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.
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 (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 13°C, gusts to 37 mph, 6.9 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 632 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
Mungrisdale Common
Routes up Mungrisdale Common
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: Threlkeld village (free/donation), about 3.8 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.
Routes over Mungrisdale Common
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
The View 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.
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.
What you can see from Mungrisdale Common
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.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 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.
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).
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.
Buses to Mungrisdale Common from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
My hikes over Mungrisdale Common (Strava)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- On the 7th Day God Created Blencathra (opens in new tab) — 17.6 km · 960 m ascent · 4h 23m moving · 25 May 2026
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Hazard & Incident Information for Mungrisdale Common
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.
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.
Navigating Mungrisdale Common in cloud
SevereA 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.
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.
Other fells near Mungrisdale Common
Maps & guidebooks for Mungrisdale Common
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