638 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km🌫️ Severe in cloud
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 638 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Sat 12 Sep): 14° to 7°C, gusts to 46 mph, 25.3 mm of rain forecast.
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 7°
💨 46 mph
🌧 25.3 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌫️
14° / 9°
💨 14 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (16%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
14° / 10°
💨 36 mph
🌧 8.3 mm (99%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
14° / 9°
💨 36 mph
🌧 6.8 mm (97%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 28 mph
🌧 1.8 mm (41%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 31 mph
🌧 7.9 mm (82%)
Fri 18 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 32 mph
🌧 6.0 mm (76%)
Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 18:50 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 638 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
Grey Crag at 638m (2,093ft) is the summit of Sleddale Fell, a Wainwright in the Far Eastern Fells above the remote Longsleddale valley. Wainwright noted its quiet, solitary character and the fine views down Longsleddale to Shap and east to the Pennines. One of the most remote and least-visited of all the Wainwrights, typically approached from the head of Longsleddale. A rewarding fell for those seeking genuine solitude.
Routes up Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell)
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list and the Fellranger list.
Where do you park for Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell)?
The nearest car park we hold is Sadgill, Longsleddale (free, limited), about 2.0 km from the summit in a straight line. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.
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.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Getting to Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell) by bus
The nearest bus stop we hold is the 508 at Troutbeck, opposite Limefitt Park, 6.5 km of walking from the start — not realistically reachable without a car.
No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.
Navigating Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell) in cloud
Severe
A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. 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 Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell) compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Nearest parking: Sadgill, Longsleddale (free, limited), about 2.0 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell) (within 3 km)
These Birkett tops are notWainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.
⚠️ Warnings: The Bannisdale watershed section holds a 2 km+ pathless stretch of tussock and peat hag — featureless in mist and slow in any weather. The plotted line there is a bearing, not a path.
⚠️ Warnings: Boggy ground: the Sleddale moors (Tarn Crag, Grey Crag and the Mosedale–Longsleddale pass) are peat-hagged and frequently very wet — expect bog and use the wall/fence lines as handrails. Faint paths + serious navigation: trods are indistinct across Cocklaw Fell and the Sleddale plateau. Best saved for good visibility — avoid the Tarn Crag/Grey Crag moors in thick hill fog. A long, quiet day: roughly 10–12 miles and over 3,000 ft of ascent, with far fewer people than the Kentmere side — be self-reliant.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
The view from Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell)
The 360° skyline from Grey Crag (Sleddale 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
What you can see from Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell), by direction
North: Branstree NE Top (3 km), Selside Pike (4 km)
North-east: Harrop Pike (1 km), Cross Fell (33 km)
East: Great Yarlside (3 km)
South-east: Whernside (35 km), Ingleborough (41 km)
South: Ward's Stone (49 km)
South-west: The Old Man of Coniston (24 km), Brown Pike (26 km), White Maiden (27 km), Stoneside Hill (39 km), Stoupdale Head (40 km), Black Combe (42 km), Black Combe South Top (42 km)
West: Goat Scar (2 km), Kentmere Pike (3 km), Yoke (6 km), Ill Bell (6 km), Wetherlam (22 km), Black Sails (22 km), Swirl How (23 km), Little Carrs (23 km), Great Carrs (24 km), Great How (24 km), Brim Fell (24 km), Bowfell (25 km), Esk Pike (26 km), Great End (27 km), Ill Crag (27 km), Border End (27 km), Broad Crag (28 km), Scafell Pike (28 km), Scafell (29 km)
North-west: Tarn Crag (1 km), Branstree (3 km), Harter Fell (4 km), Kidsty Pike (7 km), Rampsgill Head (8 km), High Raise (8 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Carnedd Llewelyn (164 km, Wales), Aran Fawddwy (195 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (172 km, Wales), Arenig Fawr (183 km, Wales), Pendle Hill (73 km, England), Moel y Gamelin (164 km, Wales), Cadair Berwyn (180 km, Wales), Boulsworth Hill (84 km, England).
Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.
Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell) sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (at midsummer) 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
04:37 BST ±5.0 min
04:36
+1 min
Equinox
06:12 GMT ±5.0 min
06:14
-2 min
Midwinter
08:29 GMT ±5.0 min
08:31
-2 min
A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.17°).
Last light — when the sun leaves Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell)
The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 August) last light is only 17 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell).
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
21:41 BST ±5.0 min
21:51
-10 min
Equinox
18:22 GMT ±5.0 min
18:25
-3 min
Midwinter
15:55 GMT ±5.0 min
15:48
+7 min
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 Grey Crag (Sleddale 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. 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 Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell)
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
9Wainwrights in view+18 marginal
161 kmFurthest sightlineCarnedd Llewelyn · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Morecambe Bay
🌐 On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.
How Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell)’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.
At 8.15 km SW this is outside our usual radius. It is the most useful independent option found in any direction: it is the only property in the whole search that pairs a boot room AND a drying area with a travel cot, a high chair and dog beds, and it is the nearest evidenced bed with a direct owner email. Right for a group or two families walking the Longsleddale Round together and self-catering.
It is a whole-house hostel of six bed-pod rooms sleeping up to 19 at No 1 High Street in Windermere, kitted for groups - travel cot, high chair, dog beds and bowls, boot room - and taken over entirely by one party rather than sold bed by bed to strangers.
Drying room“a boot room for muddy shoes, and a drying area for your jackets after a day of exploring in the fells”
Dogs“Bring your dog along! We offer dog beds, food bowls, and towels - just arrange ahead of time.”
