Grey Friar

Dunnerdale-With-Seathwaite

Grey Friar

Highlight • Viewpoint

Grey Friar

Hiking

5.0

(67)

Grey Friar is a bulky fell to the west of the main spine of the Coniston Group. From the banks of the River Duddon, it looks every inch an immense mountain, its west-facing flanks rising as a great wall above the valley. In keeping with many of the other Coniston fells, it has seen extensive copper mining in the past but the clatter of industry has long-since departed, leaving Grey Friar in peace.

A grand, bulky outlier of the Coniston group

Approaches to Grey Friar are quietest from the west, where you get a true sense of the fell’s presence and have the option of visiting the lovely Seathwaite Tarn, nestled beneath its craggy southern flanks. Adventures starting from Coniston village via Swirl How are also a delight but likely to be busier, as this is one of the most popular hill walking regions in Lakeland.

It’s possible to cheat the mountain a little by parking at the top of the Wrynose Pass and ascending Wet Side Edge, which is actually quite dry underfoot. This brings you to Great Carrs and on across the col of Fairfield, where you’re likely to bump into grazing Herdwick sheep.

All routes to Grey Friar are worth it for the view from the summit. It’s a wonderful vantage for taking in the eastern ramparts of the Scafell range, rising in steps up to Scafell Pike. The remote outliers of Harter Fell and Green Crag are seen beautifully across the Duddon Valley.

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Lake District National Park

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Location: Dunnerdale-With-Seathwaite, South Lakeland, Cumbria, North West England, England, United Kingdom

Tips

August 29, 2020

Hiking

Grey Friar is a Wainwright in the southern Lake District. It offers wonderful views of surrounding fells — Dow Crag and Harter Fell look particularly impressive from this vantage point. Grey Friar is 2,530 feet (773 m) in height and has a fairly flat plateau from which to enjoy the surrounding views.

David Howells

June 9, 2026

Hiking

Grey Friar, at 770 metres (2,526 feet), is a Wainwright and a Nuttall. It sits a bit off the beaten path, north west of the main Coniston group. It is a lovely fell to get to, though, quite an easy climb too. From the top you have great views of the back end of the main Coniston fells, and there are two quirky cairns on two rocky outcrops on the wide plateau on the summit.