Grey 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 moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Lake District. It stands to the east of Longsleddale in the

Far Eastern Fells The Far Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Reaching their highest point at High Street (828 metres or 2.718 ft.), they occupy a broad area to the east of Ullswater and Kirkstone Pass. Much quieter than the ...

Topography

North of Sadgill, the valley of Longsleddale narrows considerably with walls of crag on either side. Grey Crag is the first fell encountered above the eastern side, although the top is not visible from below. What is in sight is a short flat-topped spur at a height of around 1,600 ft which juts out southwards from the body of the fell. This is Great Howe, and its steep flanks provide the east wall of Longsleddale, together with further outcrops above the side valley of Stockdale. Grey Crag proper is a second tier of crags, set back from Great Howe and just below the summit, thus giving its name to the entire fell. Grey Crag is the focus of an extensive ridge system stretching out eastwards to the distant Lune and Eden Valleys. Grey Crag lies on the main watershed of the Cumbrian hills, its runoff reaching the sea at both the Solway Firth and Morecambe Bay. The long east ridges have a moorland character and provide easy walking in quiet conditions. The principal tops are Ancrow Brow (1,820 ft), White Howe (1,738 ft), Lords Seat (1,719 ft) and Great Yarlside (1,950 ft). These ridges encompass the valleys of Bannisdale, Crookdale, Wet Sleddale, Borrowdale and Wasdale, the latter two of which should not be confused with their more famous Lakeland counterparts. To the north of the summit is a marshy depression, containing Greycrag Tarn. This is a series of small pools in the bed of a larger historic waterbody. Beyond the tarn is Grey Crag's sister fell, Tarn Crag.

Summit

The top of the fell is a short ridge with the summit at the south west end. Half a mile to the north east is a second top, Harrop Pike, only marginally lower at 2,089 ft (637 m.). A fence joins the summit ridge about halfway along from the direction of Tarn Crag, and then makes for Harrop Pike. The true top has a small cairn, while Harrop Pike sports a more impressive columnar beacon. The views east and south are expansive while westwards the Coniston and

Scafell Scafell ( or ; also spelled Sca Fell, previously Scawfell) is a mountain in the English Lake District, part of the Southern Fells. Its height of makes it the second-highest mountain in England after its neighbour Scafell Pike, from which ...

groups can be seen.

Ascents

Grey Crag can be climbed from Longsleddale via Great Howe, or from the vicinity of the A6 (Shap) road via any of the long eastern ridges mentioned above.

Haweswater aqueduct

Great Howe carries the remains of a surveying pillar on its eastern flank. This unusual stone and concrete construction is cleft at the top to provide a sight line and was originally surrounded by a wooden frame, now decayed. This is one of four such pillars built during the construction of the

Haweswater Haweswater is a reservoir in the valley of Mardale, Cumbria in the Lake District, England. Work to raise the height of the original natural lake was started in 1929. It was controversially dammed after the UK Parliament passed a Private Act ...

aqueduct. Below

Branstree Branstree is a fell in the Far Eastern part of the English Lake District. It overlooks the valley of Mardale and Haweswater Reservoir. Topography A circuit of high fells surrounds the head of Mardale, beginning at High Raise in the north ...

, Tarn Crag and Great Howe is the first section of the pipeline carrying water from the reservoir toward

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. The tunnel, some 1,000 ft below Great Howe, required 250 tons of gelignite for blasting, and when constructed in the 1930s was the longest such pipeline in Britain. It emerges into Longsleddale below the southern end of Great Howe, where the spoil can still be seen.Berry, G:''Mardale Revisited'':Westmoreland Gazette (1996)

References

{{Far Eastern Fells Fells of the Lake District Nuttalls Hewitts of England