Raven Crag, Great Langdale

A day at Raven Crag in the Lake District. We climbed a three-pitch route — I genuinely do not remember which one — and then abseiled off the fixed anchor on the right instead of walking down.

Raven Crag, Great Langdale / unknown three-pitch route

Crag range Difficult to E8 / longer routes 3 pitches / Borrowdale volcanic rock / 30 m abseil descent

Raven Crag sits on the hillside behind the Old Dungeon Ghyll, six buttresses of Borrowdale volcanic rock with a spread from Difficult up to E8 — Middlefell Buttress (D) at the easy end, Bilberry Buttress (VS) and Revelation (HS) in the middle. The longer lines on the crag give three pitches, which is what we did, but I never wrote down the name and it has not come back to me.

The descent was the abseil rather than a walk-off. The old Split Blocks line down is no longer recommended after rockfall, and there is now an established anchor for a 30 m abseil back to easy ground. On a single 50 m rope you reach ledges at 25 m — worth knowing before you commit to the pull.

Logistics

Approach

Park at the Old Dungeon Ghyll in Great Langdale and walk 10–15 minutes uphill behind the hotel to the foot of the buttresses.