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A broad grassy plateau looking down to a lake in the distant valley, with fells across the skyline

Mungrisdale Common

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632 mWainwright — Northern Fells+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

Mungrisdale Common at 632m (2,073ft) is a broad, boggy summit between Blencathra and Bowscale Fell, its featureless top challenging to navigate in mist but giving good views of the Blencathra massif on a clear day.

Summit conditions on Mungrisdale Common

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 6°C, gusts to 51 mph, 17.9 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

52 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 46 mph times our exposure factor of 1.15. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 51 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS 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

17.9 mm 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 checked cold: feels like 1 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 35 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

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

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 →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Routes up Mungrisdale Common

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

Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back Walked by Lee
17.59 km · ~1011 m ascent · ~5–7 h · loop · 9 summits
Hard effort Hard: distance and steepness
Park: Mungrisdale village hall (paid) · Bus: 509, 3.2 km walk from Mungrisdale, adjacent to Road End

Blencathra by its southern ridges — Scales Fell and Doddick Fell onto Hallsfell Top — then over the back for Bannerdale Crags and Bowscale Fell, taking in Mungrisdale Common on the way.

Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →

How hard is Mungrisdale Common?

The shortest way up we hold is Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back — 17.59 km, 1011 m of ascent, ~5–7 h. On our scale its hardest axes are distance and steepness — Hard.

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

These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 632 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
11° / 6°
51 mph
17.9 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
8° / 6°
42 mph
8.1 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
9° / 6°
24 mph
1.6 mm (10%)
Fri 30 Oct
9° / 6°
22 mph
0.0 mm (6%)
Sat 31 Oct
8° / 2°
8 mph
4.9 mm (13%)
Sun 1 Nov
7° / 0°
14 mph
0.8 mm (4%)
Mon 2 Nov
6° / -3°
6 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Mungrisdale Common

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Mungrisdale village hall (paid) — at the start of Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back
For Bowscale Fell, Bannerdale Crags, Souther Fell and The Tongue. A sign at the village hall asks £4 per day, paid into a collection slot in the hall's gable wall, and says cars are parked at the owner's risk (Lee's photo, 29 September 2026).
Parking sign at Mungrisdale village hall: £4 per day, cars parked at the owner's risk
Parking sign at Mungrisdale village hall: £4 per day, cars parked at the owner's risk Taken September 2026
Directions Something changed here?
If it is full: Mosedale / Bowscale (verge) (3.7 km, 153 m up)
Threlkeld Car Park — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Knowe Crags (Blease Fell), Gategill Fell Top, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top and Doddick Fell — the 'Blencathra via Blease Fell' route starts 249 m away.
Directions Something changed here?
Scales, A66 (layby) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Laybys near the White Horse Inn — Blencathra via Scales Fell or Sharp Edge.
Directions Something changed here?
Threlkeld Village Hall (~2208 m straight line) — Free · Accessible
3 more places to park near Mungrisdale Common
Knowe Crags, south-west (layby) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Knowe Crags (Blease Fell) (1.7 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Scales Fell, south-east (layby) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Atkinson Pike (Foule Crag), Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Doddick Fell and Scales Fell — the 'Blencathra by Sharp Edge' route starts 482 m away. Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Round Knott (verge) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Not suitable for ordinary cars: the Caldew valley road west of the Mosedale / Bowscale verge has very large potholes (seen 29 September 2026). In a 4x4, expect deep potholes and drive slowly. 1.3 km from Round Knott.
Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

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 509, X4 and X5 stop at Mungrisdale, adjacent to Road End. From there it is 3.2 km and 76 m of ascent to the start of Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 23.9 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Hartsop road end (509): Tuesday to Sunday 17:07 to Patterdale Hotel, 14:42 to Hartsop road end. Towards Penrith (X5): Tuesday to Saturday 22:11; Sunday 18:38. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 509
Penrith ↔ Keswick around Ullswater — calls at Pooley Bridge, Watermillock, Glenridding, Patterdale, Hartsop, Dockray, Matterdale, Mungrisdale and Threlkeld
Catch it from: Penrith · Keswick
The Ullswater side of the Penrith–Keswick corridor, and a second option where we previously showed only the 508. Reaches Helvellyn and Catstye Cam from Glenridding, Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes from Patterdale, the Hartsop fells, and Gowbarrow from Dockray. Frequency and season for the whole service are not listed here; where a stop's times have been checked, they are given above with the date. Note the Troutbeck on this route is the one on the A66 near Penrith, not the Troutbeck near Windermere.

