Lake District
Crinkle Crags - Long Top
859M
2818FT
About Crinkle Crags - Long Top
Standing as the highest point of this legendary five-peaked ridge, Long Top is a masterclass in rugged Lakeland terrain. The summit is a fractured platform of rhyolite, reached from the south via the notorious 'Bad Step'. It offers a wild, elevated perspective over the Great Langdale valley towards the Langdale Pikes.
Key Statistics
Rank
28th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Southern Fells
Prominence
?
139m
Nearest Town
Elterwater
Geology
The ground beneath you consists of ancient lava and layers of hardened volcanic ash. These tough rocks were forged by explosive eruptions to create this rugged, crinkled landscape.
Classifications
Find It
Latitude
54.4337°N
Longitude
3.1598°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is purely descriptive, derived from the Middle English 'crinkelen', referring to the sinuous, serrated silhouette the ridge presents when viewed from the valley floor of Great Langdale.
- •Alfred Wainwright was particularly fond of this fell, declaring that 'for the hill-walker... there is no better ridge-walk in the Lake District than the traverse of Crinkle Crags.'
- •Just below the summit of Long Top lies the 'Bad Step', a ten-foot vertical rock chimney. It is widely considered the most difficult obstacle on any main Lakeland path, though a narrow bypass exists for those who find the polished holds too daunting.
- •The summit offers an exceptional 'earned' view of the Scafell massif to the west; from this angle, the massive rock buttresses of Scafell Crag appear particularly formidable across the gap of Upper Eskdale.
- •Geologically, the fell is composed of the Crinkle Member of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, a tough rhyolitic tuff that resists erosion and creates the characteristically sharp, jagged outcrops found at the summit.
- •It is a rare spot where a walker can bag five distinct, named summits in a single mile of walking, yet the 'tick-list' only rewards the effort with a single Wainwright fell.