A grassy ridge leading the eye to a sharp-crested crag with a rocky arête on its flank, under a clear blue sky

Bannerdale Crags

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited May 2026

Home › Fells › Bannerdale Crags

684 mWainwright — Northern Fells+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Serious in Clag

Bannerdale Crags at 684m (2,244ft) stands above the remote Bannerdale valley between Mungrisdale and Blencathra, its summit crags giving a dramatic view of the eastern Northern Fells.

Summit conditions on Bannerdale Crags

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 52 mph, 17.0 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 47 mph times our exposure factor of 1.19. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 52 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 (opens in new tab) 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

17.0 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 0 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 37 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 (opens in new tab)

Routes up Bannerdale Crags

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

Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back Walked by Lee

17.59 km · ~1011 m ascent · ~5–7 h · loop · 9 summits

Hard effort Hard: distance and steepness

Park: Mungrisdale village hall (paid) · Bus: 509, 3.2 km walk from Mungrisdale, adjacent to Road End

Blencathra by its southern ridges — Scales Fell and Doddick Fell onto Hallsfell Top — then over the back for Bannerdale Crags and Bowscale Fell, taking in Mungrisdale Common on the way.

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 →

How hard is Bowscale Fell and Bannerdale Crags?

Moderate to hard — steep in places, with loose ground on the final slope. We walk both on our longer round from Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back, 17.6 km with 1011 m of ascent.

The catch is the crag edge: Bannerdale’s summit plateau is gentle grass and it ends abruptly at the curving wall of crag above the valley, so keep well back from it in poor visibility. On our round the steepest sustained descent, about 30%, comes near the end.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 684 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast

Tue 27 Oct

11° / 5°

52 mph

17.0 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

8° / 5°

44 mph

9.7 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

9° / 6°

25 mph

1.2 mm (10%)

Fri 30 Oct

9° / 6°

22 mph

0.0 mm (6%)

Sat 31 Oct

8° / 2°

8 mph

4.9 mm (13%)

Sun 1 Nov

7° / -1°

14 mph

0.8 mm (4%)

Mon 2 Nov

5° / -3°

6 mph

0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Bannerdale Crags

Parking

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

Mungrisdale village hall (paid) — at the start of Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back

For Bowscale Fell, Bannerdale Crags, Souther Fell and The Tongue. A sign at the village hall asks £4 per day, paid into a collection slot in the hall's gable wall, and says cars are parked at the owner's risk (Lee's photo, 29 September 2026).

Parking sign at Mungrisdale village hall: £4 per day, cars parked at the owner's risk Taken September 2026

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Mosedale / Bowscale (verge) (3.7 km, 153 m up)

Scales Fell (layby) — 2.3 km from summit (straight line)

1.8 km from Scales Fell. Approx 8 spaces. 1.9 km from Scales Fell. Added from the 5 August 2026 OSM candidate review.

Directions Something changed here?

The White Horse (free) — 2.3 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Atkinson Pike (Foule Crag), Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Doddick Fell and Scales Fell — the 'Blencathra by Sharp Edge' route starts 33 m away. Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

3 more places to park near Bannerdale Crags

Scales Fell, south-east (layby) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Atkinson Pike (Foule Crag), Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Doddick Fell and Scales Fell — the 'Blencathra by Sharp Edge' route starts 482 m away. Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Scales, A66 (layby) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)

Laybys near the White Horse Inn — Blencathra via Scales Fell or Sharp Edge.

Directions Something changed here?

Threlkeld Village Hall (~2208 m straight line) — Free · Accessible

Souther Fell (layby) — 2.5 km from summit (straight line)

2.1 km from Souther Fell.

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 509, X4 and X5 stop at Mungrisdale, adjacent to Road End. From there it is 3.2 km and 76 m of ascent to the start of Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 23.9 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Hartsop road end (509): Tuesday to Sunday 17:07 to Patterdale Hotel, 14:42 to Hartsop road end. Towards Penrith (X5): Tuesday to Saturday 22:11; Sunday 18:38. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 509

Penrith ↔ Keswick around Ullswater — calls at Pooley Bridge, Watermillock, Glenridding, Patterdale, Hartsop, Dockray, Matterdale, Mungrisdale and Threlkeld

Catch it from: Penrith · Keswick

The Ullswater side of the Penrith–Keswick corridor, and a second option where we previously showed only the 508. Reaches Helvellyn and Catstye Cam from Glenridding, Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes from Patterdale, the Hartsop fells, and Gowbarrow from Dockray. Frequency and season for the whole service are not listed here; where a stop's times have been checked, they are given above with the date. Note the Troutbeck on this route is the one on the A66 near Penrith, not the Troutbeck near Windermere.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

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

Hazards on Bannerdale Crags

Hazard & Incident Information for Bannerdale Crags

Checked by Lee McCoy, 14 June 2026. Draws on published material from Keswick Mountain Rescue Team. Editorial background, not a live callout feed.

