Crinkle Crags South Top [First Crinkle]

About Crinkle Crags South Top [First Crinkle]

Standing as the first significant rise when approaching the ridge from Red Tarn, this rugged Birkett marks the beginning of one of the Lake District’s most distinctive skylines. Its terrain is quintessential Southern Fells—all jumbled rock and fractured ground—offering a tactile introduction to the undulating ridge that connects Pike of Blisco to Bowfell.

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Did You Know?

• •The name derives from the Old English word 'cringol', meaning twisted or wrinkled. This is a literal description of the serrated ridge profile, which Alfred Wainwright famously described as a 'series of five rises and depressions' that create a jagged silhouette against the skyline when viewed from the valley floor.
• •This summit acts as the southern gateway to the ridge for those ascending from Great Langdale via Oxendale. While it sits below the 'Bad Step'—a notorious scramble located on the Second Crinkle—this first top provides the initial platform for surveying the remaining mile of rocky traverse ahead.
• •The position offers a unique perspective on the Langdale Pikes; from this angle and height, the profile of Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle looks markedly different than the familiar view from the valley floor. To the south, the massive bulk of the Coniston Fells dominates the horizon.
• •Although Alfred Wainwright grouped the entire ridge into a single chapter in his Pictorial Guides, this top is treated as a distinct peak by other authors. It is classified as a Birkett and a Hewitt, ensuring it is recorded as an individual summit in its own right rather than just a shoulder of the higher 'Long Top'.
• •Hillwalkers have debated for years exactly where one 'crinkle' ends and another begins, but reaching this first summit usually confirms that you have significantly more knee-straining work ahead of you than the map’s modest contour lines suggest.