Walk

Walk : Great Crag (1,500 ft) from Stonethwaite

Date : 15^th June 2021

Weather : Sunny, dry @ 17°C

Distance : 3 miles round trip

Time Taken : 1 hour 40 mins to summit

Which part of Lakeland is this walk situated

Terrain Overview

Overview

A lovely little walk from Stonethwaite that climbs very steeply almost straight away into the walk. Dock Tarn is a charming little place to get your breath

back before going on to the summit. Fantastic views from either of the two summit cairns

The tiny hamlet of Stonethwaite is the starting point for this walk where if you are lucky enough there is free parking space for about 7 or 8 cars

Take the path signposted for Greenup that crosses over Stonethwaite Bridge

Looking across to the northern end of Eagle Crag and the Ullscarf ridge

Crossing Stonethwaite Beck. At the end of the bridge and through the gate, turn right and head towards Greenup

Setting off down the stony track

Keep an eye out on the left for an obvious path that branches off over grass

The path climbs gently towards a stone wall

Cross the wall via the sty and keep left

The path, well cairned climbs steadily to another hand gate

The path continues on through the gate

At this point gird the loins for some steep climbing through the wooded area

The path is stone pitched to assist with the steepness

Just about to exit the wooded area, and this marks the end of the steepest part of the climb

The views now start to open up, here looking towards Grey Knotts

Sergeants Crag and Eagle Crag from the top of the climb

The path now levels off a little as it heads to Dock Tarn

A number of cairns mark the way – making navigation easy

The path leads on to a wall with a sty

Keep on the path as it continues over the sty

Keep following the marker cairns as they lead to Dock Tarn

When Dock Tarn comes into view take the right hand fork in the track and head towards the waters edge

Well worth pausing for a while here as the summit is only another 15 minutes away – the stunning Dock Tarn

At the northern end of the tarn keep left and stay on the obvious track

Skiddaw appears on the horizon. At this point the ground can become a little boggy but the path can still be followed

Quite soon the summit comes into view. There are numerous paths that tend to all lead into the same direction

Look out on the left for a faint path over grass that climbs directly up to the summit

A narrow channel cuts through the heather and leads directly to the summit cairn

There are two summit cairns a few metres apart from each other – here on the northern most summit looking along the Langstrath valley

towards Great Gable – Click here for a 360 degree view from the summit of Great Crag … https://youtu.be/vFLdd9d8yT4

The pyramid shape of the summit of Grisedale Pike peeps out over the ridgeline of Maiden Moor

Looking towards Watendlath Tarn and the distant Skiddaw massif

Looking across to Sergeants Crag, Eagle Crag with Ullscarf in the background and Pike o Stickle just peeping over the ridge line

A cairn on a cairn. The Spud Meister takes root on the summit as lunch on top is just about to be served !!