Navigating Grisedale Pike in cloud
Care neededA rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. 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 Grisedale Pike compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Routes over Grisedale Pike
11.7 km · ~598 m ascent · loop · ~3–4.5 h
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Full route guide ↗
✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
16.02 km · ~1108 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h · Loop · Hard
✎️ The Whinlatter Pass road car park is small and tucked behind the trees — and the bus to Braithwaite makes this an easy car-free round, adding only a couple of hundred metres of road to reach the start.
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Best season: At its best in clear, settled weather — the airy sections and the broad Crag Hill plateau want good visibility, and they're exactly where care matters most. The lower path up from Braithwaite can be smothered in bracken at the height of summer; in firm winter conditions the Grisedale Pike climb and the exposed tops become a serious proposition for axe-and-crampon walkers only.
⚠️ Warnings: Grisedale Pike's upper climb is steep and craggy — you'll want hands on rock near the top. It's no place to be rushed, or to be in poor conditions. Along Sand Hill and Hobcarton Crag, keep left in cloud: there's a sharp, rocky drop close on the right that's easy to drift towards. Hopegill Head's summit is tiny and exposed — in a strong wind you may have to crouch to claim it. Watch the short grassy ridge at Kinn; a careless step could slide you down the bank. Worth marking on the GPS. Off Sail, take the switchback path down to the col — the alternative Long Comb line dropping to the right looked treacherous; avoid it. High Moss is reliably boggy underfoot.
Full route guide ↗
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
Places to stay near this fell
From the Whinlatter Pass road car park (above Braithwaite) start
about 3.4 km from the start, in a straight line
It takes children but no dogs, and it is the Keswick hotel most likely to be reached for by a walking party because it advertises the thing that is hardest to get in Keswick - its own car park. A party with a dog needs the bar; a party without one needs the parking.
Worth knowing: “Child Policy Children welcome Smoking Policy No smoking Pets No pets Parties Parties not allowed”
It is a three-minute walk from the Keswick Mountain Rescue post and the Theatre by the Lake, and it charges for its car park unless you book direct.
- Parking “We also boast our own off-street car park a rarity for hotels and B&B's in Keswick plus we are only a few minutes walk from both the lake and Keswick town square.”
- Children “Child Policy Children welcome”
about 3.4 km from the start, in a straight line
They answer the dog question twice on their own page and the answer is no both times - which matters because everything else about the house (ample private parking, a fenced garden with room for bikes, six large rooms sleeping up to 13) reads as built for exactly the group that turns up with a dog.
Worth knowing: “Do you accept dogs? Unfortunately we do not accept pets.”
A slate-built Victorian town house in a cul-de-sac off Stanger Street whose rooms face two ways - Skiddaw to the north, Borrowdale and Newlands to the south - and whose breakfast meats come from Keswick butchers.
- Parking “Ample Private parking and a well established garden with space for bicycles and sports equipment to the rear of the house.”
about 3.7 km from the start, in a straight line
And a double one. No pets, and no family or triple rooms at all, so a family of three cannot be accommodated even though children are not barred. That second sentence is on the bedrooms page where a family would only find it after choosing the house. Worth knowing that it does have indoor drying facilities, which is why walkers reach for it.
Worth knowing: “For the comfort and safety of all our guests Linnett Hill operates a strict no-smoking policy and unfortunately are unable to accept pets.”
Built in 1812 with a Dutch facade that is unusual in Keswick, it stands opposite Fitz Park looking straight at Latrigg and the Skiddaw range.
- Drying room “extensive private parking together with secure cycle storage and indoor drying facilities”
- Parking “extensive private parking together with secure cycle storage and indoor drying facilities”
about 3.8 km from the start, in a straight line
And the reason for the bar is itself the useful fact: they do not take pets because there is a resident cat. That is a warning for a dog owner and, separately, for anyone in the party with a cat allergy - which no dog-policy column alone would ever surface.
Worth knowing: “We are a Non smoking Bed & Breakfast and don't accept pets (although we do have a cat).”
There is a house cat in residence, and one of the four rooms is a double with a private bathroom rather than an en-suite - the two remaining doubles share matching black and brass bedsteads.
about 3.8 km from the start, in a straight line
No pets - but cots are available on request and one of the two apartments is on the ground floor, so it stays useful to a family without a dog and to anyone who cannot manage stairs.
Worth knowing: “We are afraid we do not accept pets and the properties are strictly no smoking.”
