Castle Crag

Climbing Castle Crag from Rosthwaite, Borrowdale

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This route climbs Castle Crag, the lowest of the 214 Wainwrights, from the National Trust car park in Rosthwaite, Borrowdale. Parking is paid, the car park has room for about 20 cars, and it sits at about 90 m. The General Store bus stop, about 80 m away, is served by the 77 and 78.

The line is 2 km long and gains about 200 m. The first 1.4 km are almost level, staying close to 90 m. They leave the village by a short lane and follow a track that is a public footpath, crossing the River Derwent at about 0.8 km.

All the climbing comes in the last 560 m, which rise from about 90 m to the top at 290 m. Most of it is on paths the landowner opens by permission rather than public rights of way, about 590 m of the line in all. The final 100 m are a public footpath again, over rock and then grass on the map, and the route ends a few metres off the path at the summit point.

About 1.25 km of the line follows public footpaths. None of it is on open access land in the Natural England data, so keep to the paths.

Castle Crag is 290 m high and belongs to the North Western Fells in Book 6.

The GPX file is the same line, from the car park to the summit. Return the same way, or plan a longer walk with a map before you set out.

Download the GPXFree. The route is © OpenStreetMap contributors and the file is released under the Open Database Licence: you may copy, share and adapt it.