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

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Mungrisdale Common

Hazard & Incident Information for Mungrisdale Common

Checked by Lee McCoy, . Draws on published material from Keswick Mountain Rescue Team. Editorial background, not a live callout feed.

Hazard: Moderate

A famously dreary, featureless expanse of boggy moorland behind Blencathra — often nominated the dullest Wainwright. It has no crags or steep ground to speak of, but that is exactly the problem: a flat, trackless, boggy plateau where, in poor visibility, navigation is genuinely difficult and it's easy to wander. Keswick Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Featureless plateau (navigation): The flat, near-featureless top has an indistinct path over rocky, boggy ground; in cloud you really must concentrate on navigation. The Cloven Stone is a useful checkpoint — but note it sits right on the edge of steepening ground. Carry map and compass and trust your bearings.
  • Deep, extensive bog: Much of the common is very boggy, including a very wet col toward Skiddaw House. Pick careful lines, expect slow going, and allow extra time.
  • Edge of steepening ground & exposure: Despite the flatness, the common drops away toward the Glenderamackin and Blencathra's flanks; near markers like the Cloven Stone the ground steepens. Keep aware of where the edges are in mist, and dress for exposed, shelterless moorland.
Who should attempt this fell: Mungrisdale Common is the rare fell whose main hazard is navigation — the flat, boggy, featureless ground is easy to cross on a clear day but a serious test in cloud, so be confident with map, compass and bearings and use checkpoints like the Cloven Stone (while noting it sits above steeper ground). Allow time for the bog, dress for exposed moorland, and save it for decent visibility.

What to watch for: Navigation errors on the featureless, boggy plateau in cloud · Floundering in deep, extensive bog · Drifting toward steepening ground at the plateau margins · Exposure and slow going on shelterless moorland

Local Mountain Rescue: Keswick Mountain Rescue Team

Safety: 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.

Report incorrect information

Navigating in cloud

Severe

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of near-level ground around the summit. 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.

From walking it — not from the terrain model

What catches people out: Featureless grass in every direction; the 'summit' is barely a rise and every bearing looks like every other.

The line to take: Pick your escape bearing before the cloud closes — the fence-and-gate line toward the Glenderamackin col is a handrail off the top.

First-hand knowledge of this top, written by Lee. It adds to the computed grade above — it never changes it, and its absence on another fell means only that it has not been written yet.

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 Mungrisdale Common 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.

From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Mungrisdale Common

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

1.6 km SEAtkinson Pike (Foule Crag)845 m · Northern
1.9 km SSEGategill Fell Top852 m · Northern
2.2 km SKnowe Crags (Blease Fell)805 m · Northern
2.2 km SEDoddick Fell742 m · Northern
2.4 km ESEScales Fell682 m · Northern
3.0 km SWLonscale Pike (Lonscale Fell East Top)703 m · Northern

Routes over Mungrisdale Common

Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back
17.59 km · ~1011 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h
Hard effort Hard: distance and steepness
Summits: Souther FellScales FellDoddick FellBlencathra - Hallsfell TopAtkinson Pike (Foule Crag)Mungrisdale CommonBannerdale CragsBowscale FellTarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)

Download GPX Walked by Lee, May 2026

Warnings: Mungrisdale Common: The flat, near-featureless top has an indistinct path over rocky, boggy ground; in cloud you really must concentrate on navigation. The Cloven Stone is a useful checkpoint — but note it sits right on the edge of steepening ground. Carry map and compass and trust your bearings. Bannerdale Crags: The plateau ends suddenly at the curving line of crags. Keep back from the rim, especially in cloud or wind where the gentle top gives little warning of the drop.

From the hazard notes for Mungrisdale Common · Bannerdale Crags, each with its sources.

Route guide →

Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.

About Mungrisdale Common

A broad grassy plateau looking down to a lake in the distant valley, with fells across the skyline
© Lee McCoy

Wainwright noted it as one of the more difficult Northern Fells to find the true top of — the summit is marked only by a small cairn on an extensive plateau. The ascent from Mungrisdale is across moorland. Save it for decent visibility: the top is featureless in cloud.

My Strava hikes over Mungrisdale Common

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Mungrisdale Common a Wainwright?

Mungrisdale Common is a Wainwright. It is also on the Synge list.

