The Western Fells

Grey Knotts

Grey Knotts rock tor and summit cairn (west top), looking east with the alternate summit (east top) backed by the Helvellyn range on the left, and Comb Head and Glaramara prominent on the right. Wainwright: “…the western tor has the finer view.”
Photograph taken: 6th August 2025

Grey Knotts rock tor and summit cairn (west top), looking east with the alternate summit (east top) backed by the Helvellyn range on the left, and Comb Head and Glaramara prominent on the right. Wainwright: “…the western tor has the finer view.”
Photograph taken: 6th August 2025
The east top at Grey Knotts (NY 21913 12615) looking west towards the west top with Red Pike and Pillar as a backdrop, and High Crag on the right. There was no cairn when this photograph was taken but a few scattered stones suggest that there has been a cairn in the recent past.
Photograph taken: 6th August 2025
Wainwright notes that the east top has an OS “triangulation bolt”. In fact, there is one domed bolt (T024), similar to those used at Birks and Grisedale Pike, and three smaller bolts fixed into the rock as seen in this photograph.
Photograph taken: 6th August 2025
One of several small tarns at the summit of Grey Knotts. This view looks west To Green Gable and Great Gable.
Photograph taken: 23rd May 2018

Previous fell Next fell

Location map for Grey Knotts

Wainwright top at Grey Knotts

Context

Grey Knotts is a Wainwright in The Western Fells area of the Lake District National Park.

Location

Grid Ref: NY 21730 12566
BNG e,n: 321730,512566
Lat/long: 54.502347,-3.210162
GeoJSON: [-3.210162,54.502347]
///W3W: trample.shame.tougher
Feature: small cairn on rock tor

Elevation

Height: 697m / 2,287ft
Drop: 16.0m
Rank: 92 / 214

Details

Locating Wainwright tops

It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that the Wainwright top is at the true summit of a fell. For many fells in the 214, this is not the case. Wainwright often chose a top because of its aspect or view rather than its height. This is what sometimes makes finding the Wainwright tops so confusing.

Locating a top is also complicated by the fact that features change over time. Cairns come and go, some grow and some shrink, fence posts are added or removed. Although the summit sketches in Wainwright's guides and the photographs in this guide are useful aids for identification, the features shown are subject to change, especially on popular fells. See Fleetwith Pike for an example of how cairns change.

Important: The accuracy of GPS on smartphones is ±5m at best but could be as much as 8m out. Please bear this in mind when using the location data.

Notes

Grey Knotts is another example of ambiguity when trying to identify a definitive Wainwright top. Most authors seem to agree that the west top (marked with a spot height on OS maps) is the one. It is certainly the most prominent of several rock tors in the vicinity. Wainwright says the eastern top “seems to be higher”. The OS Maps app disagrees giving a diference of about 4.5m in favour of the west top. Since the two tops are within a few minutes of one another, the dedicated Wainwright bagger will likely want to visit both.

East top (survey bolt)

Grid Ref: NY 21912 12612
///W3W: unclaimed.thrones.enhancement

Route planning

Fells

Dale Head: 3.4km; 397m; 1hr 18min
Brandreth: 0.8km; 36m; 12min
Fleetwith Pike: 2.1km; 126m; 37min

Details

There are 3 viable routes from Grey Knotts

The Wainwright guides indicate “ridge routes” from each fell and although this is useful, it doesn't always allow for effective route planning. The routes shown here are the Wainwright ridge routes (indicated with ) plus any other viable routes (indicated with ), not necessarily linked by a ridge. This list provides a more comprehensive network of potential routes that can be used when planning days out on the fells.

All routes have been plotted in the OS Maps app. The distance, ascent and time values are those given for the plotted routes. Time values are for moderately fit walkers without breaks. They should therefore be considered minimum values for the purposes of route planning.

Notes

Although the route to Dale Head is straightforward, it's probably better to combine Dale Head in a walk with its nearest neighbours, Hindscarth and High Spy.

Classification

DoBIH No

2424

Local

Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Wainwright

Birkett: Lake District hills over 1,000ft listed in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells. There are 541 Birketts, 211 are also Wainwrights.
Fellranger: Lake District hills included in Mark Richards' Fellranger walking series, a set of eight volumes inspired by the Wainwright guides. There are 230 Fellrangers, 209 are also Wainwrights. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.
Synge: Lake District hills over 300m listed in Tim Synge's The Lakeland Summits. The book aims to list every significant summit over 300m in height within the National Park, 646 in total. It includes all 214 fells in Wainwright's Pictorial Guides, including Castle Crag at 290m.
Wainwright: Lake District hills included in volumes 1-7 of Wainwright's A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. There are 214 Wainwrights in all. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.

National

Nuttall

Nuttall: Hills in England and Wales that are at least 2,000 feet (610m) high and with a drop of at least 15m on all sides, as published in the two volumes of The Mountains of England and Wales by John and Anne Nuttall. There are 169 Nuttalls in the Lake District, 114 are also Wainwrights.

Geology

Bedrock

Birker Fell Andesite Formation

BGS code

BFA

Type

Igneous (extrusive)

Age

449.0 – 458.4 Ma

Period

Ordovician

Parent

Borrowdale Volcanic Group

Details

Members, formations and groups

Member: A smaller unit of rock that shares common charateristics and features, often used in geology to describe specific layers within a formation.
Formation: A larger unit of rock that is distinct from other formations above and below. A formation may include two or more members.
Group: A stratigraphic unit that includes two or more associated formations that are usually contiguous or contain significant features in common.
Suite: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of the same type, lacking discernable stratification.
Complex: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of different types, lacking discernable stratification.

Notes

Predominantly sheets of fine to coarse grained andersite, formed from fluid lava flows with feeder dykes and sills. The formation may also include some basalts and dacites. Distinctive units within the formation are identified as member units e.g. Haystacks Andersite Member. Andersites are volcanic rocks, intermediate between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite.

Daylight

Tuesday, 9th June 2026

Daylight

17 hours 12 minutes

Dawn