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433 m · Wainwright — Eastern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Arnison Crag - brown winter fellside in low evening sun, with snow-capped fells beyond under a blue sky and pink-lit cloud
Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Arnison Crag

Arnison Crag at 433m (1,421ft) is the small, craggy summit directly above Patterdale village, its rocky top giving an excellent bird's-eye view of the village and Goldrill Beck below.

433 m
Height
~2–2.5 h
Typical time
+3
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Arnison Crag

Written and walked by Lee McCoy

433 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 433 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 14° to 10°C, gusts to 20 mph, 1.7 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
14° / 10°
💨 20 mph
🌧 1.7 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
16° / 10°
💨 45 mph
🌧 17.1 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
☁️
13° / 8°
💨 13 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (62%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
16° / 10°
💨 32 mph
🌧 7.0 mm (100%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
15° / 9°
💨 35 mph
🌧 4.4 mm (89%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
12° / 9°
💨 32 mph
🌧 1.0 mm (78%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
12° / 9°
💨 37 mph
🌧 4.2 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 433 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Arnison Crag at a glance

Arnison Crag

Arnison Crag - brown winter fellside in low evening sun, with snow-capped fells beyond under a blue sky and pink-lit cloud
© Lee McCoy

Arnison Crag at 433m (1,421ft) is the small, craggy summit directly above Patterdale village, its rocky top giving an excellent bird's-eye view of the village and Goldrill Beck below. Wainwright described it as a fine little fell for an evening stroll from Patterdale, with views across to St Sunday Crag and up Grisedale towards the high fells. The ascent from the village is short and direct. An ideal first fell for children or as a leg-stretcher after arriving at Patterdale for a long weekend.

Field notes

On the way up to Birks you'll possibly stop off at the craggy Wainwright summit of Arnison Crag - obviously that feature contributed to its name. Some crags aren't all that friendly, I'm thinking of Haystacks where you're fighting to stand up. But this one is definitely family friendly as its just a short bimble from Patterdale and offers an interesting view of the conical Catsye Cam between the other fells of Birks and Birkhouse Moor. If you're visiting Patterdale and only have a couple of hours to jaunt then this is a good option and much more obtainable than Birkhouse Moor.

Routes up Arnison Crag

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

St Sunday Crag
10 km · ~3.3 hr
Three tops and an outlier on the long Patterdale ridge — Arnison Crag, Birks and St Sunday Crag, with Gavel Pike a short detour off the summit. Steep in places, but the walking line stays well clear of the crags throughout.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
433 m
Height
1,421 ft
In feet
NY 3935 1497
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Arnison Crag a Wainwright?

Arnison Crag is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Where do you park for Arnison Crag?

The nearest car park we hold is Arnison Crag (layby), about 0.7 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Arnison Crag, south-east (layby), 0.8 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

My hikes over Arnison Crag (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Parking & buses for Arnison Crag

Best parking to hike Arnison Crag

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Arnison Crag (layby) — 0.7 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Arnison Crag (0.7 km), Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top) (1.4 km), Angletarn Pikes South Top (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Arnison Crag, south-east (layby) — 0.8 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Arnison Crag (0.8 km), Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top) (1.5 km), Angletarn Pikes South Top (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Patterdale Hotel Car Park (Patterdale Hotel, paid) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Place Fell, The Knight, Arnison Crag and Birks — the 'Place Fell and The Knight' route starts 23 m away. Also serves 'St Sunday Crag'. Fees: pay and display (LDNPA directory, checked Aug 2026). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Patterdale (paid) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
For Place Fell, St Sunday Crag, the Grisedale fells.
Directions Something changed here?
🚺 Public toilets (~705 m straight line) — Free🚺 Public toilets (~926 m straight line)🍺 White Lion Inn🍺 Patterdale Hotel
Seasonal Car park — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Arnison Crag, Birks, St Sunday Crag and Gavel Pike — the 'St Sunday Crag' route starts 464 m away. Also serves 'Place Fell and The Knight'. Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Arnison Crag by bus

The 508 stops at Patterdale Hotel (opp), 50 m from the start of St Sunday Crag. The last bus is 19:46 towards Windermere (508) and 15:09 towards Hartsop (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Arnison Crag

Hazard & Incident Information for Arnison Crag

Hazard: Moderate

A small, rocky-crowned fell rising steeply straight from Patterdale village, popular for its view down Ullswater. It's a short outing, but an incessantly steep one, with a stretch of wet, greasy rock to cross, low crags near the summit, and a descent that needs careful route-finding among the rocks. Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Steep climb & greasy rock: The ascent from Patterdale is short but relentlessly steep, and a large expanse of wet, greasy rock has to be crossed. Take care with footing, especially when wet, and don't rush the steep ground.
  • Low crags & route-finding on descent: The rocky summit has crags (Arnison Crag's face, Aiken Crag) just below it, and getting down involves careful route-finding among low crags. Pick the line carefully and don't drop blindly over rocky steps.
  • Knolly ridge & muddy ground: The ridge over Trough Head is a series of knolls with flat grass and rock upthrusts, muddy in places. Keep track of your line in mist and watch for slippery rock and bog.
Who should attempt this fell: Arnison Crag is a quick climb with a big view, but it's steep and rocky for its size — take the greasy rock and steep ground carefully (worst when wet), and route-find with care among the low crags on the way down. Wear proper footwear and mind the slippery rock in winter.

