Castle Rock – Lake District has finally fallen

The long wait is over: at 2pm today the big block on Castle Rock in the Lake District finally detached from the crag and fell onto the scree slope below. Climbers are warned to continue to stay away – the remaining face is loose and rock is still falling off.

It’s been a growing concern and a growing crack for many years now, ever since the widening fissure was first spotted and swiftly monitored by eagle-eyed volunteers in 2012. This year, an automated monitoring system was installed and in September began to show accelerated widening in the gap between the top of the crag and the teetering 500 tonne boulder slowly peeling away.

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