The magnificent independent peak of Castle Crag guarding the Jaws of Borrowdale

Castle Crag

Height298m (978ft)

Prominence83m (272ft)

RegionNorth Western Fells

Climbed3 Times

Castle Crag stands proudly as the single smallest hill included in Alfred Wainwright's definitive list, capturing unique distinction as the only Wainwright sitting below the 1,000-foot mark. Despite its lack of absolute altitude, the fell cuts an immensely impressive figure, appearing as a rugged, defensive bastion that completely blocks the upper reaches of the valley. Squeezed tightly between its slate ramparts and the matching slopes of Grange Fell opposite, the River Derwent is forced through a dramatic, narrow gorge globally renowned among Lakeland walkers as the 'Jaws of Borrowdale'.

"Castle Crag is so magnificently independent, so ruggedly individual, so aggressively unashamed of its lack of inches, that less than justice would be done by relegating it to a paragraph in the High Spy chapter". — Wainwright 1957, Book Two

The flanks of the crag are heavily scarred by historical quarrying operations. The abandoned workings at High Hows Quarry achieved great local fame throughout the mid-20th century as the summer sanctuary of Millican Dalton, the eccentric, self-styled "Professor of Adventure", who utilized the deep slate caves as his wilderness home from the 1920s onwards. Negotiating the steep, loose slate paths to the very highest point reveals a small rocky outcrop topped by a masterfully constructed circular shelter cairn made entirely from local Borrowdale slate. The summit also bears an elegant war memorial plaque, dedicated to the men of the valley who fell during the Great War, framing an incredibly intimate and poignant panoramic view stretching down over the green floor of Borrowdale.