Most common causes: Slips on the steep ground and the wet, greasy rock · Route-finding difficulty among the low crags on descent · Trips on the knolly, muddy ridge · Casual walkers underestimating a small but steep, rocky fell

Local Mountain Rescue: Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026

Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Report incorrect information

Navigating Arnison Crag in cloud

Straightforward

A rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How Arnison Crag compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Arnison Crag (layby), about 0.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Arnison Crag (within 3 km)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.

2.5 km SGale Crag512 m · Eastern
2.6 km SWGavel Pike784 m · Eastern
2.9 km NNEThe Knight552 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Arnison Crag

St Sunday CragRevised
9.96 km · ~782 m ascent · loop · ~3–4.5 h
Summits: Arnison CragBirksSt Sunday CragGavel Pike

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

🥾 Walked in part — Lee walked this ground in January 2025; km 4.4–4.8, km 5.6–6.4, km 7.3–8.2 of this line are from the map.

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

On the hill: terrain and water on Arnison Crag

Water & shelter on the way up

On the St Sunday Crag route:

🚌 Patterdale Hotel (E bound) (12 m)🚌 Patterdale Hotel (W bound) (32 m)🚌 Youth Hostel (N bound) (462 m)🚌 Youth Hostel (S bound) (468 m)⛺ Patterdale Youth Hostel (486 m)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

The view from Arnison Crag

The 360° skyline from Arnison Crag

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys
Computed 360-degree skyline from Arnison Crag29 labelled tops shown (1 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWStybarrow Dodd · 6 kmSt Sunday Crag · 3 kmHigh Street · 6 kmHart Crag · 4 kmHigh Raise · 6 kmRampsgill Head · 5 kmDove Crag · 5 kmThornthwaite Crag · 6 kmRed Screes · 6 kmCaudale Moor · 5 kmBirkett Fell · 6 kmBirkhouse Moor · 3 kmSheffield Pike · 4 kmLoadpot Hill · 7 kmWether Hill · 6 kmLittle Hart Crag · 5 kmHartsop Dodd · 4 kmCatstye Cam · 5 kmSt Raven's Edge · 7 kmSwineside Knott · 5 kmCommon Fell · 6 kmSwarth Fell · 8 kmGreat Mell Fell · 10 kmBeda Fell · 4 kmGowbarrow Fell · 7 kmPlace Fell · 2 kmAngletarn Pikes · 2 kmBrock Crags · 3 kmRound How · 6 kmGreen Side · 6 kmRest Dodd · 4 kmBrown Hills · 5 kmGavel Pike · 3 kmHartsop Above How · 3 kmAngletarn Pikes South Top · 2 kmHigh Hartsop Dodd · 4 kmBirk Fell · 3 kmGlenridding Dodd · 3 kmWisp Hill · 84 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Arnison Crag, by direction
  • North: Birk Fell (3 km), Brown Hills (5 km), Swineside Knott (5 km), Common Fell (6 km), Gowbarrow Fell (7 km), Great Mell Fell (10 km)
  • North-east: Place Fell (2 km), Beda Fell (4 km), Loadpot Hill (7 km), Swarth Fell (8 km)
  • East: Angletarn Pikes (2 km), Angletarn Pikes South Top (2 km), Rest Dodd (4 km), High Raise (6 km), Wether Hill (6 km)
  • South-east: Brock Crags (3 km), Hartsop Dodd (4 km), The Knott (5 km), Rampsgill Head (5 km), High Street (6 km), Thornthwaite Crag (6 km)
  • South: Gale Crag (2 km), Hartsop Above How (3 km), High Hartsop Dodd (4 km), Little Hart Crag (5 km), Caudale Moor (5 km), Middle Dodd (5 km), Red Screes (6 km), St Raven's Edge (7 km)
  • South-west: Gavel Pike (3 km), St Sunday Crag (3 km), Hart Crag (4 km), Dove Crag (5 km)
  • West: Birkhouse Moor (3 km), Catstye Cam (5 km)
  • North-west: Heron Pike (4 km), Sheffield Pike (4 km), Green Side (6 km), Birkett Fell (6 km), Stybarrow Dodd (6 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Wisp Hill (84 km, Scotland), Pikethaw Hill (83 km, Scotland).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Arnison Crag

Arnison Crag waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when the sun is up for 32 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:04 against an almanac sunrise of 08:32. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (138.3°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.87°.

