Terrain Overview
Walk Overview
I had researched this combination of Wainwright peaks for some time and decided
for a number of reasons that I didn`t want to take the Eagle Crag route first with its
parts of exposure in certain areas, so opted for the lengthier route of Sergeants Crag
first with the short ridge walk to follow.The initial walk along the length of Langstrath
Beck can be done on either side by taking the footbridge early on as you leave the
Hamlet of Stonethwaite. This blog describes the walk from the right hand side of the
Beck up towards the head of the valley just before the Stake Pass. Either way, there
is a steep and pathless climb over thick and wiry grass to attain the ridgeline by
Brown Crag which is key to reaching Sergeants Crag.
Parking in the Hamlet of Stonethwaite is at a premium, so be prepared to park
on the road leading upto it
The track towards Stonethwaite
Entering Stonethwaite and keep left
The limited parking area for all the early birds
Just after the Langstrath Country Inn the road changes into a stony track
that heads out to the valley
The track meanders its way towards the head of the valley and passes its way
through a series of hand gates
Sue, Ste and Spud taking in a water stop along the route
Slightly further on and the first good look at Sergeants Crag (r) and Eagle Crag
with the connecting ridge
The Langstrath valley, very easy walking
Another hand gate and a chance to walk across the valley floor to view
Blackmoss Pot in full flow
Blackmoss Pot
This part of the walk is pathless, but the objective is to keep heading towards the
Stake Pass and walk past the base of Blea Crag (seen here on the left). At some
point it`s necessary to cross Langstrath Beck and there are a number of stone
banked narrow crossing points in which to choose from
Having crossed the Beck a marker cairn shows the way along a slightly more
conventional path
Rosset Pike and Esk Pike at the head of the valley
The prominent lone tree that signifies the start of the climb is imminent
At a point when the foot bridge that crosses Stake Beck comes into view, take a
left turn and start to climb the steep and pathless Fell side that leads to Brown Crag.
There is no right or wrong way to take, the objective is to just get to the ridge line
near Brown Crag
We chose to aim for the dip to the right of Brown Crag. It`s not possible to do this
directly as there are several ravines cut into the Fell side that need to be negotiated
After about 30 minutes of zig zagging around the boulders and ravines
we approach the ridgeline
So glad to have got that out the way. Sue and Ste take a breather. In the far distance
are the tops of Great End and Ill Crag
Looking across to Cam Crag
Looking towards the head of the Langstrath valley
At this point on the ridgeline the summit of Sergeant Crag comes into view
and is just a fairly level walk across boggy ground which at times is pathless
Aim for the wall stile
The summit of Sergeants Crag. Click here for a 360 degree view
Looking down the ridgeline towards Eagle Crag just over a half mile away.
This is a fine part of the walk
Coming down off Sergeants Crag and it`s just a case of following the line of the wall
The path leads to a wall stile. After crossing this, there remains the small task
of climbing the wall running at right angles to reach the summit plateau
Looking back to Sergeants Crag and the connecting ridge
Looking across Langstrath towards Great Gable
The summit plateau of Eagle Crag. Click here for a 360 degree view
Sue enjoying the views from the summit
The route back down to Stonethwaite (and a safe one) requires you to back track
over the fence and head left following the fenceline down to Greenup
After about thirty minutes of descent over grass a clear path is taken that
leads directly back to Stonethwaite. Here looking at the steep Northern
face of Eagle Crag
One of the many waterfalls on the route back down
Nearly back down to Stonethwaite and a look back to the North face
of Eagle Crag with Sergeants Crag in the background