Hazard: Moderate

A Northern Fell named for the curving wall of crag that rims its north-eastern edge above Bannerdale. 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.

What to watch for: Walkers straying over the north-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 (opens in new tab)

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 (opens in new tab)

Navigating in cloud

Serious in cloud

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of walkable ground near the summit that lies close to steep ground or crag. 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 (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 (opens in new tab) (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 Bannerdale Crags

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

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 back

17.59 km · ~1011 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h

Hard effort Hard: distance and steepness

Summits: Souther Fell Scales Fell Doddick Fell Blencathra - Hallsfell Top Atkinson Pike (Foule Crag)Mungrisdale CommonBannerdale CragsBowscale Fell Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)

Download GPX Walked by Lee, May 2026

Warnings: Mungrisdale Common: The flat, near-featureless top has an indistinct path over rocky, boggy ground; in cloud you really must concentrate on navigation. The Cloven Stone is a useful checkpoint — but note it sits right on the edge of steepening ground. Carry map and compass and trust your bearings. Bannerdale Crags: 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.

From the hazard notes for Mungrisdale Common · Bannerdale Crags, each with its sources.

Route guide: Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back →

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.

About Bannerdale Crags

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.

My Strava hikes over Bannerdale Crags

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

On the 7th Day God Created Blencathra (opens in new tab) — 17.6 km · 960 m ascent · 4h 23m moving · 25 May 2026

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Bannerdale Crags a Wainwright?

Bannerdale Crags is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list, the Fellranger list and the Hewitt list.

Selected lists

684 m

Height

2,244 ft

In feet

NY 3352 2902

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 Bannerdale Crags

The 360° skyline 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

The skyline as a list, 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 Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Bannerdale Crags

Bannerdale Crags sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 April) first light is only 1 minute after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

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 light	Almanac sunrise	Difference
Midsummer	04:32 BST ±5.0 min	04:36	-4 min
Equinox	06:15 GMT ±5.0 min	06:15	—
Midwinter	08:32 GMT ±5.0 min	08:34	-2 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.32°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Bannerdale Crags

Bannerdale Crags loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 November, when last light is 54 minutes before almanac sunset — 15:42 against 16:36. The sun goes down to the south-west from here (234.3°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 6.33°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
	Last light	Almanac sunset	Difference
Midsummer	21:52 BST ±5.0 min	21:53	-1 min
Equinox	18:12 GMT ±5.0 min	18:26	-14 min
Midwinter	15:04 GMT ±5.0 min	15:48	-44 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 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 the view from Bannerdale Crags 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 Bannerdale Crags. 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

Mosedale End Farm B&B (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 2.3 km
Scales Farm Country Guest House (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 3.9 km

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 (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Bannerdale Crags

Is Bannerdale Crags dangerous?

Not to walk, but it has one feature worth knowing before you go. The summit plateau is gentle grass, and it ends abruptly at the curving wall of crag rimming its north-eastern edge above Bannerdale — the crags the fell is named for. In clear weather that edge is the best thing about it; in cloud it is the reason to keep well back from the rim.

We usually take it with Blencathra and Mungrisdale Common, 17.6 km with 1011 m of ascent. Nothing on our round asks anything technical of you; the East Ridge, if you choose it, is a light scramble on slippery slate.

How hard is Bowscale Fell and Bannerdale Crags? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-09-23 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Bannerdale Crags

Summit conditions on Bannerdale Crags

Wind on the top

Rain, and the becks

Routes up Bannerdale Crags

How hard is Bowscale Fell and Bannerdale Crags?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Bannerdale Crags

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Bannerdale Crags

Hazard & Incident Information for Bannerdale Crags

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Bannerdale Crags

Routes over Bannerdale Crags

About Bannerdale Crags

My Strava hikes over Bannerdale Crags

Classifications & hill data

Is Bannerdale Crags a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from Bannerdale Crags

The 360° skyline from Bannerdale Crags

Sunrise and sunset on Bannerdale Crags

Last light — when the sun leaves Bannerdale Crags

What you can see from Bannerdale Crags

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Bannerdale Crags

Other fells near Bannerdale Crags