Great Crag is a

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle o ...

in the English

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

, located near the hamlets of Rosthwaite and Stonethwaite in

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' t ...

Topography

The higher slopes are heather-covered and quite rocky, while the lower steep slopes on the Borrowdale side are covered by a mature

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

wood. Half a kilometre south-east of the summit lies the attractive Dock Tarn which is often visited by walkers on their way to or from Great Crag.Don Blair: ''Exploring Lakeland Tarns'': Lakeland Manor Press (2003): At 440 metres (1,444 ft), Great Crag is not high by Lake District standards, and its small

topographic prominence 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 ...

means that it is essentially a minor summit on the broad north-western slopes of

Ullscarf Ullscarf is a fell in the English Lake District close to the geographical centre of the Cumbrian hills. It forms part of the watershed between the Derwentwater and Thirlmere catchments, a ridge running broadly north-south. Topography Ulls ...

. However, its rocky summit stands out amid the relatively featureless

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

and is the culmination of a steep slope rising out of Borrowdale; this ensures that it is considered a fell in its own right, and it is given this status in

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'', published ...

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 ...

Geology

The summit area is composed of the

plagioclase Plagioclase is a series of tectosilicate (framework silicate) minerals within the feldspar group. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a continuous solid solution series, more prope ...

-phyric

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

s of the Birker Fell Formation with the andesitic

lapilli Lapilli is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' (singular: ''lapillus'') is Latin for "little stones". By definition lapilli range f ...

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

of the Wet Side Edge Member outcropping to the south. Small intrusions of

dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...

are also present.British Geological Survey: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 29'': BGS (1999)

Ascents

Ascents of Great Crag can be started from the hamlets of Rosthwaite, Stonethwaite or Watendlath. The Rosthwaite route uses the bridleway to Watendlath until the highest point is reached then goes southerly over

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

gy moorland and then more firmer rocky ground to reach the summit. The Stonethwaite path climbs steeply through woodland before reaching Dock Tarn; it is then a short ascent from the tarn north-westwards to the summit. These two routes can be combined to make a circular walk starting and finishing in Rosthwaite. The ascent from Watendlath utilises the popular path to Dock Tarn which has been diverted by signposts to avoid the worst of the boggy ground to the north of the fell; this path takes the walker very close to the summit and it is a simple climb through heather to attain the highest point.Mark Richards: ''The Central Fells'': Collins (2003): Bill Birkett: ''Complete Lakeland Fells'': HarperCollinsWillow (1994):

Summit

The highest point of the fell is difficult to ascertain as there are two tops of very similar height marked by

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

s. The view from the top is not extensive but there is a good prospect of Borrowdale with the higher fells behind.

: ''

, Book 3 The Central Fells'': Westmorland Gazette (1958):

References

{{Central Fells Fells of the Lake District Allerdale