Helm Crag, Gibson Knott, Calf Crag, Steel Fell and Tarn Crag
Photo: © Lee McCoy
Key facts
Difficulty profile
Five independent axes, not one score — all field-checked on the ground here, with nothing left as a desk estimate.
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.
Why this matters: 78% of Mountain Rescue call-outs come after midday — the day runs out on the way home, not on the way up. See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
1 Helm Crag2 Gibson Knott3 Calf Crag4 Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell)5 Tarn Crag (Easedale)
Easy 82%Moderate 16%Hard 2%Severe
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).
This walk covers about 20.82 km with around 910 m of ascent, taking in 5 summits. The map above shows the line; the elevation profile and stage notes are below.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route? A quick read from the gates and stiles mapped along the way.
- Dog: Gates and kissing gates only — a dog can do the whole route.
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~31% drop around the 15.5 km mark — hard on the knees.
On the line: 13 gates · 1 kissing gate
These are mapped barriers, from OpenStreetMap — coverage in the Lakes is good but not guaranteed complete. Spotted a stile or gate we’ve missed? Tell us (opens in new tab) and we’ll fix it. Barrier data as of 2026-07-20. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Helm Crag | 4.0 km | 346 m | 1:23–1:51 |
| 2Gibson Knott | 5.4 km | 427 m | 1:48–2:24 |
| 3Calf Crag | 7.4 km | 586 m | 2:28–3:17 |
| 4Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell) | 10.1 km | 682 m | 3:09–4:11 |
| 5Tarn Crag (Easedale) | 15.2 km | 879 m | 4:30–6:00 |
| Finish | 20.8 km | 910 m | 5:41–7:33 |
Naismith-based estimate — a fast/steady range. Your pace will vary. These use Naismith’s textbook constants (5 km/h, 600 m of ascent an hour). Measured against a pace fitted to 41 recorded Lakeland walks they run about 8% slow, and we have left them that way deliberately: a slow estimate strands nobody.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Start → Helm Crag (4.0 km, 346 m)
Leave Grasmere via the lanes toward Allan Bank, picking up the private road to Helmside before tackling the steep, zigzagging engineered path through Bracken Hause up to the summit ridge
WaypointsGrasmere Village, Allan Bank, Helmside, Bracken Hause, 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 safely back down to Grasmere
© Lee McCoy · 2 photographs - 2
Helm Crag → Gibson Knott (1.4 km, 80 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, 160 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, 96 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, 197 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
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.
Getting there & parking
⚡ Driving an electric car? Grasmere village (paid) has a verified public charger 216 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).
Positions are approximate.
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.
Every option near this start, on the parking map →
Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Buses
The 555 stops at Grasmere, at School, 110 m from this start. 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.
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 (at), 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.
If the parking is full
There is no real plan B here. Every place we know beside this route serves the same walks and sits close together, so if one is full the others usually are too. Worth starting early, or having a different walk in mind before you set off.
- Stock Lane Car & Coach Park (LDNPA, paid)
- Grasmere, roadside layby (free)
- Silver How (layby)
Worked out from the parking we hold within walking reach of this route and the other walks each place serves — two places that serve the same walks fill for the same reasons. We are not saying whether anywhere has spaces today, and we never will: this is what exists, not what is free.
Toilets and refreshments
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.
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. 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.
- 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.
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.
Safety & conditions
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.
Make it easier or harder
Short version: turn back at about 11.5 km (drop to Start) — roughly half the distance.
Places to stay near this start
From Grasmere: 11 places
