Crinkle Crags - Third Crinkle [Gunson Knott]

About Crinkle Crags - Third Crinkle [Gunson Knott]

Standing as the highest point of the five-peaked ridge, this rugged summit offers quintessential Lakeland scrambling. The terrain is a jumbled chaos of rhyolite, requiring nimble footwork and constant attention. From the cairn, the view of Scafell Pike’s massive eastern wall across Upper Eskdale is arguably the most imposing in the entire district.

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Did You Know?

• •The name Gunson Knott is likely derived from a local surname paired with the Old Norse 'knutr', meaning a rocky outcrop or knot of land. While the ridge is collectively known as Crinkle Crags, this specific name helps distinguish the highest point from its four neighbours.
• •Although Alfred Wainwright treated the Crinkle Crags as a single fell in his guides, Bill Birkett and Tim Synge both grant this individual peak its own status, recognising its 840-metre elevation as the true roof of the massif.
• •The summit provides an exceptional vantage point for studying the Great Slab of Bowfell to the north. From this angle, the tilted terrace of rock appears as a perfectly smooth, uniform sheet of stone dipping into the depths of the mountain.
• •Navigation between the peaks can be notoriously difficult in thick mist; the ridge is a complex labyrinth of rocky ribs and gullies that has frequently led walkers to descend prematurely into the wrong valley.
• •Despite being the highest point on one of the Lake District's most celebrated ridges, many walkers summit it without ever realising it has its own name, often referring to it simply as 'the bit after the Bad Step'.