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

Bannerdale Crags - a low stone cairn on a broad grassy summit, green lowland plains reaching to the far horizon
Wainwright — Northern FellsAlso a Birkett

Bannerdale Crags

Bannerdale Crags at 683m (2,240ft) stands above the remote Bannerdale valley between Mungrisdale and the Helvellyn range, its summit crags giving a dramatic and largely unvisited view of the eastern Northern Fells.

684 m
Height
~3–4 h
Typical time
+6
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Bannerdale Crags

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

684 mWainwright — Northern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Serious in Clag

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

Modelled guidance for the 684 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 13°C, gusts to 41 mph, 8.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
14° / 13°
💨 41 mph
🌧 8.8 mm (61%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
15° / 10°
💨 31 mph
🌧 10.8 mm (71%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
13° / 5°
💨 31 mph
🌧 1.7 mm (76%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 1°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (76%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 3°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (55%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
15° / 2°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (28%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 5°
💨 15 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (22%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 684 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

About the walk

Key information

Bannerdale Crags

Bannerdale Crags - a low stone cairn on a broad grassy summit, green lowland plains reaching to the far horizon
© Lee McCoy

Bannerdale Crags at 683m (2,240ft) stands above the remote Bannerdale valley between Mungrisdale and the Helvellyn range, its summit crags giving a dramatic and largely unvisited view of the eastern Northern Fells. Wainwright noted the deep, wild valley of Bannerdale below the crags as one of the loneliest corries in Lakeland. The ascent from Mungrisdale is short but rough on the final section. Combined naturally with Bowscale Fell for a fine circuit above Mungrisdale. A rewarding fell for those who seek solitude.

Routes up Bannerdale Crags

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

Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back
17.6 km · ~5.1 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Northern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
684 m
Height
2,244 ft
In feet
NY 3352 2902
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Mosedale / Bowscale (verge), about 1.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Bannerdale Crags (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.

1.2 km SSWScales Fell682 m · Northern
1.3 km SWAtkinson Pike (Foule Crag)845 m · Northern
1.5 km SSWDoddick Fell742 m · Northern
1.7 km NEThe Tongue553 m · Northern
2.1 km NNETarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)665 m · Northern
2.4 km SWGategill Fell Top852 m · Northern

Routes over Bannerdale Crags

Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the backRevised
17.59 km · ~961 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h
Summits: Souther FellScales FellDoddick FellBlencathra - Hallsfell TopAtkinson Pike (Foule Crag)Mungrisdale CommonBannerdale CragsBowscale FellTarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from Bannerdale Crags

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 Bannerdale Crags35 labelled tops shown (13 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 14 kmSkiddaw · 8 kmBowfell · 24 kmSt Sunday Crag · 16 kmBroad End · 8 kmHigh Street · 21 kmHigh Raise · 19 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 32 km · clear daysStony Cove Pike · 21 kmDoddick Fell · 2 kmBirkett Fell · 10 kmKnott · 6 kmBowscale Fell · 2 kmGreat Calva · 5 kmBakestall · 7 kmLoadpot Hill · 16 kmTarn Crags Top · 2 kmCarrock Fell · 5 kmHigh Pike · 6 kmLow Saddle · 16 kmCross Fell · 36 km · clear daysBlencathra · 2 kmAtkinson Pike · 1 kmCoomb Height · 4 kmGreat Lingy Hill · 6 kmBurn Tod · 6 kmThe Tongue · 2 kmGreat Mell Fell · 7 kmSouther Fell · 2 kmThrelkeld Knotts · 6 kmGowk Hill · 16 kmSighty Crag · 58 km · clear daysHeughscar Hill · 16 kmMickle Fell · 47 km · clear daysLarriston Fells · 67 km · clear daysSkiddaw South Top · 8 kmFairfield · 17 kmThornthwaite Crag · 21 kmWether Hill · 17 kmHare Stones · 6 kmWatson's Dodd · 10 kmLingmoor Fell · 25 kmBell Crags · 15 kmSwarth Fell · 15 kmArthur's Pike · 15 kmKnipescar Common · 22 kmPikethaw Hill · 69 km · clear daysLittle Eycott Hill · 5 kmRogan's Seat · 64 km · clear daysDunmallet · 14 kmBainloch Hill · 52 km · clear daysMerrick · 107 km · a rare clear dayThe Cheviot · 108 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 112 km · a rare clear dayGreen Lowther · 94 km · a rare clear dayWard's Stone · 75 km · a rare clear dayCairnharrow · 85 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 70 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 73 km · a rare clear dayBuckden Pike · 80 km · a rare clear dayHart Fell · 87 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 76 km · a rare clear dayHoove · 70 km · a rare clear dayCairnkinna Hill · 91 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Bannerdale Crags, by direction
  • South-east: High Raise (19 km), The Knott (19 km), Rampsgill Head (19 km), Low Raise (20 km), Kidsty Pike (20 km), Stony Cove Pike (21 km), High Street (21 km), Thornthwaite Crag (21 km), Ill Bell (24 km)
  • South: Great Dodd (8 km), Hart Side (10 km), Green Side (10 km), White Side (12 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (14 km), Helvellyn (14 km), St Sunday Crag (16 km), Fairfield (17 km), High Raise (20 km), Caudale Moor (20 km), Sergeant Man (21 km), Bowfell (24 km), Shelter Crags (25 km), Crinkle Crags (25 km), Crinkle Crags (25 km), Crinkle Crags (26 km), Crinkle Crags (26 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (26 km), Wetherlam (28 km), Great Carrs (29 km), Black Sails (29 km), Swirl How (29 km), Great How (30 km), Brim Fell (31 km), The Old Man of Coniston (32 km)
  • South-west: Doddick Fell (2 km)
  • West: Skiddaw (8 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (8 km), Skiddaw South Top (8 km), Skiddaw North Top (8 km), Broad End (8 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Merrick (107 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (108 km, England), Corserine (102 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (102 km, Scotland), Tinto (112 km, Scotland), Green Lowther (94 km, Scotland), Ward's Stone (75 km, England), Queensberry (79 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.

