Arnison Crag

Arnison Crag is a fell in the Eastern Fells of the English Lake District. It stands as an outlier of the Fairfield group, overlooking Patterdale village and the upper part of Ullswater. The fell is connected to Birks, a satellite of St Sunday Crag, by a northeast ridge. Alfred Wainwright recognised Arnison Crag as a separate fell in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. He described it as a low hill with a summit that feels like a mountain. The fell’s summit sits at the end of a subsidiary ridge that curves north from a level spur halfway down Birks. Arnison Crag is worth the journey for its distinctive shape and the views it offers. Wainwright argued for its inclusion despite its modest height, calling the summit ‘worthy of a mountain’. The fell’s geology includes andesite at the top and volcaniclastic sandstone on its northwestern face. Evidence of old haematite mining can be seen on the Deepdale slopes. The fell is often climbed as the first stage of an ascent to St Sunday Crag. Walkers can also choose routes that take in nearby fells like Fairfield or Helvellyn. At the summit, a low rock tower marks the highest point, with only a small cairn present. The view is limited by higher surrounding fells, but Fairfield and High Street are visible. The ridge from Trough Head to Arnison Crag is fairly level, passing over several knolls. One of these knolls, about halfway along, is the true summit at 433 metres. The ground then drops steeply over two tiers of rock outcrops, including Oxford Crag, before reaching the valley floor behind Patterdale.