Scramble Route - Crinkle Crags

The three scrambles below are all grade 1, and for good measure we've also included the notorious "bad step" ascent. One thing you can rely on with Crinkle Crags is an amazing viewpoint with Bowfell, The Scafells, Langdale Pikes and Pike O Blisco giving a stunning panorama whichever way you look.

Approach From Langdale take the main path to Stool End, taking the left for to follow Oxendale. At the footbridge as you approach Hell Gill turn half left to the start of Crinkle Gill

Route Enter the narrow Crinkle Gill gorge, taking care at the large pool as this can get deep and dangerous in wet weather. Follow the gill as it turns sharply to the left to approach the small waterfalls, where a series of easy steps takes you onto easy walking territory.

Follow the stream on its right hand side to emerge at the base of Mickledore where the stream splits into several feeders. Take the left hand branch to follow the main stream to the base of the obvious small fall. The best route here takes the left hand side of the fall, keeping as far away from the water as practical while still remaining on the rock.

At the top of the fall join a path leading to a final rib that puts you on open ground a couple of hundred yards below the obvious large buttress that contains the next scramble, Crinkle Crags Buttress.

Route:From the top of Crinkle Gill approach the large buttress directly. A gully on the left hand side of the buttress avoids the steeper ground, keeping within the overall grade 1 nature of these routes.

The main part of the buttress itself is an alternative, but much harder route. Look out for a large area of dark stained wall to find the gully, which is slightly to its right. Now continue up a series of large ledges, meandering left and right to keep to the rock. After zig-zagging your way up you emerge at a steep wall where a right turn avoids the difficult ground.

Now move left again onto large boulders and broken ground to complete the ascent to the summit of Crinkle Crags.

Route From the base of the Crinkle Crags Buttress route cross the large scree slope of Mickledoor to the large buttress on the left. A diagonal line is immediately apparent cutting across the buttress, and this provides a mixture of walking and low grade scrambling as an alternative way to the summit.

Route As you approach Long Top from the south you come to an obvious 10ft high wall with routes heading both left and right to avoid it. The left hand path is the easiest route round follwed by most tourists, while the right hand route is narrower but more direct.

The "Bad Step" itself can be climbed on the right hand side using a couple of small holds followed by a ledge to half height. The final move is to pull yourself over the ledge then continue straight ahead. This route is much easier to ascend than descend, as the holds are invisible from above.

From the summit of these routes you have a wide choice of descents or continuations. You can carry on North over the remaining crinkles then descend to Three Tarns, with choices left or right down to the respective valleys of Eskdale and Langdale or continue ahead over Bowfell. South from the summit of Long Top takes you down a wide and obvious track to Cockley Beck and the Wrynose Pass.