Little Hart Crag

Little Hart Crag
Westmorland
Little Hart Crag from High Hartsop Dodd
Range:	Lake District Eastern Fells
Summit:	2,090 feet NY387100 54°28’54"N, 2°56’51"W

Little Hart Crag is a fell in Westmorland, within the Lake District's Eastern Fells. It stands at the head of Scandale, four miles north of Ambleside, and reaches a summit height of 2,090 feet.

The fell is considered an eastern outlier of Dove Crag and it is frequently climbed as part of the Dovedale horseshoe, a seven-mile walk over the neighbouring fells of Hartsop above How, Hart Crag, Dove Crag and High Hartsop Dodd, starting and finishing at Brothers Water.

Landscape

Little Hart Crag is composed of grassy slopes on its eastern slopes above the Scandale Pass, with the tiny Scandale Tarn tucked in a hollow in the hill. To the east it drops steeply into Caiston Glen. On its west side it is connected to Dove Crag by the boggy hollow of Bakestone Moss and to the north east a ridge falls away towards Patterdale going over High Hartsop Dodd before dropping steeply to the valley. The fell is craggy on its northern side as the crags of Black Brow fall into Dovedale.

Geology

The summit is an outcrop of Middle Dodd Dacite, the underlying rock being volcaniclastic sandstone.

Summit

The summit is of interest, there being two distinct tops about 100 yards apart, both of whom are rocky. The western top is the higher and is marked by a cairn, while the eastern one is more shapely but a few feet lower and has quartzite set into its rocks. The view from the top of the fell is restricted by higher fells, but it does give the opportunity of studying the crags of Dove Crag and Red Screes in detail.

Ascents

Little Hart Crag is nearly always climbed in conjunction with other adjacent fells, there being no feasible direct ascent although it can be climbed from Patterdale by way of the top of the Scandale Pass. The most direct route from Patterdale starts at Brothers Water and firstly ascends High Hartsop Dodd before continuing to the summit of Little Hart Crag. Also from Patterdale the fell can also be climbed in conjunction with Red Screes or Dove Crag and even Fairfield.

References

• Wainwright, Alfred: A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book One — The Eastern Fells (1955)
• Complete Lakeland Fells, Bill Birkett, ISBN 0-00-713629-3
• The Mountains of England and Wales, John and Anne Nuttall ISBN 1-85284-037-4