Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
Tarn Crags Top at 665m (2,182ft) is a Birkett top on the eastern ridge of Bowscale Fell in the Northern Fells, giving views north towards the Solway. Part of the Back o' Skiddaw fell country.
Summit conditions on Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 49 mph, 18.4 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 Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Blencathra by its southern ridges — Scales Fell and Doddick Fell onto Hallsfell Top — then over the back for Bannerdale Crags and Bowscale Fell, taking in Mungrisdale Common on the way.
Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →
How hard is Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)?
The shortest way up we hold is Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back — 17.59 km, 1011 m of ascent, ~5–7 h. On our scale its hardest axes are distance and steepness — Hard.
All axes: length: Hard · steepness: Hard · 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 665 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
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)
Parking & buses for Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
3 more places to park near Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
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 509, X4 and X5 stop at Mungrisdale, adjacent to Road End. From there it is 3.2 km and 76 m of ascent to the start of Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 23.9 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Hartsop road end (509): Tuesday to Sunday 17:07 to Patterdale Hotel, 14:42 to Hartsop road end. Towards Penrith (X5): Tuesday to Saturday 22:11; Sunday 18:38. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 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 Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
Notes from the Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back route
If you need to get off (the leg from Bowscale Fell): Retrace steps to Bowscale Fell and descend via the main paths.
Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top).
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 Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
Download GPX Walked by Lee, May 2026
Route guide: Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back →
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.
About Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
My Strava hikes over Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- On the 7th Day God Created Blencathra (opens in new tab) — 17.6 km · 960 m ascent · 4h 23m moving · 25 May 2026
Data from Strava.
Classifications & hill data
Is Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top) a Wainwright?
Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top) 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
- Mosedale End Farm B&B (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 2.3 km
- Scales Farm Country Guest House (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 3.9 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).