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806 m · Birkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

High Stile (Grey Crag)

High Stile's Grey Crag subsidiary at 806m (2,644ft) is a Birkett top on the High Stile ridge above Buttermere, sitting between High Stile and High Crag on the famous ridge above Buttermere.

806 m
Height
+5
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

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806 mBirkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit)+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 806 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Sat 12 Sep): 12° to 6°C, gusts to 47 mph, 34.8 mm of rain forecast.

Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
12° / 6°
💨 47 mph
🌧 34.8 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 15 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (6%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌦️
14° / 10°
💨 38 mph
🌧 5.8 mm (100%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌧️
13° / 8°
💨 38 mph
🌧 16.4 mm (98%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌧️
9° / 7°
💨 29 mph
🌧 7.4 mm (70%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌧️
9° / 7°
💨 35 mph
🌧 23.3 mm (100%)
Fri 18 Sep
🌧️
10° / 7°
💨 37 mph
🌧 13.4 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 18:50 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 806 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

High Stile (Grey Crag) at a glance

High Stile (Grey Crag)

High Stile's Grey Crag subsidiary at 806m (2,644ft) is a Birkett top on the High Stile ridge above Buttermere, sitting between High Stile and High Crag on the famous ridge above Buttermere. Part of one of the finest ridge walks in the Lake District. The views across Buttermere and Crummock Water from this position are outstanding.

Routes up High Stile (Grey Crag)

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

High Stile, Seat via Buttermere
13 km · ~4 hr
Five tops along the High Stile ridge with Buttermere below you the whole way. 836 m of ascent in 13 km, and a stage averaging 20% to gain the ridge in the first place. Exposure is rated hard where the crags drop straight to the lake. Roughly 4 hours.
The Buttermere Ridge
13.4 km · ~4.3 hr
One of the finest ridge walks in the Lakes — Seat, High Crag, High Stile and Red Pike strung above Buttermere, with plunging drops into Ennerdale on one side and the lake on the other. Earned by the loose, relentless grind of Gamlin End and paid for again on the red scree chute off Red Pike: 13.4 km, 975 m of climbing, and severe for steepness.

Classifications & hill data

Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
Marilyn
806 m
Height
2,644 ft
In feet
NY 1700 1482
Grid ref

The short answers

Is High Stile (Grey Crag) a Wainwright?

High Stile (Grey Crag) is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list, the Fellranger list and the Marilyn list.

Where do you park for High Stile (Grey Crag)?

The nearest car park we hold is High Snockrigg car park (free), about 2.0 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Buttermere village LDNP car park (east) (paid), 2.1 km out. 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.

How hard is High Stile (Grey Crag)?

The shortest way up we hold is High Stile, Seat via Buttermere — 13 km, 836 m of ascent, about 4 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.

All axes: steepness: Severe · exposure: Hard · length: Moderate · navigation: Moderate · terrain: Moderate.

Parking & buses for High Stile (Grey Crag)

Best parking to hike High Stile (Grey Crag)

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

High Snockrigg car park (free) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: High Snockrigg (1.0 km), Robinson (1.7 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Buttermere village LDNP car park (east) (paid) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
The 'Buttermere lake circuit' route starts 49 m away. Also serves 'Crummock Water shore circuit'. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged). Toilets on site. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37311 (LDNPA, checked Aug 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Buttermere (free) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Red Pike (Buttermere), High Stile, High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile) and High Crag (Buttermere) — the 'High Stile, Seat via Buttermere' route starts 5 m away. Also serves 'Great Bourne & Starling Dodd'. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
High Snockrigg (verge) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
1.0 km from High Snockrigg.
Directions Something changed here?
Buttermere village (NT, paid) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
For Red Pike, High Stile, Robinson, Rannerdale Knotts. Fees: pay and display (LDNP directory, checked Aug 2026). £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked Aug 2026). Free for NT members (checked Aug 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 Aug 2026).
🕑 Typically full before 10:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 2026-08-09.
Directions Something changed here?
If it is full: High Snockrigg (verge) (0.4 km, 28 m up); Car park for Rannerdale Knotts (2.1 km, 146 m up)
🚺 Buttermere village (~285 m straight line) — Accessible☕ Syke Farm Tea Room☕ Croft House Farm Café🍺 The Buttermere Court Hotel

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm.

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 High Stile (Grey Crag) by bus

The 77 stops at Buttermere, outside Court Hotel, 100 m from the start of High Stile, Seat via Buttermere. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day, and it is not daily before then — a bus on 31 of the 56 days from 7 September. We don’t know when it returns. Confirmed with the operator, 29 August 2026. Last bus: Monday to Friday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Saturday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Sunday 18:20 towards Keswick (77). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)
Seasonal (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on High Stile (Grey Crag)

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.

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: High Snockrigg car park (free), about 2.0 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near High Stile (Grey Crag) (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.

1.1 km NWDodd (Buttermere)641 m · Western
2.1 km SESeat561 m · Western
2.2 km WNWLittle Dodd (Ennerdale)590 m · Western
2.4 km SPillar Rock780 m · Western
2.7 km NEHigh Snockrigg526 m · North Western

Routes over High Stile (Grey Crag)

High Stile, Seat via ButtermereLive
12.97 km · ~836 m ascent · loop · ~4–5.5 h
Summits: Red Pike (Buttermere)High StileHigh Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile)High Crag (Buttermere)Seat

⬇️ Download GPX

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.

The Buttermere RidgePlanned
13.39 km · ~975 m ascent · loop · ~4–5.5 h
Summits: SeatHigh Crag (Buttermere)High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile)High StileRed Pike (Buttermere)Dodd (Buttermere)

⬇️ Download GPX

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.

On the hill: terrain and water on High Stile (Grey Crag)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the High Stile, Seat via Buttermere route:

🚌 Bridge Hotel (6 m)🚌 The Fish Hotel (62 m)🚌 Mountain Road junction (153 m)🚌 Buttermere Youth Hostel (N bound) (312 m)⛺ Syke Farm Campsite (217 m)

On the The Buttermere Ridge route:

🚌 Bridge Hotel (307 m)🚌 The Fish Hotel (324 m)🚌 Mountain Road junction (398 m)⛺ Syke Farm Campsite (232 m)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

Places to stay near this fell

Bridge Hotel hotel

about 0.0 km from the start, in a straight line

It is 20 m from where all five Buttermere routes begin and it is the only hotel in the valley that says it takes dogs, in a cluster where three of the other four beds state a pet restriction. It also states its own size - "21 EN-SUITE BEDROOMS AND 6 SELF-CATERING APARTMENTS" - and its own food and ales, so a party coming off Red Pike at six can eat and sleep without moving the car. Set against that: only its home page is in the cache and that page answers nothing about parking, drying, children or family rooms, and it publishes no email and no phone at all, so this is a place you book online or ring on OSM's number, not one you email.

The bedrooms are deliberately unwired - no television, no radio, and no mobile signal to lose.

  • Dogs “A true dog-friendly hotel in the Lake District”
  • Evening meal “Exceptionally friendly and professional service, homemade food, carefully selected local real ales with our staff who naturally go the extra mile to ensure your needs meet your expectations.”

Worth knowing before you book

These places state on their own site that they do not take children.

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.

Other fells near High Stile (Grey Crag)