Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

About Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

Tucked between the Borrowdale and Watendlath valleys, this knobbly Central Fell offers a quintessential Lake District experience of rock, heather, and hidden water. Though modest in height, its rugged character makes for an engaging scramble, culminating at a summit with an exceptional vantage point over the deep trench of Borrowdale.

Key Statistics

Find It

Did You Know?

• •The name is a straightforward descriptor derived from the Middle English 'crag', itself likely a loanword from Celtic origins, used here to distinguish this substantial rocky mass from the smaller outcrops peppering the surrounding fellside.
• •Alfred Wainwright was particularly fond of this fell, not necessarily for the summit itself, but for its proximity to Dock Tarn; he described the lily-covered pool as 'a place of great beauty' and one of the finest small tarns in the Lake District.
• •The summit provides a perfectly framed view of the 'Jaws of Borrowdale', where the valley narrows between Castle Crag and Grange Fell, backed by the high skyline of the Newlands fells including Dale Head and Hindscarth.
• •Navigation on the summit plateau can be notoriously tricky in low cloud; the terrain is a chaotic maze of peat hags, heather-clad hummocks, and hidden hollows that lack a single defining ridge line to follow.
• •The ascent from Stonethwaite via the ancient pitched path of Lingy End is a classic example of Lakeland dry-stone engineering, rising steeply through the trees to reach the hanging valley containing Dock Tarn.
• •Crossing the saturated ground between the summit cairn and the shores of Dock Tarn serves as a reliable, if unforgiving, laboratory for testing the manufacturer’s claims regarding the waterproof lining of your boots.