St Sunday Crag

About St Sunday Crag

St Sunday Crag is one of the Fairfield group, the highest group of hills in the Eastern Fells area of the Lake District. They stand to the south of the Helvellyn range. With an elevation of 841 m (2,759 ft) and a prominence of 166 m (545 ft), this particular fell is classified as a Marilyn, a Hewitt and a Nuttall, as well as being one of Wainwright’s peaks.

It has a distinctive, rounded summit which is very grassy and marked by three cairns; two of which are on the highest part of the peak. A further one towards the northern end marks a prime vantage point for the spectacular views of Ullswater, generally considered to be one of Lakeland’s most beautiful lakes, and Helvellyn.

Climbing St Sunday Crag

As well as being a highly distinctive feature of Patterdale, a major tourist area of the Lake District, St Sunday Crag is on Wainwright’s famous Coast to Coast Walk route. The result is that this peak can get very busy with walkers and climbers. Many of the most common ascents begin from Patterdale. Walkers have the opportunity to take in another Wainwright fell, Birks, on the way to the summit of St Sunday Crag. If you are keen to extend your walk, it is only a short step to the summit of Arnison Crag.

Climbers are drawn by St Sunday Crag’s north western face, which has a curved top above a wall of crags sliced by a series of vertical gullys. Along with the intervening ridges, the face provides an ideal surface for scrambling and climbing.

If approaching from the east, walkers can ascend St Sunday Crag from Grisedale Tarn while climbers can start from Deepdale, from the car park at Bridgend.