Christianbury Crag

Tucked away in the wild, boggy borderlands near Kielder Forest, this hill is defined by its striking gritstone outcrops. It feels significantly more remote than its modest height suggests, offering a rugged, often pathless approach through heather and peat that leads to one of northern England’s most dramatic summit tors.

• •The name refers to the distinctive gritstone tors that crown the summit; these dramatic rock towers are a rarity in this part of the Border Moors, where rounded, grassy fells are the norm.
• •Reaching the summit is a classic exercise in "bog-trotting" through the Border Mires, a complex of internationally important peat bogs that make the approach from Blackpool Gate a challenge for even the most waterproof boots.
• •The summit provides a clear vantage point over the remote Bewcastle Fells, with the shimmering expanse of Kielder Water visible to the east and the sharp profile of the Lake District's northern fells appearing on the southwest horizon.
• •The hill is so remote and the terrain so challenging that finding another human being at the summit is statistically less likely than losing a boot to one of the surrounding peat hags.