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

Stone Arthur - a rocky outcrop above the green Grasmere valley, the lake and village below and Windermere far beyond
Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Stone Arthur

Stone Arthur at 500m (1,640ft) is a craggy rock outcrop on the ridge above Grasmere, its small but distinctive summit giving one of the finest low-level views over Grasmere and Rydal Water in the whole district.

504 m
Height
~2–2.5 h
Typical time
+1
Bonus Birkett
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Stone Arthur

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

504 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+1 bonus Birkett within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 504 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 16° to 14°C, gusts to 31 mph, 11.5 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
16° / 14°
💨 31 mph
🌧 11.5 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
16° / 12°
💨 30 mph
🌧 3.1 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 27 mph
🌧 0.9 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 3°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
16° / 5°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 6°
💨 12 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 504 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

About the walk

Key information

Stone Arthur

Stone Arthur - a rocky outcrop above the green Grasmere valley, the lake and village below and Windermere far beyond
© Lee McCoy

Stone Arthur at 500m (1,640ft) is a craggy rock outcrop on the ridge above Grasmere, its small but distinctive summit giving one of the finest low-level views over Grasmere and Rydal Water in the whole district. Wainwright was fond of it, noting that few summits of such modest height offer such disproportionate rewards — the view south over Grasmere lake to the wooded country beyond is superb. The ascent from Grasmere via Great Tongue is short and straightforward. A perfect half-hour ascent for visitors staying in Grasmere village.

Routes up Stone Arthur

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

Stone Arthur from Grasmere
6.8 km · ~2.2 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
504 m
Height
1,654 ft
In feet
NY 3475 0923
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Grasmere village (paid), about 2.0 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Stone Arthur (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 ESEHeron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)621 m · Eastern

Routes over Stone Arthur

Stone Arthur from GrasmereRevised
6.82 km · ~516 m ascent · loop · ~2–3 h
Summits: Stone Arthur

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

The View from Stone Arthur

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 Stone Arthur26 labelled tops shown (5 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 13 kmBowfell · 11 kmCrinkle Crags · 11 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 14 kmSwirl How · 12 kmGrisedale Pike · 20 kmHigh Raise · 7 kmLittle Stand · 11 kmCombe Head · 10 kmUllscarf · 6 kmHigh Seat · 11 kmDollywaggon Pike · 4 kmWrynose Fell · 9 kmGreat Rigg · 1 kmBroom Fell · 23 kmSeat Sandal · 2 kmSergeant Man · 6 kmKitty Crag · 12 kmHeron Pike North Top · 1 kmHeron Pike · 1 kmSteel Fell · 3 kmTop o' Selside · 18 kmGummer's How · 21 kmBurney · 25 kmFair Snape Fell · 67 km · clear daysLoughrigg Fell · 4 kmGrey Friar · 12 kmWetherlam · 10 kmLow White Stones · 7 kmPavey Ark · 6 kmBell Crags · 7 kmBlake Rigg · 8 kmWhite Stones · 9 kmCalf Crag · 5 kmBlake Rigg · 9 kmSwinescar Pike · 4 kmLow Wythow · 11 kmBlack Fell · 8 kmCarron Crag · 15 kmClaife Heights · 12 kmBigland Barrow · 25 kmHumphrey Head · 36 km · clear daysSnowdon · 172 km · a handful of days a yearMoel y Gamelin · 164 km · a handful of days a yearMwdwl-eithin · 161 km · a handful of days a yearWinter Hill · 99 km · a rare clear dayBillinge Hill · 109 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Stone Arthur, by direction
  • North: Dollywaggon Pike (4 km)
  • South-west: Blake Rigg (8 km), Wrynose Fell (9 km), Pike of Blisco (9 km), Wetherlam (10 km), Great Knott (10 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Black Sails (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (11 km), Hell Gill Pike (11 km), Great Carrs (11 km), Little Stand (11 km), Swirl How (12 km), Great How (12 km), Grey Friar (12 km), The Old Man of Coniston (14 km)
  • West: Codale Head (6 km), Pavey Ark (6 km), Low White Stones (7 km), High Raise (7 km), Harrison Stickle (7 km), Thunacar Knott (7 km), Loft Crag (7 km), Combe Head (10 km), Shelter Crags (10 km), Bowfell (11 km), Esk Pike (11 km), Great End (12 km), Ill Crag (13 km), Broad Crag (13 km), Scafell Pike (13 km), Scafell (14 km)
  • North-west: Ullscarf (6 km), Bell Crags (7 km), High Seat (11 km), Grisedale Pike (20 km), Lord's Seat (22 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (172 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (159 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (167 km, Wales), Moel y Gamelin (164 km, Wales), Cadair Berwyn (179 km, Wales), Moel Famau (148 km, Wales), Manod Mawr (176 km, Wales), Mwdwl-eithin (161 km, Wales).

