Helm Crag

You can walk to the foot of Helm Crag from any of the Grasmere car parks, and the 555 bus between Kendal and Keswick stops in the village. Take Easedale Road, opposite the outdoor shop, past the youth hostel and over Goody Bridge, then turn right at the cottages onto the track signed for Helm Crag. At the top of the lane a gate leads onto the fell.

The path climbs the south-east end in a long series of zigzags, much of it rebuilt by the National Trust with steps and drainage. Higher up it gets a little rocky, and in the wet you can take the bypasses to the left. The summit ridge is a jumble of shattered blocks rather than a single top, so take your time on it.

The Howitzer

The crest has two short ridges running north-west to south-east with a hollow between them. The rocks at the south-east end are the Lion and the Lamb you see from Grasmere, and most walkers stop there. The true summit is the tilted tower at the north-west end, called the Howitzer. Getting onto it takes an awkward, exposed scramble, and plenty of experienced walkers pass it up. From the ridge you see the Langdale Pikes, the Coniston fells and the Eastern Fells.

The summit rocks get different names depending on where you see them from. From Dunmail Raise they look like a howitzer. From other angles people call them the Lion Couchant or the Old Lady Playing the Organ. For a longer day, carry on north-west along the ridge over Gibson Knott to Calf Crag and return down Far Easedale.