The Difficult Route up Eagle Crag
Start Stonethwaite
Getting here Parking: Stonethwaite village (roadside, free), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 77 and 78 stop at Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road end, a 710 m walk from this start. The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Severe steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 46% around the 2.7 km mark. Hands for a few steps: the gully and rock terraces up Eagle Crag (km 2.9–3.4).
Before you choose
Conditions on this route
We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 2 of them. The worst summit governs the verdict — a route is only as kind as its roughest top.
Modelled guidance — not a substitute for the mountain forecast or your own judgement. See how every fell ranks today →
Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 Eagle Crag2 Sergeant's Crag3 Lining Crag
Easy 67%Moderate 24%Hard 5%Severe 4%
Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Start → Eagle Crag (3.4 km, 434 m)
Climb of about 434 m over 3.4 km (around 13% average).
- 2
Eagle Crag → Sergeant's Crag (1.0 km, 73 m)
Climb of about 73 m over 1.0 km (around 7% average).
- 3
Sergeant's Crag → Lining Crag (2.4 km, 102 m)
Climb of about 102 m over 2.4 km (around 4% average).
Lining Crag → Finish (3.9 km, 2 m)
Descent of about 445 m over 3.9 km.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (3)
- 1Eagle Crag523 m
- 2Sergeant's Crag571 m
- 3Lining Crag542 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
Conditions and timing
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
When the sun reaches the tops
Not sunrise — the moment the sun clears the skyline from that summit, which on a fell with high ground to its east can be a good deal later.
- Eagle Crag — in late March the sun reaches it around 07:00, about an hour later. In late September, about 07:45. It waits longest in late September — about an hour after sunrise. In late December, not until about 09:00.
- Sergeant's Crag — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, about a quarter of an hour later. In late September, about 07:15. It waits longest in late December — about an hour after sunrise.
How to read these times
The two equinoxes are shown because they fall in the walking season, and late December too wherever a top keeps you waiting then; the clock gap between the equinoxes is British Summer Time, not the hill. Rounded to the nearest quarter hour and meant as a general idea, not a schedule.
Modelled from a 30 m elevation model against each summit’s own skyline — the same figures the fell pages carry, never observed. Cloud is not in it.
Getting there and back
Parking
2 more places to park near the start
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.
If the parking is full
There is no real plan B by car here. Every place we know beside this route serves the same walks and sits close together, so expect them to fill on the same mornings. Worth starting early, or having a different walk in mind before you set off. The bus below is the exception: it is not limited by car-park space, though it runs to a timetable and can be full.
- Stonethwaite village (roadside, free) — at the start
- Stonethwaite lane, south-west (layby) — a 350 m walk to the start
- Stonethwaite lane (layby) — a 310 m walk to the start
- By bus: buses stop at Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road end, a 710 m walk from the start. A bus is not affected by a full car park. Its return times are under Buses.
We never say whether anywhere has spaces today. Walks to the line are measured along mapped paths (OpenStreetMap), not in a straight line. How we choose these places.
No signal when you get there? RoutePark keeps this list on your phone: choose this walk’s GPX at home, keep it, and it opens offline.
Buses
The 77 and 78 stop at Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road end, a 710 m walk from this start. The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (78): Tuesday to Sunday 20:03. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
The 77 passes this route at 0.0 km (Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road end, 680 m off the line).
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
At Stonethwaite village (roadside, free), the closest parking we hold to where this route starts:
Distances are straight lines from the car park, not walking routes. Opening hours change; none of this is checked daily.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Severe overall — hardest: Steepness; terrain not assessed; exposure not assessed on the ground
Five independent axes, not one score. None of them was set on the ground: they are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Eagle Crag | 3.4 km | 434 m | 1:24–1:52 |
| 2Sergeant's Crag | 4.4 km | 507 m | 1:44–2:18 |
| 3Lining Crag | 6.8 km | 609 m | 2:23–3:10 |
| Finish | 10.7 km | 611 m | 3:10–4:12 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~34% drop over 250 m around the 6.8 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates. The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 46% around the 2.7 km mark.
- Stiles and gates: A ladder stile at 4.5 km, mapped on OpenStreetMap, that a dog may not get through. Livestock, ground and water are not assessed. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 24 October 2026)
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Hard. From gradient only (~46% max) — mapped crag data unavailable; treat exposure as unverified.
- Rock and scrambling: Hands for a few steps: the gully and rock terraces up Eagle Crag (km 2.9–3.4). Ground underfoot: Not assessed.
- Ways off early: None recorded for this route.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 6 gates · 1 ladder stile · 3 stiles (type unmapped)
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 24 October 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Stonethwaite — 0.1 km from this start
- Walks from Rosthwaite — 1.2 km from this start
Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.
