Raven 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 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 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 ...

that overlooks

Thirlmere Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Allerdale, Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District National Park, Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for inst ...

reservoir. It has subsidiary summits The Benn and Castle Crag.

Topography

The

is the high point on a 2-mile-long spur running up the western shore of Thirlmere, branching off from the main ridge of the central fells just east of

High Tove High Tove 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 Sitting ...

. Subsidiary tops include The Benn (also known as Benn Man, ) and Castle Crag (), the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

settlement. The ridge has been extensively planted with conifers as part of the Thirlmere Forest, the face of Raven Crag appearing as a lone oasis of naked rock amid the trees. Raven Crag is bordered to the west by the long valley of Shoulthwaite Gill, which is a tributary of the River Greta. To the north the ridge drops to a depression, crossed by the Keswick–

Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, Cumbria, Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern ...

road, before climbing again onto High Rigg.

Geology

Raven Crag and the Benn exhibit rock of the Birker Fell Formation, composed of

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 with subordinate sills. Between the two is an area of

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...

bearing

porphyritic Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology to describe igneous rocks with a distinct difference in the size of mineral crystals, with the larger crystals known as phenocrysts. Both extrusive and intrusive rocks can be porphyritic, meaning all ...

andesite. Castle Crag Fort overlays

volcaniclastic Volcaniclastics are geologic materials composed of broken fragments (clasts) of volcanic rock. These encompass all clastic volcanic materials, regardless of what process fragmented the rock, how it was subsequently transported, what environment it ...

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) ...

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

Ascents

The main face of the fell stands over Thirlmere Dam, and appears from there as a sheer crag, the higher fells behind being hidden by the ridge. Raven Crag is most commonly climbed from the dam, via a steep waymarked path through the forestry. This ends with made paths and some short sections of boardwalk. The ridge between Raven Crag and High Tove can also be gained from Armboth, or an ascent can be made from 'behind' via Shoulthwaite. This can include visits to The Benn and the earth ramparts of Castle Crag.Mark Richards: ''The Central Fells'': Collins (2003):

Summit

The highest point is an outcrop of rock with a small

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 ...

, partially screened by conifers. The view from the summit is limited by the trees, but the eastward panorama opens up from the brink of the crag itself and there is an aerial view of the Thirlmere dam. The reservoir is also seen end on to the south. The Benn and Castle Crag provide a close-up view of Raven Crag from the north.

References

{{Central Fells Fells of the Lake District