Lake District
Rough Crag (Birker Moor)
319M
1047FT
About Rough Crag (Birker Moor)
Rising from the expansive, bog-trotting plateau of Birker Moor, this modest summit offers a surprisingly rugged character. Its heathery, rock-strewn slopes provide an excellent vantage point over Eskdale, with the Scafell range forming a dramatic backdrop. It serves as a quieter alternative to the high fells for those seeking solitude.
Key Statistics
Rank
741st Highest in Region
Parent Range
Southern Fells
Prominence
?
70m
Nearest Town
Eskdale Green
Geology
You are walking on the Eskdale Intrusions, created as molten rock cooled underground into the tough granite and fine-grained rock that forms these rugged fells.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SD161977
Latitude
54.3684°N
Longitude
3.2928°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is a straightforward English descriptor for the broken, uneven nature of the Borrowdale Volcanic rock that outcrops here amidst the surrounding peat moorland.
- •Alfred Wainwright included this summit in his 'The Outlying Fells of Lakeland', describing the approach across Birker Moor as a delightful wander through a wilderness of rock and heather.
- •The summit is often visited as part of a circuit including nearby Water Crag, a route that passes several small, unnamed tarns and numerous glacial erratic boulders left behind by retreating ice.
- •The view from the top is notable for its perspective on Harter Fell to the south-east and the sight of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway tracks snaking through the valley far below.
- •While the 'Rough' in its name refers to the craggy summit, locals suggest it equally describes the experience of navigating the notoriously saturated sphagnum moss bogs that guard the approach.