Grey Friar
Grey Friar at 773m (2,536ft) is the most westerly of the main Coniston Fells, a broad, grassy dome that Wainwright described as giving the best views of any of the group — particularly westward to the Scafell massif across the Duddon valley, and south-west to the coast and the sea.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 773 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 12°C, gusts to 34 mph, 4.8 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 773 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
About the walk
Grey Friar
Routes up Grey Friar
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Hardknott Pass (roadside pull-ins), about 2.5 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Grey Friar (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.
Routes over Grey Friar
✎️ Walked and described first-hand by Lee, Wetherlam-first — the full Coniston round over all the major tops, a long and serious mountain day. The trickiest navigation is the Grey Friar–Calf Cove–Levers Hawse traverse and the Lad Stones ground; carry OS Explorer OL6 and a compass for the clag.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
The View from Grey Friar
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.
What you can see from Grey Friar, by direction
- North: Crinkle Crags South Top (4 km), Crinkle Crags (5 km), Crinkle Crags (5 km), Crinkle Crags (5 km), Shelter Crags (5 km), Bowfell (6 km), Pike de Bield (7 km), Esk Pike (8 km), Great Dodd (22 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (27 km), Knowe Crags (27 km), Skiddaw Little Man (27 km), Gategill Fell Top (28 km), Blencathra (28 km), Skiddaw South Top (28 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (28 km), Skiddaw (29 km), Skiddaw North Top (29 km)
- North-east: Fairfield (15 km), Dove Crag (15 km), Dollywaggon Pike (15 km), Hart Crag (15 km), High Crag (16 km), Nethermost Pike (16 km), Helvellyn (17 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (17 km), White Side (18 km), Raise (19 km), Stybarrow Dodd (20 km), Rampsgill Head (22 km), High Raise (23 km)
- South-east: Brim Fell (2 km), The Old Man of Coniston (3 km)
- North-west: Ill Crag (8 km), Scafell (8 km), Scafell Pike (8 km), Broad Crag (8 km), Great End (9 km), Pillar (15 km), Haycock (16 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (160 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (148 km, Wales), Aran Fawddwy (182 km, Wales), Snaefell (87 km, Isle of Man), Moel Siabod (156 km, Wales), Arenig Fawr (169 km, Wales), South Barrule (103 km, Isle of Man), Slieve Croob (184 km, Ireland).
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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.
What you can see from Grey Friar
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales and the Isle of Man.
- Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) Wales
- Carnedd Llewelyn Wales
- Snaefell Isle of Man
- Ingleborough Yorkshire Dales
- Cross Fell North Pennines
- Whernside Yorkshire Dales
- Irish Sea open water
- Morecambe Bay bay/estuary
All 69 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Great Carrs, Swirl How, Brim Fell, Dow Crag, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Wetherlam, Cold Pike, Hard Knott, Pike of Blisco, Harter Fell (Eskdale), Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Bowfell, Green Crag, Slight Side, Loft Crag, Pike of Stickle, Harrison Stickle, Esk Pike, Thunacar Knott, Pavey Ark, Scafell, Scafell Pike, Blea Rigg, Great End, Sergeant Man, Silver How, High Raise (High White Stones), Tarn Crag (Easedale), Glaramara, Illgill Head, Sergeant's Crag, Gibson Knott, Helm Crag, Whin Rigg (Wasdale), Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Heron Pike (Rydal), Stone Arthur, Middle Fell, Great Rigg, Seat Sandal, High Pike (Scandale), Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Seatallan, Pillar, Haycock, Grange Fell (Brund Fell), Caw Fell, High Seat, Yoke, Ill Bell, Froswick, Bleaberry Fell, Gray Crag, The Knott (High Street), Kentmere Pike, Rest Dodd, Clough Head, Tarn Crag (Sleddale), Latrigg, Lonscale Fell, Dodd (Skiddaw), Skiddaw Little Man, Carl Side, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Skiddaw, Knott, High Pike (Caldbeck)
How Grey Friar’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 Grey Friar
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
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.
Water & shelter on the way up
On the The Coniston Horseshoe route:
On the Coniston Old Man Round route:
💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
Buses to Grey Friar from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere
No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
My hikes over Grey Friar (Strava)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- Awesome trek up Wetherlam, Swirl How, Great Carrs, Grey Friars, Brim Fell, Dow Crag & Old Man of Coniston. (opens in new tab) — 19.2 km · 1417 m ascent · 5h 34m moving · 31 Aug 2024
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Hazard & Incident Information for Grey Friar
A rugged, out-on-a-limb fell set apart from the main Coniston ridge, with a stony twin-topped summit and rough, steep approaches from Seathwaite, the Duddon or Wrynose. Its appeal is its remoteness — but that, plus indistinct paths and steep ground above Seathwaite Tarn, is also its hazard. The link from the main ridge is easy to misjudge in cloud, and help is a long way off. Coniston Mountain Rescue Team covers this quiet corner.
- Navigation to and from the summit in cloud: Grey Friar stands off the main ridge and its paths are faint; the ground between it and Swirl How is awkward, and one onward line from Swirl How appears to head straight over a cliff face. In mist it is easy to lose the route or drift onto steep ground. Navigate by compass and don't trust a vague trod.
- Steep, rough flanks (Seathwaite Tarn / Duddon side): The fell falls away in rough, craggy, broken ground, particularly toward Seathwaite Tarn. A slip or a wrong line on these steep flanks can land you in difficult terrain. Keep to the higher, gentler ground and pick your descent carefully.
- Remoteness: This is one of the least-visited Coniston fells, a long way from any road on the Duddon side. A minor injury or navigation error becomes serious simply because of how far you are from help. Carry full kit, navigation and a means of calling for assistance, and allow plenty of time.
Most common causes: Navigation errors on the faint paths and the link to the main ridge in cloud · Slips on the steep, rough flanks above Seathwaite Tarn · Difficulties compounded by remoteness and a long walk-out · Being caught out by failing light on rough ground
Local Mountain Rescue: Coniston Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · 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.
A note on Church Beck (with Red Dell Beck & Levers Water)
Church Beck (with Red Dell Beck & Levers Water) runs below the old Coniston copper mines and carries mine-derived copper and zinc — enough to matter for river life, though the lead and cadmium that would harm a person stay below the drinking limit here. Treat any hill water before drinking (a filter won’t remove dissolved metals); don’t single this beck out as a clean fill-up.
What’s actually in this beck — we mapped every mine-fed one →
Metal-mine water data © Environment Agency (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Navigating Grey Friar in cloud
StraightforwardA broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.
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 Friar 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 Grey Friar
- Allen Crags
- Black Fell
- Bowfell
- Brim Fell
- Cold Pike
- Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle)
- Dow Crag
- Esk Pike
- Glaramara
- Great Carrs
- Great End
- Green Crag
- Hard Knott
- Harter Fell (Eskdale)
- Holme Fell
- Illgill Head
- Lingmell
- Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
- Pike of Blisco
- Rossett Pike
- Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot
- Scafell
- Scafell Pike
- Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit)
- Slight Side
- Swirl How
- The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)
- Wetherlam
- Whin Rigg (Wasdale)
Maps & guidebooks for Grey Friar
- Buy on Amazon (opens in new tab)
- Buy on Amazon (opens in new tab)
- Buy on Amazon (opens in new tab)
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- Buy on Amazon (opens in new tab)
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