Lake District
Ard Crags
581M
1906FT
About Ard Crags
Rising as a sharp, heathery wedge above the Newlands Valley, this Wainwright offers a surprisingly airy ridge walk for its modest height. It is almost always climbed in tandem with its sibling, Knott Rigg, via the narrow spine that separates the Keskadale and Newlands valleys. The ascent from Aik Beck is steep, but the reward is a clear, unobstructed perspective on the massive eastern flanks of Robinson.
Key Statistics
Rank
288th Highest in Region
Parent Range
North Western Fells
Prominence
?
120
Nearest Town
Stair
Geology
As you walk across Ard Crags, you'll step on the Buttermere Formation, a layer of mudstone whose age remains unknown.
Classifications
Find It
Latitude
54.5669°N
Longitude
3.2281°W
Did You Know?
- •The name likely derives from the Old Norse 'harthr', meaning hard or stony, which aptly describes the steep, scree-covered eastern slopes that plunge down toward the Newlands Valley.
- •Alfred Wainwright described the traverse between this summit and Knott Rigg as a 'delightful promenade,' though modern satellite mapping has proved his original height estimate of 1,860 feet was nearly 50 feet too low.
- •The summit provides an exceptional gallery view of the Newlands Horseshoe, with the craggy, scarred faces of Causey Pike, Scar Crags, and Sail appearing massive across the deep trench of the valley.
- •When viewed from the village of Stair or the lower Newlands valley, the fell loses its ridge-like appearance and presents a sharp, symmetrical pyramidal profile that stands out against the bulk of the higher fells.
- •Because the Newlands Pass road reaches a height of 350 metres, reaching this summit requires less than 250 metres of actual climbing—a detail usually omitted by those boasting about their weekend mileage in the pub.