0°30°40°50°60°70°04:55
Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.
Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
First lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer04:55 BST ±5.0 min04:36+19 min
Equinox06:40 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+25 min
Midwinter09:04 GMT ±5.0 min08:32+32 min

The northern horizon stands at about 2.25° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Arnison Crag

Arnison Crag loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 March, when last light is 62 minutes before almanac sunset — 16:46 against 17:48. The sun goes down to the west-south-west from here (245.6°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 8.08°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:16 BST ±5.0 min21:52-36 min
Equinox17:25 GMT ±5.0 min18:26-61 min
Midwinter15:00 GMT ±5.0 min15:48-48 min

Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Arnison Crag. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes. These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.

What you can see from Arnison Crag

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
27Wainwrights in view+4 marginal
—Sea in viewnone from here
All 27 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Place Fell, Brock Crags (Wainwright), St Sunday Crag, Glenridding Dodd, Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How), Birkhouse Moor, Hartsop Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Rest Dodd, Beda Fell (Beda Head), Hart Crag, Catstye Cam, Dove Crag, The Knott (High Street), Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Rampsgill Head, Middle Dodd, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), High Raise (High Street), High Street, Thornthwaite Crag, Red Screes, Stybarrow Dodd, Loadpot Hill, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Great Mell Fell

How Arnison Crag’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Places to stay near this fell

Greenbank Farm Bed and Breakfast guest house

about 1.3 km from the start, in a straight line

The only property in the whole radius that prices a packed lunch and an evening meal on its own page - Packed Lunches £6.00, Evening Meals From £14.00 - alongside a family room for three and drying facilities. A family walking St Sunday Crag can be fed before it leaves and fed again when it gets back without moving the car.

A working sheep farm sitting below Arnison Crag, looking across at Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes - the two things a guest walks up next. The guest dining/sitting room has a log burner and there is one shared bathroom.

  • Drying room “We also have drying facilities and a large patio and garden to enjoy the view.”
  • Family rooms “Family: Room for three with a double and one single bed.”
  • Evening meal “We offer hearty home-cooked breakfasts and evening meals as well as packed lunches if required.”
  • Packed lunch “Packed Lunches £6.00”
  • Children “Family: Room for three with a double and one single bed.”

YHA Helvellyn hostel

about 3.2 km from the start, in a straight line

The only bed in this cluster that is already up the hill - 963 ft up the Greenside road - with a shared drying room, free parking on site and meals served in the building. Two things will decide it for a family: dogs cannot come at all unless you are in the Camping & Cabins or have hired the whole hostel, and reception is shut from 10:00 until 17:00, so an early arrival cannot check in.

Worth knowing: “Dogs: Pets are not permitted at YHA Helvellyn, except in our Camping & Cabins accommodation or when hiring the whole hostel through YHA Exclusive Hire. Assistance dogs are welcome - please notify us at the time of booking.”

It began life as accommodation for the lead miners at Greenside, opened to hostellers as "Glenridding", took men only in 1947 and admitted women the year after; mine debris still lies around the building.

  • Drying room “Free parking on premises Games Group meals Intermittent mobile coverage Licensed bar Minibus parking on premises Mountain view Restaurant Shared drying room Unlimited breakfast Water refill station WiFi”
  • Family rooms “Private room is offered here”
  • Evening meal “With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something delicious to eat at YHA Helvellyn (see sample menu ).”
  • Packed lunch “With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something delicious to eat at YHA Helvellyn (see sample menu ).”
  • Parking “Free parking on premises”
  • Children “Under 12s are not permitted in dorm rooms. Children under 3 can stay with us for free.”

Patterdale Youth Hostel hostel

about 0.5 km from the start, in a straight line

This is the nearest hostel bed to the start, 460 m away, and the row exists to carry the one thing the cache actually proves about it: YHA's own pet rule bars a dog from both dorms and private rooms, so the private-room workaround for the under-12 dorm rule does not solve a dog. No Patterdale-specific facility is claimed here, because the capture contains none.

Worth knowing: “Pets - including dogs - are not permitted in our hostels when staying in a dorm or a private room. This is a consideration of other guests who may be allergic as well as the logistics of pets staying.”

  • Children “People of all ages are welcome at YHA. Guests aged under 16 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 years or older.”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions about Arnison Crag

Is Arnison Crag a hard walk?

Short, and steep for every metre of it. Arnison Crag rises straight out of Patterdale to a small rocky top, and the climb is incessant rather than difficult — there is no scrambling, just very little respite.

It is popular for the view down Ullswater and it deserves to be. Our mapped route past it is the St Sunday Crag day, 10.0 km with 782 m of ascent, graded severe for steepness. On its own from the village it is an hour or two — a route we have not measured, and one of the best short ones in the valley.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction

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