Changeover days move with the season - Fridays and Mondays in the low season, Saturdays from mid-March - and the owners live close enough to be on hand throughout a stay.
- Family rooms “Cots are available on request.”
- Parking “both of which have off road parking and all modern amenities to make your stay as comfortable as possible”
about 3.8 km from the start, in a straight line
It markets itself for family holidays but answers its own FAQ with a flat no on pets, so a family arriving with a dog would find out only after choosing it. It does answer the parking question, which is worth having in central Keswick.
Worth knowing: “Are pets allowed in the cottage? Unfortunately, we do not allow pets to ensure the comfort and safety of all our guests.”
George Cottage is a traditional sandstone cottage with sash windows tucked in the residential back streets behind Keswick's Market Square, while its sister let, Crag Cottage, sits in a cul-de-sac nearer the square.
- Parking “vehicle directly outside the cottage. Additional parking is available nearby.”
about 3.9 km from the start, in a straight line
A frustrating one, because on the child axis it is the best-equipped house in the whole radius: all ages welcome, a cot and a high chair, and a named family room taking a double plus two singles. It simply takes no dogs. A family without a dog should be pointed here; a family with one must not be.
Worth knowing: “4 En Suite Rooms Central Location Free Wi-Fi Bike Storage Street Parking Children Welcome No Pets No Smoking”
A cot costs five pounds and can go in Room 2 or Room 4, and additional children in the family room are charged at a reduced rate by age - unusually specific pricing for a four-room B&B.
- Family rooms “Room 2 - Family with double, 2 single beds and space for cot, first floor.”
- Children “Children All ages are welcome. We have a cot and high chair available for infants.”
From the Whinlatter - Forestry Commission Car Park start
about 1.9 km from the start, in a straight line
The best-answered page inside 2 km of the Whinlatter start, and the only one that solves the wet-boots-and-bikes problem explicitly: off-road parking beside the cottages, secure bike storage, and hosepipes for boots, bikes and paws. It also tells a driver something no sat nav will - that CA12 5SA covers the whole of Thornthwaite and will not find the cottage - and it puts the X5 bus stop outside the door, so a car-free party can reach the Grisedale Pike ground.
An osprey nest sits close enough that the birds can be watched from the cottage grounds between April and August, and the village bus shelter stands directly outside two of the three cottages.
- Dogs “All three of our holiday cottages are dog friendly with Jasmine Cottage and Fox Howe being able to accommodate two each and Squirrel Cottage one.”
- Family rooms “JASMINE COTTAGE (SLEEPS 4)”
- Parking “Private off road parking beside the cottages”
about 4.2 km from the start, in a straight line
The only true drying room in the whole 3-mile radius, and it is paired with a tumble drier, a 3-bicycle stand and outdoor wash-off for bikes and dogs - the exact list a party coming off a wet Coledale round needs. It is also the only property here that states in its own words that it suits families as well as couples, and it sleeps seven across four bedrooms, so it takes a group that no B&B in the area can. Ranked above much closer properties on that basis; the 3-night minimum is the cost.
It is a former farmhouse still standing on a working farm, so guests share the yard with lambs, calves and horses depending on the season.
- Drying room “There is a rear drying room for boots and coats and sportswear and a 3-bicycle stand for secure storage of bikes, plus a tumble drier.”
- Dogs “Well-behaved dogs are very welcome and there are several pleasant walks in the nearby area.”
- Family rooms “Double bedroom with king size bed and en-suite shower room - spacious electric shower, heated towel rail, washbasin with shaverlight and toilet. Twin-bedded room. Double bedded room. Single room.”
- Children “The house is ideal for couples and families alike, sleeping up to 7 people - plenty of rooms but with a cosy atmosphere.”
about 3.9 km from the start, in a straight line
The one property in the radius that can take a very large party - two of its three cottages connect through a lockable door to sleep eleven or twelve - and the only one with a stated EV charger, which matters for a group driving over Whinlatter Pass. It is on the Lorton side of the pass rather than the Braithwaite side, which is the quieter approach to Grisedale Pike's western Birketts, and the owner is close enough to call on.
The smallest of the three was built as a farm workers' cottage in the 1800s and still has its beamed ceilings; the Farmhouse next door can be linked to it through a lockable connecting door.
- Dogs “Dog friendly”
- Family rooms “Three Holiday Cottages sleeping 2, 5, or 9 (2 of the cottages can be connected to sleep 11-12)”
Worth knowing before you book
These places state on their own site that they do not take children.
