Helm Crag, Gibson Knott, Calf Crag, Steel Fell and Tarn Crag
Photo: © Lee McCoy
Start Grasmere Village
Getting here Parking: Stock Lane Car & Coach Park (LDNPA, paid), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 555 stops at Grasmere, at School, a 110 m walk from this start. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Severe distance: 20.82 km — a long day out. Hands for a few steps: Helm Crag's summit rocks (about km 4.0).
Before you choose
- Helm Crag: The actual highest point is a slab/pinnacle of rock needing a short but genuinely exposed scramble, with big drops below. It is not for the nervous or inexperienced — many people sensibly admire it from beside rather than standing on top. Attempt it only if you are a confident scrambler and the rock is dry; a slip here would be serious.
- Calf Crag: The ridge to Gibson Knott and Steel Fell is very boggy with unclear paths weaving among many small knolls. On a clear day it's straightforward; in mist it's a different proposition — accurate map-and-compass work is needed and many diversions are required to dodge the worst peat.
Conditions on this route
We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 5 of them. The worst summit governs the verdict — a route is only as kind as its roughest top.
Modelled guidance — not a substitute for the mountain forecast or your own judgement. See how every fell ranks today →
Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 Helm Crag2 Gibson Knott3 Calf Crag4 Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell)5 Tarn Crag (Easedale)
Easy 86%Moderate 13%Hard 1%Severe
Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Start → Helm Crag (4.0 km, 361 m)
Leave Grasmere via the lanes toward Allan Bank, picking up the private road to Helmside before tackling the steep, zigzagging engineered path up to the summit ridge.
WaypointsGrasmere Village, Allan Bank, Helmside, The Lion and the Lamb, The Howitzer.
Decision pointThe prominent skyline rock formations act as massive visual handrails all the way up.
Easy to get wrongA physically demanding, steep start. The true summit (The Howitzer) requires an exposed rock scramble that becomes highly treacherous when wet.
If you need to get offTurn around and descend the clear zigzag path back down to Grasmere.
© Lee McCoy · 2 photographs - 2
Helm Crag → Gibson Knott (1.4 km, 90 m)
Drop to the col from the summit and follow the undulating ridge north-west, skirting small rocky outcrops until you reach the small summit cairn.
WaypointsMoment Brow, High Raven Crag, Gibson Knott summit cairn.
Decision pointHandrail the ridge crest; a faint path weaves around the worst of the rocky humps.
Easy to get wrongA "tester" section of constant ups and downs with multiple false summits. The dips between the knolls hold small, boggy pools.
If you need to get offRetreat to the Bracken Hause col below Helm Crag; dropping directly off the flanks here into Far Easedale is dangerously steep.
© Lee McCoy - 3
Gibson Knott → Calf Crag (2.0 km, 169 m)
Continue along the widening ridge. The path winds through crags and increasingly wet peat hags before a final pull up to the rocky summit.
WaypointsPike of Carrs, Calf Crag summit cairn.
Decision pointKeep to the highest ground on the left; do not be drawn down the slopes to the right toward Greenburn Bottom.
Easy to get wrongBog factor increases significantly here. The path becomes very indistinct among the peat hags in low visibility.
If you need to get offFrom Calf Crag, you can access the established, well-trodden path leading directly down Far Easedale.
© Lee McCoy - 4
Calf Crag → Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell) (2.6 km, 100 m)
Turn sharply east/northeast across the wide depression, weaving through peat hags before a gentle grassy ascent to the plateau.
WaypointsUnnamed tarns, Cotra Breast, Steel Fell summit (Dead Pike).
Decision pointOld metal fence posts near the summit approach act as a reliable handrail to the pinkish stone cairn.
Easy to get wrongExtremely wet in all seasons. The pathless weaving required to keep boots dry is tiring, and navigation is notoriously difficult in the mist.
If you need to get offReturning via Calf Crag to Far Easedale is a much drier retreat than dropping blindly into the trackless Greenburn Bottom.
