Clints Crags

Clints Crags is a small fell in the north of the English Lake District near Blindcrake, Cumbria. It has its own chapter in Alfred Wainwright's '' The Outlying Fells of Lakeland''. He describes a circular walk from Blindcrake, and laments that at the time of writing (1974): "This is a walk on public footpaths, but until somebody removes the barbed wire and other obstacles to legitimate progress it can be recommended only to gymnasts." It reaches . Since the time of writing the barbed wire has been removed and the path to the summit is clear of obstructions.

Clints Crags offers a pleasant and easy stroll to the summit from the village of Blindcrake. The gradient of the crags is much steeper rising north out of the Isel valley, however there are no footpaths to the crags from the valley bottom. There is an old limestone quarry near the summit of the hill, this is now an SSSI, being home to a rare species of newt that breeds in the old quarry lakes. The summit is a large expanse of limestone outcrops and pavement, which is also a designated SSSI. The fragile limestone habitat supports various rare calcareous species of flora and fauna.

Other places of the same name

There are other places called Clints Crags in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire (just south of Leighton Reservoir) and above Ireshopeburn in Weardale, County Durham.

References

Fells of the Lake District
Escarpments of England

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