What you can see from Bannerdale Crags

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
46Wainwrights in view+17 marginal
108 kmFurthest sightlineMerrick · possible under favourable refraction
—Sea in viewnone from here

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland.

Far horizons
  • Merrick ScotlandWNW · 108 km clear
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesE · 38 km distant
  • Cross Fell North PenninesE · 35 km clear
All 46 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Bowscale Fell, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Souther Fell, Carrock Fell, Great Calva, Knott, High Pike (Caldbeck), Clough Head, Bakestall, Great Mell Fell, Skiddaw, Great Dodd, Watson's Dodd, Hart Side, Little Mell Fell, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), White Side, Hallin Fell, Helvellyn, Place Fell, Bonscale Pike, Arthur's Pike, Beda Fell (Beda Head), Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), St Sunday Crag, Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), The Nab, Wether Hill, Fairfield, Ullscarf, Brock Crags (Wainwright), Sergeant's Crag, Hartsop Dodd, Tarn Crag (Easedale), High Raise (High White Stones), Sergeant Man, Blea Rigg, Harrison Stickle, Rossett Pike, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Wetherlam, Great Carrs, Swirl How, Brim Fell, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)

How Bannerdale Crags’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.

Best parking to hike Bannerdale Crags

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

Mosedale / Bowscale (verge) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)
Verge parking for Carrock Fell and the back o' Skiddaw fells via the Caldew valley.
Directions
Scales, A66 (layby) — 2.5 km from summit (straight line)
Laybys near the White Horse Inn — Blencathra via Scales Fell or Sharp Edge.
Directions
🚺 Threlkeld Village Hall (1856m) — Free · Accessible

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.

Buses to Bannerdale Crags from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach X4 / X5
Penrith – Rheged – Threlkeld – Keswick – Braithwaite – Cockermouth – Workington
Catch it from: Penrith
Year-round, frequent. From Penrith this is your way into Keswick and the Northern fells — Threlkeld/Scales stops serve Blencathra directly, Braithwaite serves the Coledale fells.

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

My hikes over Bannerdale Crags (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Hazard & Incident Information for Bannerdale Crags

Hazard: Moderate

A Northern Fell named for the curving wall of crag that rims its south-eastern edge above the Glenderamackin. The summit plateau is gentle, but it ends abruptly at that crag edge, and the airy East Ridge gives a light scramble on slippery slate. Close to Blencathra and Sharp Edge, it shares their navigation and edge hazards. Keswick Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • The crag edge above Bannerdale: The plateau ends suddenly at the curving line of crags. Keep back from the rim, especially in cloud or wind where the gentle top gives little warning of the drop.
  • The East Ridge (light scramble): The East Ridge is airy and becomes steep and scrambly between roughly 650 m and 550 m, with slate that's slippery underfoot. More airy than hard, but take care, particularly when wet, and don't be drawn off the line.
  • Navigation & rough connecting ground: Approaches via Mousthwaite Combe and the Glenderamackin, and the broad top toward Mungrisdale Common/Blencathra, need careful navigation in cloud; there's also a landslipped section to negotiate by the river. Take a compass bearing and keep clear of the crag edge.
Who should attempt this fell: Bannerdale Crags is easy on top but rimmed by crags — keep well back from the edge, and if you take the East Ridge treat it as an airy little scramble on slippery slate, best in the dry. Navigate the broad ground by compass in cloud (it adjoins Blencathra and Sharp Edge country), and treat the edge and ridge as full winter terrain when iced.

Most common causes: Walkers straying over the south-eastern crag edge in poor visibility · Slips on the slippery slate of the East Ridge scramble · Navigation errors on the broad top near Blencathra in cloud · Winter ice on the crag edge and ridge

Local Mountain Rescue: Keswick 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 Bannerdale Crags in cloud

Serious in cloud

Walkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

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

Other fells near Bannerdale Crags

Maps & guidebooks for Bannerdale Crags

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