Grange Fell - the lichen-covered rocks of the summit with heather in flower, and Borrowdale below with a glimpse of Derwentwater in the distance under a heavy sky

Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited August 2025

Home › Fells › Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

417 mWainwright — Central Fells+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

Grange Fell's highest point, Brund Fell, is 417m (1,369ft); the rock tor Wainwright took as the summit is about 70 m to the south-west and a metre or two lower.

Summit conditions on Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 13° to 6°C, gusts to 65 mph, 10.2 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 53 mph times our exposure factor of 1.12. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 65 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

10.2 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 3 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 42 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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

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

Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag Walked by Lee

14.11 km · ~838 m ascent · ~4–5¾ h · loop · 4 summits

Hard effort Hard: distance and steepness

Park: Rosthwaite (NT, paid) · Bus: 78 at the start

Borrowdale's small rough summits in one round: Castle Crag, King's How, Brund Fell and Great Crag, 14.1 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 Grange Fell an easy walk?

Short and easy in the climbing, with one caveat: the top is a maze. Grange Fell above Borrowdale is a tangle of rocky knolls, bracken and small crags, and the true summit at Brund Fell is not the obvious one. Route-finding among the outcrops is most of the work.

Our round with Castle Crag and Great Crag is 14.1 km with 838 m of ascent. It is lower than the fells around it, but that does not make it a poor-weather choice: route-finding among the knolls is the hard part, and cloud makes it harder. The view from the top over Borrowdale is one of the best in the valley for the effort.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 417 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast

Tue 27 Oct

13° / 6°

65 mph

10.2 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

10° / 7°

45 mph

11.9 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

10° / 8°

28 mph

0.2 mm (26%)

Fri 30 Oct

10° / 8°

29 mph

0.0 mm (31%)

Sat 31 Oct

11° / 1°

8 mph

0.3 mm (25%)

Sun 1 Nov

9° / 1°

8 mph

0.0 mm (12%)

Mon 2 Nov

8° / 2°

17 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 (opens in new tab)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Parking

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

Rosthwaite (NT, paid) — at the start of Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag

Village car park in the heart of Rosthwaite, for the central Borrowdale fells and Watendlath ridge. The 'Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag' route starts 10 m away; 'The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round)' 23 m. Toilets beside it, often closed in winter (National Trust, read 5 October 2026). Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026). The National Trust does not allow overnight parking here (NT, checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Stonethwaite village (roadside, free) (1.5 km, 32 m up); Seatoller (NT, paid) (2.2 km, 27 m up); Quay Foot Quarry, Borrowdale (NT, paid) (2.4 km, 94 m up)

Rosthwaite Village (~32 m straight line) — Free · Accessible The Flock-in

Castle Crag (layby) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)

The 'Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag' route starts 957 m away, at Rosthwaite. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Watendlath (NT, paid) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)

End of the narrow Watendlath road — Grange Fell, Great Crag, Armboth fells. Fees: pay and display (LDNP directory, checked August 2026). £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

2 more places to park near Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Quay Foot Quarry, Borrowdale (NT, paid) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)

Old quarry car park below the Bowder Stone and Castle Crag; the National Trust and the LDNPA directory call it the Bowder Stone car park (read 5 October 2026). Fees: £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

King's How (layby) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)

The 'Bowder Stone' route starts 896 m away. Free (OSM-tagged). Ground 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 77 and 78 stop at Rosthwaite General Store (near), a 180 m walk from the start of Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and steepness). The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (78): Tuesday to Sunday 20:05. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 78 “Borrowdale Rambler”

Keswick – Lodore – Grange – Rosthwaite – Seatoller

Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 or X4/X5)

Year-round, frequent in season. Serves all the Borrowdale starts — Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable via Seathwaite (alight Seatoller, about 2 km up the lane).

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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Notes from the Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag route

If you need to get off (the leg from King's How - Grange Fell): Decide at King's How, before you go onto the plateau: in cloud, the ground between here and Brund Fell is confusing in either direction, and the way back is the way you came. If you cannot move safely, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Grange Fell (Brund Fell).

We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.

Navigating in cloud

Care needed

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of near-level ground around the summit. Take care in poor visibility — 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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell) 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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

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

0.8 km WNWKing's How - Grange Fell392 m · Central

2.4 km EMiddle Crag484 m · Central

2.6 km ESEShivery Knott491 m · Central

2.8 km ESEWatendlath Fell (Long Moss)515 m · Central

Routes over Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag

14.11 km · ~838 m ascent · loop · ~4–5¾ h

Hard effort Hard: distance and steepness

Summits: Castle Crag King's How - Grange FellGrange Fell (Brund Fell)Great Crag (Stonethwaite)

Download GPX Walked by Lee, August 2025

Route guide: Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag →

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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag route:

bus shelter (8 m off the line) toilets (11 m off the line) General Store (N bound) (68 m from the start, straight line) General Store (S bound) (82 m from the start, straight line) Howe Lane End (S bound) (337 m from the start, straight line) Howe Lane End (N bound) (339 m from the start, straight line)

About Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

It is a rough, rocky fell above the village of Grange in Borrowdale, its craggy knolls and heathery terraces giving a charming, varied walk. King's How, a separate 392 m top about 750 m to the west-north-west, looks out over the Jaws of Borrowdale. The ascent from Grange is short and entertaining, with multiple rocky outcrops to explore. A perfect half-day outing for visitors staying in Borrowdale.

