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.
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 (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 9°C, gusts to 23 mph, 0.8 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 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.
Stone Arthur at a glance
Stone Arthur
Routes up Stone Arthur
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Classifications & hill data
The short answers
Is Stone Arthur a Wainwright?
Stone Arthur is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.
Where do you park for Stone Arthur?
The nearest car park we hold is Roadside parking for Helm Crag, about 1.1 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Stone Arthur (layby), 1.2 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.
My hikes over Stone Arthur (Strava)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- A jaunt up Stone Arthur with Laura. 199 to go (opens in new tab) — 5.9 km · 441 m ascent · 1h 43m moving · 8 Jul 2023
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Parking & buses for Stone Arthur
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).
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 Stone Arthur by bus
The 555 stops at Grasmere, at School, 120 m from the start of Stone Arthur from Grasmere. Last bus: Monday to Friday 20:46 towards Keswick (555); Saturday 20:46 towards Keswick (555); Sunday 18:36 towards Keswick (555). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Hazards on Stone Arthur
Hazard & Incident Information for Stone Arthur
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.
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 (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 Stone Arthur in cloud
StraightforwardA 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.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Roadside parking for Helm Crag, about 1.1 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.
Routes over Stone Arthur
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 Stone Arthur
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Stone Arthur from Grasmere route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
The view from Stone Arthur
The 360° skyline 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.
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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.
Sunrise and sunset on Stone Arthur
Stone Arthur waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when the sun is up for 59 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 05:36 against an almanac sunrise of 04:37. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east-north-east from here (57.1°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 6.32°.
| First light | Almanac sunrise | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 05:36 BST ±5.0 min | 04:37 | +59 min |
| Equinox | 07:03 GMT ±5.0 min | 06:15 | +48 min |
| Midwinter | 09:20 GMT ±5.0 min | 08:32 | +48 min |
The northern horizon stands at about 5.6° from here.
Last light — when the sun leaves Stone Arthur
The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 August) last light is only 17 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Stone Arthur.
| Last light | Almanac sunset | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 21:50 BST ±5.0 min | 21:52 | -2 min |
| Equinox | 18:10 GMT ±5.0 min | 18:26 | -16 min |
| Midwinter | 15:50 GMT ±5.0 min | 15:49 | +1 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 Stone Arthur. 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 Stone Arthur
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.
- Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) Wales
- Carnedd Llewelyn Wales
- Morecambe Bay bay/estuary
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.
Places to stay near this fell
From Grasmere: 10 places
Frequently asked questions about Stone Arthur
Is Stone Arthur steep?
Yes, for its size — that is the whole character of it. Our route from Grasmere is only 6.8 km but carries 516 m of ascent, and we grade its steepness hard against a length we grade easy. It is a short walk that goes up almost the whole way.
The path is steep, gravelly and rocky-stepped, which matters more coming down than going up. The north-west side is craggy at Rigg Crags, and the true top is easy to walk past.
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 Stone Arthur
- Arnison Crag
- Birkhouse Moor
- Birks
- Catstye Cam
- Clough Head
- Dollywaggon Pike
- Dove Crag
- Fairfield
- Glenridding Dodd
- Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit)
- Great Dodd
- Great Mell Fell
- Great Rigg
- Hart Crag
- Hart Side
- Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)
- Helvellyn
- Heron Pike (Rydal)
- High Hartsop Dodd
- High Pike (Scandale)
- Little Hart Crag (West Top)
- Little Mell Fell
- Low Pike
- Middle Dodd
- Nab Scar
- Nethermost Pike
- Raise
- Red Screes
- Seat Sandal
- Sheffield Pike
- St Sunday Crag
- Stybarrow Dodd
- Watson's Dodd
- White Side