Green Crag

Green Crag is a fell in the Lake District’s Southern Fells, standing between Eskdale and the Duddon valley. Its northern slopes lie in Eskdale parish and the southern ones in Ulpha parish, both in Cumberland. The fell forms part of a long ridge that stretches fifteen miles from Crinkle Crags to Black Combe. Alfred Wainwright once called this ridge the boundary of proper fellwalking country. Later writers added many lower hills beyond Green Crag to their lists. The fell is the highest of several rocky tops rising from Birker Fell moorland. Green Crag overlooks a skirt of crags above Eskdale’s wooded valley. Waterfalls such as Stanley Force and Birker Force tumble down its flanks. Peat cutters once worked the plateau, leaving graded paths and huts still visible. Remains of Gate Gill iron mine show haematite was dug here in the 1880s. The Duddon side has gentler slopes divided by dry stone walls into pasture strips. Farms line the valley between Ulpha and Seathwaite, using the rough grazing land. The summit sits on a line of tors east of the plateau, with Kepple Crag and Great Whinscale nearby. A small cairn marks the top, offering views of the southern fells and the sea to the south. The fell’s summit knoll is made of andesite lavas from the Birker Fell Formation. Walkers usually reach it from the north or west, where mild scrambling is needed. The Birker Fell Road passes close by, offering fine views of the Scafells.