Great Carrs from Swirl Hawse
Great Carrs
Standing watch directly above the classic mountain pass of Wrynose, Great Carrs is a peak defined by a beautiful, sweeping topography. It forms the high focal point of a massive, sickle-shaped arm thrown out by Swirl How, curving north and then striking east toward the low fields of Little Langdale. Following the crest of Rough Crags and tracking along Wet Side Edge makes for a fantastic mountain line, gradually gaining altitude until you step onto an exceptionally airy perch.
Like many of its neighbors in the Coniston group, Great Carrs shows two completely different faces to the world. To the west, its slopes fall away gently, covered in a smooth blanket of grass. But look to the east, and the mountain drops away with breathtaking violence. The crags plunging directly from the high ridge form the massive, bowl-like headwall of the Greenburn valley—a dark, yawning abyss that adds a proper sense of exposure to the ridge walk.
Tracing the high ridge southward toward Swirl How across the 'Top of Broad Slack' brings you to one of the most poignant historic sites in the Lake District. This high, exposed plateau was the scene of a tragic wartime disaster in 1944, when a Royal Canadian Air Force Handley Page Halifax bomber crashed into the fell during a night navigation exercise. Today, the heavy metal undercarriage of the aircraft remains on the ridge line, preserved alongside a quiet wooden cross and a memorial cairn, while the rest of the twisted wreckage is scattered down the steep, grassy funnel of Broad Slack below.
The cairn perched on the summit outcrop
The actual summit of Great Carrs is an unforgettable spot, featuring a modest, neatly compiled stone cairn perched right on a rocky nose of bedrock that juts out directly over the plunging headwall of Greenburn. It feels less like a rounded hill top and more like a high balcony suspended over the valleys. Standing by the stones reveals an extensive, majestic vista; looking north unlocks an endless, layered grid of massed Lakeland giants, while scanning the wider horizon allows you to spot the distant, dark spine of the Pennines and the shimmering blue waters surrounding the Isle of Man far out to sea.
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