Crag Hill is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

in the North Western part of the English Lake District. It was formerly known as Eel Crag; however, the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

now marks Eel Crag as referring to the northern crags of the fell. It is not to be confused with another Crag Hill lying on the border of North Yorkshire. It overlooks the valleys of Rannerdale on the west, and Coledale on the east. It is the second highest fell in the area of high ground between the passes of Whinlatter and Newlands, second to Grasmoor. It is 839 m (2,753 feet) high, and has a

relative height In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of 117 m.

Topography

The North Western Fells occupy the area between the rivers Derwent and Cocker, a broadly oval swathe of hilly country, elongated on a north-south axis. Two roads cross from east to west, dividing the fells into three convenient groups. The central sector, rising between Whinlatter and Newlands passes, includes Crag Hill. The highest ground in the North Western Fells is an east-west ridge in this central sector, beginning with Grasmoor above

Crummock Water Crummock Water is a lake in the Lake District in Cumbria, North West England situated between Buttermere to the south and Loweswater to the north. Crummock Water is long, wide and deep. The River Cocker is considered to start at the north of ...

and then gradually descending eastwards over Crag Hill, Sail,

Scar Crags Scar Crags is a fell in the north western part of the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It is one of the Coledale group of fells situated seven kilometres south west of Keswick and reaches a height of 672 metres (2205 feet). ...

and Causey Pike. Grasmoor has the greatest elevation, but Crag Hill stands at the hub of the range. In plan it appears as a cross with ridges running to the four points of the compass. To the north of Crag Hill is the col of

Coledale Hause Hill passes of the Lake District were originally used by people in one valley travelling to another nearby without having to go many miles around a steep ridge of intervening hills. Historically, in the Lake District of northwest England, trave ...

, the high level connection to Hopegill Head, focal point of a parallel but slightly lower ridge. Valleys descend from either side of Coledale Hause, running between these two ridges. Gasgale Gill (or Liza Beck on OS maps) flows westward to the River Cocker, while Coledale Beck runs eastwards to the Derwent. Guarding the way up from the Hause to Crag Hill is Eel Crag, the face which gave the fell its former name. Crag Hill also has a southern ridge which steps down toward

Buttermere Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. Historically in Cumberland, the lake is now within the county of Cumbria. Owned by the National Trust, it forms pa ...

over

Wandope Wandope (also known as ''Wanlope''Alfred Wainwright: ''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book 6, The North Western Fells'': Westmorland Gazette (1964): or ''Wandhope'') is a fell in the north-western area of the English Lake District. ...

and

Whiteless Pike Whiteless Pike (660 metres high/2,165 ft) is a fell in the north-western English Lake District. It stands immediately east of Crummock Water and forms a pyramid shape when viewed from Rannerdale. In his celebrated guide to the Lakeland f ...

. The valley of Rannerdale forms the western boundary with Sail Beck on the other side. Both empty into Crummock Water. The highest part of Crag Hill is near the 'cross' where the four ridges meet. Moving further east towards Sail, the ridge tapers down with crags on either side. Scott Crags stands over Coledale and Scar Crag (not to be confused with Scar Crags) looks down on Sail Beck. Beneath Scar Crag is Addacomb Hole, a deep corrie without a tarn. By contrast to the west of the summit the slopes are smooth and wide, although still steep.

Geology

The summit areas of Crag Hill are composed of the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya. T ...

Kirkstile Formation. This is the typical rock of the Skiddaw fells and is composed of laminated mudstone and siltstone. Beneath this are the

Greywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

turbidites of the Loweswater Formation. The Causey Pike Fault runs across the southern flanks of the fell, beyond which are the rocks of the Buttermere Formation.British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 29'': BGS (1999) Although there is much evidence of mining activity in the surrounding fells, Crag Hill itself has remained untouched.Adams, John: ''Mines of the Lake District Fells'': Dalesman (1995)

Summit

The summit bears an

triangulation column, set on a stony plateau though it has recently collapsed. The view is excellent, although robbed of some foreground by the flat expanse of the top. All of the major fell groups can be seen with the Scafells particularly fine. Although a higher neighbour, Grasmoor detracts little from the view to the west.

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume '' Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', publis ...

: ''

A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells ''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells (the local word for hills and mountains) of the Lake District in northwest England. Written over a period of 13 years from 1952, they ...

, Book 6, The North Western Fells'': Westmorland Gazette (1964): Bill Birkett:''Complete Lakeland Fells'': Collins Willow (1994):

Ascents

From the shore of Crummock Water, Rannerdale Beck can be followed to its source, gaining the ridge between Crag Hill and Wandope. The alternative western route follows Gasgale Gill up to its birthplace on Coledale Hause. From Braithwaite near Keswick at the opposite end of the ridge, Coledale Hause is also the first objective. From here a simple ascent turns Eel Crag to the west, although Wainwright listed more interesting alternatives on the eastern side of the crag. Many ascents of Crag Hill are made indirectly as part of a full traverse of the Grasmoor to Causey Pike ridge. Climbs from Buttermere via Whiteless Pike and Wandope are also practicable. Finally, rounds of either Coledale or Gasgale Gill, crossing to or from Hopegill Head via Coledale Hause, provide fine horseshoe walks for those needing to return to their starting point.

References

{{North Western Fells Fells of the Lake District Hewitts of England Nuttalls Buttermere, Cumbria (village)