Family rooms“Our spacious accommodation for up to 19 guests features modern amenities and shared spaces”
Children“We offer a travel cot and high chair for families traveling with little ones.”
At 9.06 km it is outside our usual radius, and the only evidenced bed due north - the Haweswater side of the same fells the Longsleddale Round climbs, reached over the Gatescarth pass on foot. It is an independent hotel with a rosetted restaurant and a written-down dog policy naming twelve rooms, several of them named after the very ground the route covers (Swindale, Mardale, Artle Crag). Recommended for a couple or a pair of walkers, not on the family evidence - there is none.
It was built in 1937 by the Haweswater Dam scheme to replace the Dun Bull Inn at Mardale, which the reservoir drowned - an art deco hotel whose gardens reuse coping stones from the submerged Mardale walls, and whose first managers had run the old inn.
Dogs“Dogs are allowed in the following rooms: Wainwright, Mardale, Lonsdale, Westmorland, Artle Crag, Lakeside, Measand, Whelter Crag, Swindale, Cawdale, Rosgil, Wet Sleddle.”
Evening meal“Our restaurant was awarded Two Rosettes in 2024”
At 8.98 km ENE it is outside our usual radius, and the only evidenced bed on the eastern, A6 side of the fells. Exclusive use of the whole building for up to eight with dogs welcome and lay-by parking 70 yards away suits a walking group doing the round and wanting one base - provided they read the caveats: no running water, no drying room, no meals, bring bedding.
It is a converted telephone repeater station at 1,390 ft on Shap Fell beside the A6, completely off-grid - lighting from wind and solar, drinking water delivered in canisters, a chemical toilet in the side yard, and a roof-window put in for stargazing because the horizon is unusually low and wide.
Dogs“The accommodation sleeps max eight people, with the starting price based on four sharing. Dogs are welcome.”
Family rooms“The accommodation sleeps max eight people, with the starting price based on four sharing. Dogs are welcome.”
Parking“Two very large lay-bys for ample parking within 70 yards.”
This is the only property inside the radius whose cached page is actually about itself, and it is emphatically not a bed for a family - it is the roof a Harrop Pike walker should know about before committing to a 20.03 km day whose middle third is a bearing across the Bannisdale watershed. It sits on the Mosedale/Swindale side of that watershed rather than on the Longsleddale road, so it is a bail-out and a shelter, not a base: 3.95 km straight-line from Sadgill, which is a number for a map and not a walk-in - the ground between is over the tops and unmeasured by us. What its page does give is usable: a grid reference to put on the map (NY 495 095 on LR90), a stove with the explicit warning that no fuel is available locally, and the MBA's standing party-size restriction with no number attached, which is the one thing a group of four or more should resolve before relying on it. Ranked 1 only because it is the sole row here with evidence; on family usefulness it ranks nowhere.
Its whole facilities list is two lines that contradict each other for anyone planning a night: there is a working stove, and no fuel anywhere near it. Warmth here is something you carry in on your back along with the sleeping bag.
At 6.95 km WSW it is outside our usual 4.83 km radius, and it is here because nothing closer publishes anything at all. It is the best-evidenced bed of any kind near this start: a cot, ground-floor rooms, a shared drying room, breakfast from 07:30, evening meals and packed lunches are each stated on its own page, and the child policy is written down rather than inferred. A party doing the Longsleddale Round can dry kit and be fed without cooking.
The hostel building is an early concrete house of the late 1920s, opened as a hostel in 1935 and known until recently as High Cross Castle - the previous timber house on the site burned down in 1915, which is why its replacement was built in solid concrete.
Drying room“Shared drying room”
Family rooms“A cot is available.”
Evening meal“With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something delicious to eat at YHA Windermere”
Packed lunch“With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something delicious to eat at YHA Windermere”
Parking“Free parking on premises”
Children“Under 12s are not permitted in dorm rooms. Children under 3 can stay with us for free.”
At 8.77 km it is outside our usual radius, and the only evidenced bed in the southern half of the compass - the Kendal/Staveley side that the Longsleddale valley road actually runs down. It is the nearest place found that states a drying room, a children's play area and a dog policy in its own words, and the minimum stay is written down rather than discovered at checkout.
It takes walk-in campers arriving on foot rather than by car - it advertises a backpacking facility - and it has its own bar, the Whistling Pig, with Staveley village and its railway station a field's walk away.
Drying room“Drying room”
Dogs“Windermere is a dog-friendly site and our campers are permitted to bring their pets with them for their stay.”
Evening meal“On-site bar at the Whistling Pig”
Parking“You are permitted to park one car on your pitch.”
Children“There is an outdoor play area for children.”
Worth knowing before you book
These places state on their own site that they do not take children.
High Borrans Lodges (opens in new tab)“Welcome to High Borrans A couples only lodge park, located just 10 minutes away from Windermere in the Lake District.”
What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).
Frequently asked questions about Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell)
Is Grey Crag hard to reach?
It is the effort of getting to it rather than the climbing that makes this one. Grey Crag sits on the eastern edge of the Far Eastern fells above Longsleddale, and both our routes over it are long: 17.7 km with 1043 m of ascent over the Kentmere Pike ridge, or 20.0 km and 601 m by way of Harrop Pike.
We grade the navigation on both hard. This is rough, open, boggy ground with few paths and fewer landmarks, and that — not gradient — is what makes it a serious walk in cloud.