© Lee McCoy - 5
Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell) → Tarn Crag (Easedale) (5.1 km, 198 m)
Retrace your line back toward Calf Crag, then veer south across the vast watershed of Broadstone Head and Brownrigg Moss toward Codale Head, before ascending to Tarn Crag.
WaypointsBroadstone Head, Brownrigg Moss, Codale Head, Tarn Crag summit.
Decision pointOn clear days, the rocky bulk of Tarn Crag is your visual target. Keep the Far Easedale valley strictly to your left (east).
Easy to get wrongThe longest and most remote stage. Crossing Brownrigg Moss is exhausting after heavy rain, requiring strict compass work to find the best line.
If you need to get offIf the bogs are too deep, bail near Broadstone Head by picking up the clear valley path down Far Easedale.
Tarn Crag (Easedale) → Finish (5.6 km, 31 m)
Drop down the rocky eastern flanks toward Easedale Tarn, picking up the stone-pitched paths beside Sour Milk Gill to rejoin Easedale Road.
WaypointsEasedale Tarn, Sour Milk Gill, Goody Bridge, Grasmere Village.
Decision pointEasedale Tarn is a massive, unmissable water handrail. Aim for the outflow and follow the path down.
Easy to get wrongThe initial descent is rough and slippery. The stone-pitched path by the waterfall is heavily trafficked but hard on tired knees.
If you need to get offOnce at Easedale Tarn, you are on the primary highway back to Grasmere with no remaining navigational traps.
© Lee McCoy
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked by Lee, June 2024
Summits bagged (5)
- 1Helm Crag405 m
- 2Gibson Knott420 m
- 3Calf Crag537 m
- 4Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell)553 m
- 5Tarn Crag (Easedale)549 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
Conditions and timing
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
When the sun reaches the tops
Not sunrise — the moment the sun clears the skyline from that summit, which on a fell with high ground to its east can be a good deal later.
- Helm Crag — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:30. It waits longest in midsummer — about an hour after sunrise.
- Gibson Knott — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:30. It waits longest in midsummer — about an hour after sunrise.
- Calf Crag — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, about a quarter of an hour later. In late September, about 07:15. It waits longest in midsummer — about half an hour after sunrise.
- Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell) — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about a quarter of an hour later. In late September, about 07:15. It waits longest in midsummer — about an hour after sunrise.
- Tarn Crag (Easedale) — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00. It waits longest in midsummer — about half an hour after sunrise.
How to read these times
The two equinoxes are shown because they fall in the walking season, and late December too wherever a top keeps you waiting then; the clock gap between the equinoxes is British Summer Time, not the hill. Rounded to the nearest quarter hour and meant as a general idea, not a schedule.
Modelled from a 30 m elevation model against each summit’s own skyline — the same figures the fell pages carry, never observed. Cloud is not in it.
Getting there and back
Driving an electric car? Stock Lane Car & Coach Park (LDNPA, paid) has a verified public charger 39 m away — Grasmere Stock Lane (LA22 9SJ), 3 kW. Over about 5.7 hours on the hill that is up to 17 kWh, which is a ceiling and not a promise. EV charging at this start → (checked 2026-08-05).
Parking
2 more places to park near the start
Positions are approximate.
Of the pay-and-display machine tickets sold at Broadgate Meadow from 17 August 2024 to 31 March 2026, 11% were bought before 10am (our count of FOI/2026.500 ticket data). Contains public sector information provided by the Lake District National Park Authority and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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.
If the parking is full
There is no real plan B by car here. Every place we know beside this route serves the same walks and sits close together, so expect them to fill on the same mornings. Worth starting early, or having a different walk in mind before you set off. The bus below is the exception: it is not limited by car-park space, though it runs to a timetable and can be full.
