Helm Crag on a fine winter day

Helm Crag

Height405m (1,329ft)

Prominence197m (646ft)

RegionCentral Fells

Climbed4 Times

"Helm Crag may well be the best known of all Lakeland fells, and possibly even the best-known hill in the country. Generations of waggonette and motor coach tourists have been tutored to recognise its appearance in the Grasmere landscape; it is the one feature of their Lakeland tour that they hail at sight, and in unison, but the cry on their lips is not "Helm Crag!" but "The Lion and the Lamb!"" — A. Wainwright

Standing directly above Grasmere village, Helm Crag is one of the most instantly recognisable and celebrated fells in the Lake District. Despite its modest height of 405 metres, its prominent position at the foot of the ridge extending towards Gibson Knott and Calf Crag confers a remarkable 197 metres of relative height, making it a true topographic focal point of the valley.

The fell is famous nationwide for the extraordinary array of distinctive, weathered rock formations crowning its summit ridge. Viewed from the vale of Grasmere below, the skyline silhouetting the rocks gives the mountain its immortal, affectionate moniker: "The Lion and the Lamb".

The Howitzer - Helm Crag's summit

The true high point is formed by the formidable rock pinnacle known as "The Howitzer" (or "The Old Woman Playing the Organ"). Standing as the only Wainwright summit whose absolute highest tip requires a genuine, exposed scramble to reach, the top commands a magnificent, bird's-eye panorama taking in Grasmere lake, Easedale, and the surrounding Central Fells.