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

Arnison Crag

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433 mWainwright — Eastern Fells+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km Fewer traps in Clag

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.

Summit conditions on Arnison Crag

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 7°C, gusts to 48 mph, 16.3 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.

Wind on the top

Past the line

45 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 40 mph times our exposure factor of 1.12. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 48 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.

Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

16.3 mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight

The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.

The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.

Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.

Also checked cold: feels like 5 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 48 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.

Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.

Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Routes up Arnison Crag

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

St Sunday Crag Walked by Lee
10.22 km · ~838 m ascent · ~3¼–4¾ h · loop · 4 summits
Moderate effort Severe: steepness
Park: Patterdale Hotel Car Park (Patterdale Hotel, paid) · Bus: 508 at the start

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, 10 km and 838 m.

Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →

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, 10.2 km with 838 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. On the ascent from Patterdale a large expanse of wet, greasy rock has to be crossed.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 433 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
12° / 7°
48 mph
16.3 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
11° / 8°
33 mph
7.2 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
10° / 8°
25 mph
0.5 mm (33%)
Fri 30 Oct
10° / 8°
28 mph
0.0 mm (23%)
Sat 31 Oct
11° / 4°
14 mph
0.3 mm (18%)
Sun 1 Nov
8° / 3°
11 mph
0.0 mm (10%)
Mon 2 Nov
8° / 0°
16 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Arnison Crag

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Patterdale Hotel Car Park (Patterdale Hotel, paid) — at the start of St Sunday Crag
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, coins only (LDNPA directory, read 30 August 2026). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Bridgend (layby) — 0.7 km from summit (straight line)
On the A592 at Bridgend, between Patterdale and Hartsop, beside a bus stop. The nearest route starts are the two at Cow Bridge, 1.2 km south on foot, and the two in Patterdale, 1.7 km north on foot ('St Sunday Crag', which climbs Arnison Crag, and 'Place Fell and The Knight'). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Bridgend, south (layby) — 0.8 km from summit (straight line)
On the A592 at Bridgend, between Patterdale and Hartsop, beside the Bridgend bus stops. The nearest route starts are the two at Cow Bridge, 1.1 km south on foot, and the two in Patterdale, 1.9 km north on foot ('St Sunday Crag', which climbs Arnison Crag, and 'Place Fell and The Knight'). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
2 more places to park near Arnison Crag
KGV Playing Field Community Car Park, Patterdale — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
For Place Fell, St Sunday Crag, the Grisedale fells. Walking base for Arnison Crag, Birks, St Sunday Crag and Gavel Pike — the 'St Sunday Crag' route starts 506 m away. Also serves 'Place Fell and The Knight'. On the King George V Playing Field; Patterdale Parish Council lists it as open all year, postcode CA11 0PJ (Parking in Patterdale map, October 2025). The National Park's car-parks directory (read 12 September 2026) adds that it may be closed to the public on cricket-match, other sports and local community days.
Directions Something changed here?
Public toilets (~705 m straight line) — Free Public toilets (~926 m straight line) White Lion Inn Patterdale Hotel
Cow Bridge (layby) — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Middle Dodd, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), High Hartsop Dodd and Gale Crag — the 'Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd' route starts 56 m away. Also serves 'Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.

Buses

The 508 and 509 stop at Patterdale Hotel (opposite), a 50 m walk from the start of St Sunday Crag — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). 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; that timetable runs to 1 November 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.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Arnison Crag

Hazard & Incident Information for Arnison Crag

Checked by Lee McCoy, . Draws on published material from Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team. Editorial background, not a live callout feed.

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.

What to watch for: 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

Safety: 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 in cloud

Fewer traps in cloud

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of steep ground within half a kilometre of the summit. This top is in the lowest of the index’s four bands, and a low band never means “safe”: carry map and compass and know how to use them.

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 (experimental).

If you need Mountain Rescue

Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.

Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.

If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.

From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Arnison Crag

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

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 Crag
10.22 km · ~838 m ascent · loop · ~3¼–4¾ h
Moderate effort Severe: steepness
Summits: Arnison CragBirksSt Sunday CragGavel Pike

Download GPX Walked by Lee, January 2025

Warnings: Birks falls away steeply into Grisedale and Deepdale, with broken, rough ground on both sides. Any descent off the flanks is fraught with difficulty and can be dangerous — keep to the ridge and use the proper paths down, especially in cloud.

Route guide →

Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and 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 from the start, straight line) Patterdale Hotel (W bound) (32 m from the start, straight line) Youth Hostel (N bound) (462 m from the start, straight line) Youth Hostel (S bound) (468 m from the start, straight line)

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

About 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

The ascent from the village is short, direct and steep throughout, with greasy rock to cross when wet and low crags to pick a way through on the way down. A good leg-stretcher after arriving at Patterdale.

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 family friendly if your children are used to steep, rocky paths, as its just a short bimble from Patterdale and offers an interesting view of the conical Catstye 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.

— Lee McCoy, who walked it on our St Sunday Crag route in January 2025

My Strava hikes over Arnison Crag

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Arnison Crag a Wainwright?

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

Selected lists

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

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

The summit is also a Birkett.

Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →

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
The skyline as a list, 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 Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (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

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.
28Wainwrights in view+3 marginal
—Sea in viewnone from here
All 28 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, Gray Crag, 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 the view from Arnison Crag compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed

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.

Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. 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

Also nearby, but not independent

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. 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? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction

Other fells near Arnison Crag

Places nearby: Patterdale · Glenridding · Angle Tarn (Patterdale) · Brothers Water