450 mWainwright — North Western Fells+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud
Graystones North Top at 450m (1,478ft) is the Wainwright summit of Graystones, above Lorton Vale in the North Western Fells. The Birkett top, Graystones itself at 455m, is 5 m higher and about 260 m to the south-east.
Summit conditions on Graystones (Graystones North Top)
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 13° to 7°C, gusts to 60 mph, 6.7 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
55mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour
The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 52 mph times our exposure factor of 1.05. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 60 mph, before any exposure factor.
under 25
25–35
35–45
45–55
55+
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
6.7mm 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 checkedcold: feels like 4 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 41 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
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 →
Over Broom Fell, Lord's Seat, Barf, Whinlatter Top and Whinlatter (Brown How - Whinlatter)
Over Graystones and Broom Fell
Walked or planned
Walked by Lee, May 2025
Walked in part; km 1.1–2.0, km 4.9–5.7 from the map
Car park at the start
Spout Force, Whinlatter (free)
Spout Force, Whinlatter (free)
Bus to the start
77, 2.5 km walk from Lorton Winder Hall (near). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.
77, 2.5 km walk from Lorton Winder Hall (near). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.
Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.
Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →
Is Graystones an easy walk?
Yes, as a walk — it is a small, quiet, grassy fell on the Whinlatter side, and our short round with Kirk Fell and Broom Fell is only 7.6 km with 486 m of ascent, which we grade easy for length.
Two caveats worth having. The initial pull is abrupt — we grade that round’s steepness severe, with the steepest ground in the first few hundred metres — and the tops here are rounded and much alike, so we grade its navigation hard. The longer Whinlatter loop takes it in over 13.6 km and 712 m.
Spout Force Waterfall (free) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Kirk Fell (Lorton), Graystones (Graystones North Top), Graystones and Broom Fell — the 'Kirk Fell and Broom Fell' route starts 473 m away. Also serves 'Whinlatter Loop'. Free (OSM-tagged).
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 stops at Lorton Winder Hall (near). From there it is 2.5 km and 150 m of ascent to the start of Kirk Fell and Broom Fell — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 12.5 km in all, with the walk.Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. It returns on 22 March 2027. Confirmed with the operator: its last day on 29 August 2026, its return on 16 October 2026. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (77): Tuesday to Sunday 17:56. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)
Seasonal (Summer 2026 timetable: 23 March to 1 November 2026). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.
Forestry England posts felling areas and path diversions at Whinlatter on its Whinlatter updates page (last read 7 Oct 2026). Check it before you go, and follow the signs on the day.
If you need to get off (the leg from Graystones): Retrace steps south to the main ascent path and drop back down to Scawgill Bridge.
Quoted from the route page: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Graystones (Graystones North Top).
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 Graystones (Graystones North Top) 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.
Download GPXWalked in part, May 2025 · km 1.1–2.0, km 4.9–5.7 from the map
Warnings:Forestry work: Forestry England posts felling areas and path diversions at Whinlatter on its Whinlatter updates page (last read 7 Oct 2026). Check it before you go, and follow the signs on the day.
Forestry England says (updated 1 Oct 2026) that the Lord's Seat and Barf trails are diverted: follow the diversion signs. This route's GPX has not been checked against the diversion. Forestry England: Whinlatter updates (read 7 Oct 2026)
Warnings: Forestry England posts felling areas and path diversions at Whinlatter on its Whinlatter updates page (last read 7 Oct 2026). Check it before you go, and follow the signs on the day.
Wainwright included Graystones in his North Western Fells guide. Our short round from Spout Force, Whinlatter, with Kirk Fell and Broom Fell is 7.6 km: easy for length, but the first pull is severe, and the rounded tops make navigation hard in cloud.
My Strava hikes over Graystones (Graystones North Top)
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
The summit is not a Birkett top.
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 Graystones (Graystones North Top)
The 360° skyline from Graystones (Graystones North Top)
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-east: Frozen Fell (13 km), Knott (14 km), Great Sca Fell (14 km), Little Sca Fell (14 km), Brae Fell (14 km)
East: Ullister Hill (3 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (9 km), Skiddaw South Top (9 km), Skiddaw (9 km), Skiddaw North Top (9 km), Skiddaw Little Man (9 km), Broad End (9 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (9 km), Lonscale Fell (11 km), Knowe Crags (14 km), Gategill Fell Top (14 km), Blencathra (15 km), Little Dodd (17 km), Great Dodd (18 km), Randerside (18 km)
South-east: Grisedale Pike (5 km), Watson's Dodd (17 km), Stybarrow Dodd (18 km), Raise (19 km), White Side (19 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (20 km), Helvellyn (20 km), Catstye Cam (20 km)
South: Ladyside Pike (4 km), Whiteside (5 km), Sand Hill (5 km), Hobcarton Crag (5 km), Grasmoor (6 km), Crag Hill (6 km), Starling Dodd (11 km), Iron Crag (16 km), Caw Fell (16 km)
South-west: Carling Knott (9 km), Blake Fell (10 km), Great Borne (12 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (179 km, Ireland), Merrick (95 km, Scotland), Broad Law (97 km, Scotland), Snaefell (87 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (92 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Fleet (79 km, Scotland), Corserine (91 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (90 km, Scotland).
Sunrise and sunset on Graystones (Graystones North Top)
Graystones (Graystones North Top) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 September, when the sun is up for 20 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 06:41 against an almanac sunrise of 06:21. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east-north-east from here (78.7°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.61°.
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
04:33 BST ±5.0 min
04:37
-4 min
Equinox
06:30 GMT ±5.0 min
06:16
+14 min
Midwinter
08:51 GMT ±5.0 min
08:34
+17 min
A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.26°).
Last light — when the sun leaves Graystones (Graystones North Top)
Graystones (Graystones North Top) holds the light. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does the sun leave this summit before almanac sunset — the ground falls away westward rather than standing over you, and at midsummer it is still in the sun 4 minutes after the valley has lost it.
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
21:58 BST ±5.0 min
21:54
+4 min
Equinox
18:32 GMT ±5.0 min
18:27
+5 min
Midwinter
15:49 GMT ±5.0 min
15:49
—
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 Graystones (Graystones North Top)
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
31Wainwrights in view+11 marginal
184 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth
On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.
How the view from Graystones (Graystones North Top) 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 Graystones (Graystones North Top). 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.
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 Graystones (Graystones North Top)