Selected lists

Wainwright
Northern
Synge
632 m
Height
2,073 ft
In feet
NY 3116 2920
Grid ref

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 Mungrisdale Common

The 360° skyline from Mungrisdale Common

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
Computed 360-degree skyline from Mungrisdale Common30 labelled tops shown (6 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 24 kmSkiddaw · 5 kmBowfell · 24 kmPillar · 22 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 5 kmGategill Fell Top · 2 kmBroad End · 5 kmHigh Stile · 20 kmKnowe Crags · 2 kmKirk Fell · 22 kmGrisedale Pike · 13 kmJenkin Hill · 4 kmLonscale Fell · 3 kmKnott · 4 kmBowscale Fell · 2 kmGreat Calva · 3 kmBannerdale Crags · 2 kmBakestall · 5 kmCarrock Fell · 5 kmHigh Pike · 6 kmLittle Calva · 4 kmCoomb Height · 4 kmMiton Hill · 5 kmRound Knott · 5 kmBurn Tod · 5 kmAtkinson Pike · 2 kmSale How · 4 kmRoan Fell · 65 km · clear daysBengairn · 60 km · clear daysCold Fell · 40 km · clear daysSkiddaw Middle Top · 5 kmGreat Gable · 21 kmEsk Pike · 23 kmHaycock · 25 kmHare Stones · 5 kmSkiddaw Lesser Man · 5 kmCat Bells · 12 kmSighty Crag · 59 km · clear daysLarriston Fells · 68 km · clear daysMerrick · 105 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Fleet · 89 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 73 km · a rare clear dayColt Hill · 93 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 77 km · a rare clear dayCairnkinna Hill · 89 km · a rare clear day
The skyline as a list, by direction
  • North: Knott (4 km)
  • North-east: Bowscale Fell (2 km)
  • South: Gategill Fell Top (2 km), Knowe Crags (2 km), Glaramara (20 km), Allen Crags (22 km), Great End (22 km), Esk Pike (23 km), Ill Crag (24 km), Bowfell (24 km)
  • South-west: Lonscale Fell (3 km), Jenkin Hill (4 km), Grisedale Pike (13 km), Hindscarth (16 km), Dale Head (16 km), Robinson (16 km), Grey Knotts (19 km), Brandreth (20 km), High Stile (20 km), High Stile (20 km), Green Gable (21 km), Great Gable (21 km), Kirk Fell East Top (22 km), Pillar (22 km), Kirk Fell (22 km), Steeple (23 km), Scoat Fell (23 km), Lingmell (23 km), Broad Crag (24 km), Red Pike (24 km), Scafell Pike (24 km), Haycock (25 km), Scafell (25 km)
  • West: Skiddaw Little Man (5 km), Skiddaw (5 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (5 km), Skiddaw North Top (5 km), Broad End (5 km), Skiddaw South Top (5 km)
  • North-west: Great Calva (3 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Merrick (105 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Fleet (89 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (100 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (73 km, Scotland), Millfore (95 km, Scotland), Fell of Fleet (85 km, Scotland), Colt Hill (93 km, Scotland), Blackcraig Hill (102 km, Scotland).

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Mungrisdale Common

Mungrisdale Common waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when the sun is up for 80 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:54 against an almanac sunrise of 08:34. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-south-east from here (148.8°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 6.96°.

0°30°40°50°60°04:30
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 lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer04:30 BST ±5.0 min04:36-6 min
Equinox06:20 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+5 min
Midwinter09:54 GMT ±5.0 min08:34+80 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.06°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Mungrisdale Common

Mungrisdale Common loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at the September equinox, when last light is 25 minutes before almanac sunset — 18:47 against 19:12. The sun goes down to the west from here (266.4°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.21°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:43 BST ±5.0 min21:53-10 min
Equinox18:02 GMT ±5.0 min18:26-24 min
Midwinter15:43 GMT ±5.0 min15:48-5 min

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 Mungrisdale Common

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
8Wainwrights in view+34 marginal
—Sea in viewnone from here
All 8 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Skiddaw Little Man, Skiddaw, Walla Crag, Cat Bells (Catbells), Maiden Moor, Castle Crag, Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit)

How the view from Mungrisdale Common 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 Mungrisdale Common. 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.

Places to stay near this fell

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.

Frequently asked questions about Mungrisdale Common

Is Mungrisdale Common worth climbing?

It is regularly nominated the dullest Wainwright, and we are not going to argue. It is a broad, boggy, featureless expanse behind Blencathra with no crags, and little steep ground except at its edges, near the Cloven Stone and above the Glenderamackin. Nobody climbs it for itself; it goes on the list because it is on the list.

That emptiness is the whole difficulty. There is nothing up here to fix a position by, so the fell that looks safest on a map is one of the easier ones to get lost on. Our route takes it as an add-on to Blencathra, 17.6 km with 1011 m of ascent, and doing it that way is a good deal more interesting than going up for it alone.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction

Other fells near Mungrisdale Common

Places nearby: Threlkeld