Little Hart Crag facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Little Hart Crag |
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Little Hart Crag from High Hartsop Dodd with the crags of Black Brow on the right.
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 637 m (2,090 ft) |
| Prominence | 34 m (112 ft) |
| Parent peak | Dove Crag |
| Listing | Hewitt, Nuttall, Wainwright |
| Geography | |
 Little Hart Crag
Location in Lake District
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| Location | Cumbria, England |
| Parent range | Lake District, Eastern Fells |
| OS grid | NY387100 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 90 OS Explorer 5, 7 |
Little Hart Crag is a cool mountain, called a fell, located in the amazing Lake District area of England. It stands tall at the very top of a valley called Scandale. This mountain is about six kilometers north of a town called Ambleside.
Little Hart Crag reaches a height of 637 meters (that's about 2090 feet!). It's like a smaller friend of a bigger mountain called Dove Crag in the Eastern Fells. Even though it's close to Dove Crag, it's special because it sticks out enough (by 34 meters) to be counted as both a Hewitt and a Nuttall fell. Many hikers love to climb Little Hart Crag as part of a longer adventure called the Dovedale horseshoe. This exciting walk is about 11 kilometers long. It takes you over other nearby fells like Hartsop above How, Hart Crag, Dove Crag, and High Hartsop Dodd. The journey usually starts and finishes near a beautiful lake called Brothers Water.
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What Little Hart Crag Looks Like
Little Hart Crag has grassy slopes on its eastern side. These slopes are above a mountain pass called Scandale Pass. You can even find a tiny lake, Scandale Tarn, tucked away in a dip on the hill. To the east, the land drops very steeply into a place called Caiston Glen.
On its western side, Little Hart Crag is connected to Dove Crag by a wet, boggy area known as Bakestone Moss. To the northeast, a ridge slopes down towards Patterdale. This ridge goes over High Hartsop Dodd before dropping sharply into the valley below. The northern side of the fell is quite rocky. Here, you'll find the crags (steep, rugged cliffs) of Black Brow falling into Dovedale.
Rocks and Geology
The very top of Little Hart Crag is made of a type of rock called Middle Dodd Dacite. This rock is like a hard, volcanic rock. Underneath this top layer, the main rock is a kind of volcaniclastic sandstone. This means it's sandstone that was formed from volcanic ash and fragments.
Exploring the Summit
The very top of Little Hart Crag is quite interesting! It actually has two distinct rocky peaks, about 100 meters apart. The peak on the western side is a bit higher. It's marked by a cairn, which is a pile of stones often used as a landmark. The eastern peak is a few meters lower, but it has a nicer shape. You can even see shiny quartzite rocks set into its surface.
From the top of Little Hart Crag, your view might be a bit blocked by other taller mountains around it. But don't worry, you still get an amazing close-up look at the rocky cliffs of Dove Crag and Red Screes. It's a great spot to study these impressive features!
How to Climb Little Hart Crag
Most people don't climb Little Hart Crag by itself. Instead, they usually climb it along with other mountains nearby. There isn't really a direct path straight up the mountain. However, you can reach it from Patterdale by first going up to the top of the Scandale Pass.
The most straightforward way to climb Little Hart Crag from Patterdale starts at Brothers Water. First, you would climb High Hartsop Dodd, and then continue your journey to the summit of Little Hart Crag. From Patterdale, you can also combine your climb of Little Hart Crag with other fells like Red Screes or Dove Crag. Some adventurous hikers even include it as part of a bigger trip to Fairfield!