- Red Bank Road, Grasmere (W&F, paid) — joins the loop at about km 0.4 of 20.8: a 200 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Nab Scar (layby) — a 560 m walk to the start
- Silver How (layby) — joins the loop at about km 20.3 of 20.8: a 120 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- By bus: buses stop at Grasmere, at School, a 110 m walk from the start. This walk starts and ends in Grasmere, so there is no bus to catch back to the start. For anyone staying elsewhere, the last bus out of Grasmere on a weekday: 20:46 towards Keswick (555). A bus is not affected by a full car park, but check the timetable before you rely on it.
We never say whether anywhere has spaces today. Walks to the line are measured along mapped paths (OpenStreetMap), not in a straight line. How we choose these places.
No signal when you get there? RoutePark keeps this list on your phone: choose this walk’s GPX at home, keep it, and it opens offline.
Buses
The 555 stops at Grasmere, at School, a 110 m walk from this start. This walk starts and ends in Grasmere, so there is no bus to catch back to the start. For anyone staying elsewhere, the last bus out of Grasmere: the 555 towards Keswick at 20:46 Monday to Saturday, 18:36 on Sunday. From Grasmere, at School; checked against the operator's timetable, 12 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
The 555 passes this route at 0.2 km (Grasmere School (near), 0 m off the line) and again at 10.0 km (Dunmail Raise, 920 m off the line) — one bus, two stops, 3.9 km apart on the ground. We haven’t walked a shortened version, so the distance, grading and escape routes on this page describe the walk end to end.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival Stock Lane Car & Coach Park in the village, about 25 m from the start: pay and display. 23 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (our parking audit, from OpenStreetMap, checked 12 August 2026)
- Toilets Toilets are mapped about 40 m from the start. 40 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Refreshments Goody Blakes (about 120 m) and The Distiller’s Arms (about 145 m) are the nearest mapped, with more cafés in the village. Opening hours are not recorded here. 119 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Limitation Helm Crag’s true summit, the Howitzer, needs an exposed scramble, and beyond Gibson Knott the ground turns to peat hags and bog that stay wet in all seasons. (our route notes (this route's own warnings), checked 28 September 2026)
Everything mapped near the start
At Stock Lane Car & Coach Park (LDNPA, paid), the closest parking we hold to where this route starts:
Distances are straight lines from the car park, not walking routes. Opening hours change; none of this is checked daily.
Mapped as nearby on OpenStreetMap too, as of 13 September 2026, within 250 m of the start and not already listed above:
Also mapped within reach: an information board.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab), ODbL.
Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Severe overall — hardest: Length
Five independent axes, not one score. Three of the five were set on the ground; the rest are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Helm Crag | 4.0 km | 361 m | 1:25–1:52 |
| 2Gibson Knott | 5.4 km | 451 m | 1:50–2:27 |
| 3Calf Crag | 7.4 km | 620 m | 2:31–3:21 |
| 4Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell) | 10.1 km | 721 m | 3:13–4:17 |
| 5Tarn Crag (Easedale) | 15.2 km | 919 m | 4:34–6:05 |
| Finish | 20.8 km | 950 m | 5:45–7:39 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: No mapped stiles; terrain Moderate – graded by Lee on the ground, but the going for wheels is not recorded; not a buggy line on what we know.
- Knees: A long, steep ~31% drop over 250 m around the 15.5 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: drops and exposed ground. The steepest stretch is a sustained descent of about 27% around the 15.7 km mark.
- Drops and exposed ground: Moderate – graded by Lee on the ground. Graded on the ground.
- Rock and scrambling: Hands for a few steps: Helm Crag's summit rocks (about km 4.0). Ground underfoot: Moderate – graded by Lee on the ground. Graded on the ground.
- Stiles and gates: Only gates and kissing gates are mapped: no stile a dog can’t get through. That is the barriers alone; check the route’s steep or rocky ground before you bring a dog. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 20 July 2026)
- Ways off early: None recorded for this route.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 13 gates · 1 kissing gate
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 20 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Places to stay near this start
From Grasmere: 11 places
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Grasmere — 0.4 km from this start
- Walks from Elterwater — 2.7 km from this start
Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.
