Crag Hill

The sweeping slopes of Crag Hill

Crag Hill (Eel Crag)

Height839m (2,753ft)

Prominence117m (384ft)

RegionNorth Western Fells

Climbed2 Times

Not to be confused with its much smaller namesake in the Yorkshire Dales, Crag Hill is a prominent giant anchoring the North Western Fells. It was historically known as Eel Crag before a cartographic rebranding by the Ordnance Survey shifted the nomenclature. Alfred Wainwright firmly used Eel Crag in his iconic Pictorial Guides, but today, that title is officially restricted to the dramatic, jagged rocky scars cutting down the mountain's northern flank. As the second-highest peak in the region, it forms an imposing, rocky apex on the popular Coledale horseshoe circuit.

“Although of rather lower elevation than the neighbouring Grasmoor, Eel Crag (Crag Hill) is more truly the focal point of the concentration of fells rising between the valleys of Newlands and Lorton.” — Wainwright 1957, Book Two

Standing on the stony, high-altitude crest reveals just how central this peak is to the Lakeland layout. The summit vantage point is exceptionally good looking south toward the massive profiles of the Scafell range, though the immense bulk of neighboring Grasmoor blocks out a significant portion of the western horizon. Unlike many of its grassy neighbors, the top is structurally distinct, marked by a classic concrete Ordnance Survey trig pillar that stands exposed to the elements on its rocky crown.

The definitive concrete OS trig pillar marking the true summit of Crag Hill

Trip Reports

The Coledale Round16/04/2016

The Coledale Round11/08/2013

Return to Lake District – North Western Fells