Tarn Crag (Far Eastern Fells)

Tarn Crag is a fell in the Far Eastern Fells of the English Lake District. It stands east of Longsleddale, a narrow valley whose sides rise steeply to crags. Above Buckbarrow Crag on the eastern side lies a second tier of rock, Tarn Crag itself, which gives the fell its name. The fell marks the transition from Lakeland to Pennine country, with long grassy slopes and patches of heather. Little rock appears on these slopes, and few trees grow in the moorland. Two becks, Mosedale and Little Mosedale, define the eastern boundary of the fell. The fell’s northern edge follows a walkers’ pass from Longsleddale to Mosedale at 1,555 ft. Mosedale beck begins here and flows north-east, while Greycrag Tarn lies south of Tarn Crag in a boggy col. The tarn drains into Longsleddale via Galeforth Gill, and Little Mosedale Beck issues eastward from the same marsh. A fence east of the summit runs along the Sleddale Fells, helping walkers find their way in poor weather. Near the summit stands a surveying pillar built for the Haweswater aqueduct, now decayed but still used for sight lines. The summit offers little in the way of fell views but opens a wide vista from Morecambe Bay to the Pennines. A portion of Windermere can be seen to the south-west. The fell can be climbed from Longsleddale via Great Howe or from north of Buckbarrow Crag. Longer routes come from Swindale or Shap via Brunt Tongue. The landscape around Tarn Crag is mostly open moorland with coarse grass and heather, broken only by the occasional man-made feature.