The Central Fells

Helm Crag

Helm Crag summit (The Howitzer), looking south to Windermere.
Photograph taken: 29th July 2016

Helm Crag summit (The Howitzer), looking south to Windermere.
Photograph taken: 29th July 2016
The rock pinnacle at the summit of Helm Crag, known as the Howitzer, with Gibson Knott on the left and Steel Fell on the right.
Photograph taken: 27th July 2024
About 100m south-east along the summit ridge from the Howitzer is another rock formation, known as the Lion and the Lamb. Grasmere is on the right, backed by Loughrigg Fell.
Photograph taken: 27th July 2024
Helm Crag as seen from the descending path from Steel Fell summit on Cotra Breast. The Howitzer forms a distinctive feature on the summit.
Photograph taken: 28th August 2021

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Location map for Helm Crag

Wainwright top at Helm Crag

Context

Helm Crag is a Wainwright in The Central Fells area of the Lake District National Park.

Location

Grid Ref: NY 32652 09349
BNG e,n: 332652,509349
Lat/long: 54.475011,-3.040802
GeoJSON: [-3.040802,54.475011]
///W3W: suggested.shampoos.braced
Feature: rock tor known as “Howitzer”

Elevation

Height: 405m / 1,329ft
Drop: 70.0m
Rank: 201 / 214

Details: Locating Wainwright tops

It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that the Wainwright top is at the true summit of a fell. For many fells in the 214, this is not the case. Wainwright often chose a top because of its aspect or view rather than its height. This is what sometimes makes finding the Wainwright tops so confusing.

Locating a top is also complicated by the fact that features change over time. Cairns come and go, some grow and some shrink, fence posts are added or removed. Although the summit sketches in Wainwright's guides and the photographs in this guide are useful aids for identification, the features shown are subject to change, especially on popular fells. See Fleetwith Pike for an example of how cairns change.

Important: The accuracy of GPS on smartphones is ±5m at best but could be as much as 8m out. Please bear this in mind when using the location data.

Route planning

Fells

Gibson Knott: 1.1km; 94m; 22min

Details

There is one viable route from Helm Crag

The Wainwright guides indicate “ridge routes” from each fell and although this is useful, it doesn't always allow for effective route planning. The routes shown here are the Wainwright ridge routes (indicated with ) plus any other viable routes (indicated with ), not necessarily linked by a ridge. This list provides a more comprehensive network of potential routes that can be used when planning days out on the fells.

All routes have been plotted in the OS Maps app. The distance, ascent and time values are those given for the plotted routes. Time values are for moderately fit walkers without breaks. They should therefore be considered minimum values for the purposes of route planning.

Classification

DoBIH No

2498

Local

Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Wainwright

Birkett: Lake District hills over 1,000ft listed in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells. There are 541 Birketts, 211 are also Wainwrights.
Fellranger: Lake District hills included in Mark Richards' Fellranger walking series, a set of eight volumes inspired by the Wainwright guides. There are 230 Fellrangers, 209 are also Wainwrights. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.
Synge: Lake District hills over 300m listed in Tim Synge's The Lakeland Summits. The book aims to list every significant summit over 300m in height within the National Park, 646 in total. It includes all 214 fells in Wainwright's Pictorial Guides, including Castle Crag at 290m.
Wainwright: Lake District hills included in volumes 1-7 of Wainwright's A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. There are 214 Wainwrights in all. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.

National

400-499m TUMP, Trail 100

400-499m TUMP: British hills that are 400-499m in height with at least 30m of drop. There are 19 Wainwrights in this class.
Trail 100: A curated list of 100 British hills published in Trail Magazine. “…a collection of the 100 peaks that all hillwalkers must climb at least once in their lifetime.” The Trail 100 includes 24 Wainwrights.

Geology

Bedrock

Borrowdale Sill Suite

BGS code

BVGS

Type

Igneous (intrusive)

Age

449.0 – 458.4 Ma

Period

Ordovician

Parent

Caledonian Supersuite

Details

Members, formations and groups

Member: A smaller unit of rock that shares common charateristics and features, often used in geology to describe specific layers within a formation.
Formation: A larger unit of rock that is distinct from other formations above and below. A formation may include two or more members.
Group: A stratigraphic unit that includes two or more associated formations that are usually contiguous or contain significant features in common.
Suite: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of the same type, lacking discernable stratification.
Complex: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of different types, lacking discernable stratification.

Notes

A sill is a tabular sheet of igneous rock intruded, as magma, between existing layers of rock.

Daylight

Tuesday, 9th June 2026

Daylight

17 hours 11 minutes

Dawn