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632 m · Wainwright — Northern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

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

Mungrisdale Common

Mungrisdale Common at 675m (2,215ft) 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.

632 m
Height
~4.5–5.5 h
Typical time
+6
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →
632 mWainwright — Northern Fellssummit is not a Birkett top+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 632 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 40 mph, 19.8 mm of rain forecast.

Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 7°
💨 40 mph
🌧 19.8 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
13° / 8°
💨 14 mph
🌧 0.1 mm (10%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌦️
15° / 11°
💨 34 mph
🌧 2.1 mm (94%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌧️
14° / 9°
💨 34 mph
🌧 8.8 mm (94%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 27 mph
🌧 3.1 mm (39%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 35 mph
🌧 14.1 mm (84%)
Fri 18 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 36 mph
🌧 8.6 mm (75%)

Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 15:36 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 632 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Mungrisdale Common at a glance

Mungrisdale Common

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

Mungrisdale Common at 675m (2,215ft) 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. 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. A challenging summit for navigation practice in poor weather.

Routes up Mungrisdale Common

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

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Northern
Synge
632 m
Height
2,073 ft
In feet

The short answers

Is Mungrisdale Common a Wainwright?

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

Where do you park for Mungrisdale Common?

We hold no car park within 2.5 km of the summit, so there is no short walk-in to recommend here. 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 Mungrisdale Common?

The shortest way up we hold is Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back — 17.6 km, 961 m of ascent, about 5.1 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.

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

My hikes over Mungrisdale Common (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Parking & buses for Mungrisdale Common

Best parking to hike Mungrisdale Common

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

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. Fees: £2 for 2 hours (aggregator-listed).
Directions (opens in new tab)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 (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
🚺 Threlkeld Village Hall (opens in new tab) (~2208 m straight line) — Free · Accessible
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 (opens in new tab)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 (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Round Knott (verge) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
1.3 km from Round Knott.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

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 Mungrisdale Common by bus

The 509 stops 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 walk in before the walk. Last bus: Monday to Friday 22:11 towards Penrith (X5) and 17:07 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:42 towards Hartsop (509); Saturday 22:11 towards Penrith (X5) and 17:07 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:42 towards Hartsop (509); Sunday 18:38 towards Penrith (X5) and 17:07 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:42 towards Hartsop (509). 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 are not listed here because we have not verified a timetable — check Stagecoach before you rely on it. 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 (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Mungrisdale Common

Hazard & Incident Information for Mungrisdale Common

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 only real 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.

Most common causes: 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 (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.

Report incorrect information (opens in new tab)

Navigating Mungrisdale Common 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.

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 the reliable way home.

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: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Threlkeld Car Park, about 3.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Mungrisdale Common (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.

1.6 km SEAtkinson Pike (Foule Crag)845 m · Northern
1.9 km SSEGategill Fell Top852 m · Northern
2.2 km SKnowe Crags (Blease Fell)804 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

17.59 km · ~961 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h

⬇️ 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 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
What you can see from Mungrisdale Common, 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 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.

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°.

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

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. 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)

How Mungrisdale Common’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.

Places to stay near this fell

Mosedale End Farm B&B (opens in new tab) guest house

about 2.3 km from the start, in a straight line

The nearest bed in the area we can actually evidence, at 2.31 km, and it answers more of our columns from its own pages than anything else here: an EV charge point, a room that sleeps two adults plus two children, a breakfast hamper delivered to the door, picnics, and its own private yard to park in. It also tells you the one thing most pages hide - that there is no bus - which matters on a Mungrisdale start where the alternative is a taxi.

Worth knowing: “Sorry we do not take DOGS or offer help the farmer or work experience days”

They run cameras on their own livestock and wildlife and lend guests a tablet to watch them from bed - a lambing camera in the lambing shed, a badger-sett camera and nest-box cameras.

  • Family rooms “THE GRAINERY SUITE A spacious en-suite bedroom with a king-size bed. Small kitchen area for basic food prep, with kettle, toaster, microwave, fridge, sink, and cupboard storage. Private balcony with outdoor seating.”
  • Packed lunch “Leave the car and walk all day for free. Picnics available.”
  • Parking “Mosedale End Farm is a traditional Lake District white farm house and is set back off the road, behind its own private yard where you may park your car.”

Scales Farm Country Guest House (opens in new tab) guest house

about 3.9 km from the start, in a straight line

It answers more of a wet walker's questions than anything else in this area, and answers them on its own pages: a boiler-room drying room, a private car park for eight, a ground-floor room for mobility-impaired guests, dog-friendly ground-floor rooms with their own exercise field opening straight onto Scales Fell, lockable storage for up to twelve bikes, free loan of poles, compasses and maps, and a bus stop directly opposite. It ranks second rather than first only because it is 1.57 km further out than Mosedale End and is silent on children in everything we hold.

The house is a 1650s farmhouse and barn, converted to a guest house in the early 1980s, and the owners were qualified hill-walking leaders for fifteen years before they bought it.

  • Drying room “We have a boiler room to provide heat and hot water which runs all year. This room is like a mini-sauna and is ideal for drying wet clothes and boots.”
  • Dogs “All three ground floor rooms are dog friendly with direct access to the garden and our own field.”
  • Parking “We have a large off road private car park that can easily accommodate 8 vehicles.”

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 Mungrisdale Common

Is Mungrisdale Common worth climbing?

Honestly, 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 no steep ground worth the name. 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 961 m of ascent, and doing it that way is a good deal more interesting than going up for it alone.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Other fells near Mungrisdale Common