My Strava hikes over Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Least favourite hike, should forget the Birketts and their dodgy tracks (opens in new tab) — 13.6 km · 790 m ascent · 4h 09m moving · 30 August 2025

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Grange Fell (Brund Fell) a Wainwright?

Grange Fell (Brund Fell) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Selected lists

417 m

Height

1,369 ft

In feet

NY 2646 1627

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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

The 360° skyline from Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

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

North: Skiddaw Lesser Man (11 km), Skiddaw Little Man (12 km), Skiddaw South Top (12 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (13 km)
North-east: Watson's Dodd (8 km), Great Dodd (9 km), Knowe Crags (12 km), Gategill Fell Top (12 km), Blencathra (13 km)
East: Helvellyn Lower Man (7 km), White Side (7 km), Helvellyn (8 km), Raise (8 km), Nethermost Pike (8 km), High Crag (8 km), Stybarrow Dodd (8 km), Catstye Cam (8 km), Dollywaggon Pike (9 km)
South-east: Cofa Pike (10 km), Fairfield (10 km)
South: Bowfell (10 km), Shelter Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags (12 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (12 km), Great Carrs (15 km), Swirl How (16 km)
South-west: Great Gable (8 km), Great End (9 km), Ill Crag (10 km), Lingmell (10 km), Broad Crag (10 km), Pillar (10 km), Scafell Pike (10 km), Scafell (11 km), Red Pike (11 km)
North-west: Crag Hill (8 km), Grisedale Pike (9 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Queensberry (88 km, Scotland), Ballencleuch Law (95 km, Scotland), Hods Hill (97 km, Scotland), Cairn Hill (100 km, Scotland), White Hill (71 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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Grange Fell (Brund Fell) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when the sun is up for 36 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 05:13 against an almanac sunrise of 04:37. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the north-east from here (52.5°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.61°.

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	05:13 BST ±5.0 min	04:37	+36 min
Equinox	06:43 GMT ±5.0 min	06:16	+27 min
Midwinter	09:05 GMT ±5.0 min	08:33	+32 min

The northern horizon stands at about 1.15° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Grange Fell (Brund Fell) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 January, when last light is 35 minutes before almanac sunset — 15:23 against 15:58. The sun goes down to the south-west from here (222.1°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.35°.

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	21:30 BST ±5.0 min	21:53	-23 min
Equinox	17:55 GMT ±5.0 min	18:27	-32 min
Midwinter	15:15 GMT ±5.0 min	15:49	-34 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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.

61Wainwrights in view+3 marginal

—Sea in viewnone from here

All 61 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Castle Crag, Great Crag (Stonethwaite), High Tove, High Seat, High Spy, Maiden Moor, Bleaberry Fell, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Cat Bells (Catbells), Dale Head, Eagle Crag, Sergeant's Crag, Walla Crag, Grey Knotts, Glaramara, Base Brown, Causey Pike, Brandreth, Barrow, High Raise (High White Stones), Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), White Side, Green Gable, Watson's Dodd, Helvellyn, Raise, Great Gable, Nethermost Pike, Stybarrow Dodd, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Catstye Cam, Thunacar Knott, Latrigg, Great End, Dollywaggon Pike, Great Dodd, Pike of Stickle, Grisedale Pike, Lingmell, Bowfell, Pillar, Scafell Pike, Fairfield, Lonscale Fell, Dodd (Skiddaw), Scafell, Red Pike (Wasdale), Skiddaw Little Man, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Barf, Carl Side, Lord's Seat, Pike of Blisco, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Cold Pike, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Great Carrs, Swirl How, Grey Friar, High Pike (Caldbeck)

How the view from Grange Fell (Brund Fell) 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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell). 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

Seatoller House B&B (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.6 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 Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Is Grange Fell an easy walk? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Summit conditions on Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Wind on the top

Rain, and the becks

Routes up Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Is Grange Fell an easy walk?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Notes from the Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag route

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Routes over Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

On the hill: terrain and water on Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Water & shelter on the way up

About Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

My Strava hikes over Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Classifications & hill data

Is Grange Fell (Brund Fell) a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

The 360° skyline from Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Sunrise and sunset on Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Last light — when the sun leaves Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

What you can see from Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Grange Fell (Brund Fell)

Other fells near Grange Fell (Brund Fell)