Crag (Easedale)
The 360° skyline from Tarn Crag (Easedale)
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: Watson's Dodd (11 km), Little Dodd (12 km), Great Dodd (12 km), Clough Head (14 km), Gategill Fell Top (18 km), Blencathra (18 km), Doddick Fell (19 km), Scales Fell (19 km), Bannerdale Crags (20 km)
North-east: Seat Sandal (5 km), Dollywaggon Pike (6 km), High Crag (6 km), Fairfield (6 km), Cofa Pike (6 km), Helvellyn (7 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (7 km), St Sunday Crag (8 km)
East: Great Rigg (5 km), Heron Pike (5 km), Hart Crag (7 km), Dove Crag (7 km), Red Screes (9 km), Yoke (14 km)
South: Wetherlam (8 km), Black Sails (9 km), Great Carrs (9 km), Swirl How (9 km), Great How (10 km), Brim Fell (11 km), The Old Man of Coniston (12 km)
South-west: Thunacar Knott (3 km), Harrison Stickle (3 km), Pike of Blisco (6 km), Great Knott (7 km), Cold Pike (7 km), Little Stand (8 km), Grey Friar (10 km)
West: Codale Head (2 km), Low White Stones (2 km)
North-west: Ullscarf (3 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Moel y Gamelin (163 km, Wales), Great Whernside (78 km, England), Winter Hill (101 km, England), Cyrn-y-Brain (161 km, Wales), Billinge Hill (110 km, England).
Tarn Crag (Easedale) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when the sun is up for 27 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 05:04 against an almanac sunrise of 04:37. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the north-east from here (50.7°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.61°.
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
05:04 BST ±5.0 min
04:37
+27 min
Equinox
06:23 GMT ±5.0 min
06:15
+8 min
Midwinter
08:29 GMT ±5.0 min
08:33
-4 min
The northern horizon stands at about 2.11° from here.
Last light — when the sun leaves Tarn Crag (Easedale)
Tarn Crag (Easedale) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at the March equinox, when last light is 50 minutes before almanac sunset — 17:36 against 18:26. The sun goes down to the west from here (261.1°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 6.79°.
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
21:34 BST ±5.0 min
21:52
-18 min
Equinox
17:36 GMT ±5.0 min
18:26
-50 min
Midwinter
15:32 GMT ±5.0 min
15:49
-17 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 Tarn Crag (Easedale)
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
How the view from Tarn Crag (Easedale) 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 Tarn Crag (Easedale). 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.
