The craggy northern face above the lake gives the fell its name, prominent in views from the car park at Bowness Knott.

Worm Gill is one such watercourse, running south westward from Caw Fell, and forcing the ridge to detour northwards around the head of its valley.

Crag Fell and Grike complete the westward line of the ridge, whilst Lank Rigg lies to the south across the head of the River Calder.

By contrast the southern slopes fall steadily to the headstream of the Calder, the lower section being planted with conifers.

There is a wide panorama to seaward, taking in what Alfred Wainwright described as the "grotesque collection of towers and minarets of the Calder Hall atomic power station".

[2] A narrow road runs east from the village of Ennerdale Bridge, giving access to a pair of car parks near the outflow of the lake.

This takes the walker past what Wainwright called the Crag Fell Pinnacles, a fractured spine of rock rising 80 ft above the angle of the slope.