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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Stone Arthur

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
38Wainwrights in view+2 marginal
172 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction
1Sea in viewMorecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.

Far horizons
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 172 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 156 km clear
  • Morecambe Bay bay/estuaryS · 35 km in view
All 38 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Heron Pike (Rydal), Great Rigg, Helm Crag, Seat Sandal, Gibson Knott, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Silver How, Loughrigg Fell, Tarn Crag (Easedale), Calf Crag, Blea Rigg, Sergeant Man, Ullscarf, Pavey Ark, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), High Raise (High White Stones), Harrison Stickle, Thunacar Knott, Loft Crag, Black Fell, Pike of Blisco, Holme Fell, High Tove, Wetherlam, Bowfell, High Seat, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Esk Pike, Great Carrs, Swirl How, Great End, Grey Friar, Scafell Pike, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Scafell, Grisedale Pike, Lord's Seat, Broom Fell

How Stone Arthur’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 Stone Arthur

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

Grasmere village (paid) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
For Helm Crag, Silver How, the Easedale fells and the Far Easedale round.
Directions
🚺 Grasmere (71m) — Accessible · RADAR key🚺 Stock Lane carpark (425m) — Accessible☕ The Little Inn Coffee Shop☕ Grasmere Tea Gardens☕ Thirteen Valleys Kitchen🍺 1769 Bar & Restaurant🍺 Tweedies Bar🍺 The Distiller’s Arms🏪 Grasmere Outdoors🏪 Mountain Hi🏪 Trespass🏪 Mountain Warehouse
White Moss (paid) — 2.9 km from summit (straight line)
Between Rydal and Grasmere — Loughrigg, Silver How, Heron Pike.
Directions
🚺 White Moss (369m) — Free🚺 Public toilets (666m)

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.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Stone Arthur from Grasmere route:

🛖 map (3 m)🛖 map (8 m)🛖 map (103 m)🚌 Stock Lane at School (47 m)🚌 School (90 m)🚌 map (262 m)🚌 Daffodil House for Dove Cottage (318 m)

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

Buses to Stone Arthur from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 555
Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.

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

My hikes over Stone Arthur (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Hazard & Incident Information for Stone Arthur

Hazard: Moderate

A rocky promontory jutting from the Great Rigg ridge above Grasmere, popular as a short steep climb from the village. The path is steep, gravelly and rocky-stepped, the north-west side is craggy (Rigg Crags), and the true top is easy to walk past on the way to the main ridge. Old lead-mine workings lie in Greenhead Gill below. Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Steep, gravelly, rocky-stepped path: The climb from Grasmere is steep with loose gravel and rocky steps, and high bracken can hide the line lower down. Take care with footing, especially descending when it's slippery, and watch for hidden holes under the bracken.
  • Craggy north-west side (Rigg Crags): The fell breaks into crags on its north-west side (Brackenwife Knotts, Rigg Crags). Keep to the path and back from the steep edges, particularly in cloud or wind.
  • Old mine workings in Greenhead Gill: Remains of the Elizabethan Grasmere lead mine lie in Greenhead Gill below. If you explore there, keep clear of old shafts, levels and spoil.
Who should attempt this fell: Stone Arthur is a short, steep, rewarding climb from Grasmere — take the gravelly, rocky path carefully (it's slipperiest on descent), keep back from the craggy north-west edge, and watch your footing in the bracken. If you push on to Great Rigg, remember the ground steepens and the weather is harsher up high.

Most common causes: Slips on the steep, gravelly, rocky path, especially descending · Walkers straying toward the Rigg Crags edges in poor visibility · Trips on ground hidden by bracken · Mishaps around the old Greenhead Gill mine workings

Local Mountain Rescue: Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team · 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

Navigating Stone Arthur in cloud

Straightforward

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

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 Stone Arthur 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 Stone Arthur

Maps & guidebooks for Stone Arthur

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