Thornthwaite Crag is a fell 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 ...

, standing to the west of Haweswater Reservoir. It is a focal point of 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 ...

, standing at the head of several valleys.

Topography

The summit area is broadly horseshoe-shaped, concave to the north with the head of Hayeswater Gill in the opening. The north-western horn of the shoe connects to

Gray Crag Gray Crag is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. Topography The fell reaches a height of 699 metres (2,293 feet) at the northern end of its summit ridge and this is the accepted highest point which gives the best views, ...

and the north-eastern ridge to High Street and

Mardale Ill Bell Mardale Ill Bell is a fell in the English Lake District, rising to the south west of Haweswater Reservoir. It stands on the watershed between Mardale and Kentmere and is the highpoint of the south-eastern ridge of High Street, midway on its cour ...

. Two other principal ridges run south to

Froswick Froswick is a fell in the English Lake District, standing on the fine narrow ridge between the valleys of Kentmere and Troutbeck. Topography To the north is Thornthwaite Crag, while the adjoining fell to the south is Ill Bell. Froswick is s ...

and west to

Caudale Moor Stony Cove Pike (alternatively known as Caudale Moor or John Bell's Banner) is a fell in the Far Eastern part of the English Lake District. It stands on the other side of the Kirkstone Pass from Red Screes, and is on the end of a ridge comin ...

. The north-eastern and southern ridges enclose the head of Kentmere with scree and crag predominating. To the south-west of Thornthwaite Crag is the craggy head of the long valley of Troutbeck, emptying into

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...

. Between the western and north-western ridges is the head of Pasture Beck, which ultimately joins Hayeswater Beck en route to Ullswater. The western ridge to Caudale Moor is narrow and rough, dropping very steeply to the depression of Threshwaite Mouth at 1,950 ft. The other ridges are broad and grassy, although there is some marshy ground when crossing the depression toward High Street. The southern ridge narrows considerably before reaching Froswick.

Summit

The grassy top is crossed by a stone wall which rises up from Threshwaite Mouth and then peters out a few hundred yards to the east of the summit. A section of old fenceposts then continues the boundary line toward High Street before again being replaced by stone wall. The actual top is marked by one of the most impressive columnar

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 in the district. Named Thornthwaite Beacon, it towers 14 feet above an angle in the wall. Alfred Wainwright:'' A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', Book 2:

Ascents

The High Street Roman road reaches the summit plateau along the south ridge, but then detours east around the actual top, making a bee-line for the fell bearing its name. All of the connecting ridges carry good paths from the summit, which is an important walkers’ crossroads. The view is good, particularly westwards, although it can be improved by moving to the edge of the plateau in various directions. Thornthwaite Crag can be climbed direct from Hartsop via Pasture Beck and from Troutbeck via Scot Rake (the Roman road), or via Threshwaite Mouth. Various ascents from Kentmere are also possible.

References

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