Parking
Start at Honister Pass Car Park off the B5289 at the summit of Honister Pass (grid reference NY225135). It has about 40 spaces, pay-and-display parking, and public toilets. This is the correct start for the loop.
Overview
About Grey Knotts and Brandreth Circular
Why go
- Two Wainwright summits in a compact loop
- Mining history and open fell views without a Great Gable detour
Heads up
- Boggy, rough ground and indistinct paths
- Limited shelter once above Honister
The summits are a compact pair of high, rocky fells rather than separate destinations. Expect open views toward Buttermere, Crummock Water, Ennerdale, and the Gables, plus small tarns, old fence lines, and the slate-quarry landscape. The return drops beside the fence to Great Round How, joins the path toward Dubs Quarry, crosses Warnscale Beck, and passes Dubs Hut before rejoining the lower tramway.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation358–713 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
8 active Lake District alerts
- ClosureChapel Stile footpath closed for retaining-wall riskPart of Footpath 543030 between Chapel Stile and Baysbrown campsite is closed because a retaining wall beside the path could collapse and material it supports could fall across the footpath.Official details
- ClosureStanley Ghyll Lower Falls footpath closed for rockfallThe section of Footpath 408037 leading towards Stanley Ghyll Lower Falls is closed because severe rockfall damage has made the path unstable and further rockfall remains a danger.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lake District Tour Guide
Your drive to Grey Knotts and Brandreth Circular, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Honister: Inside the Slate Mountain0:00 / 1:10
“You're heading toward Honister Slate Mine at the top of the pass, where you can go inside the mountain as well as enjoy the fells around it.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Seathwaite and the Corridor Route
- Seatoller: Castle Crag or Waterfall Walk
- Gatesgarth: Haystacks and the Mountain Tarns
- Rosthwaite: Dock Tarn and Great Crag
- 298 audio storiesacross Lake District’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Eurasian Otter, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 265 trails, 89 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Grey Knotts and Brandreth Circular
The shape of the walkThis is a 4.
This is a 4.7-mile loop from Honister Pass Car Park, with the stored distance covering the complete circuit. Leave the mine area on the rough track toward the old tramway, climb past the old drum-house foundations, then briefly use the Great Gable path before taking a grassy rake to Grey Knotts. From there, follow the fence southwest to Brandreth, staying on the Gillercombe side where the fence misses the summit.
Effort and navigationThe climb is steady and rough, with loose rock, grass, boggy patches, and several indistinct…
The climb is steady and rough, with loose rock, grass, boggy patches, and several indistinct sections. It is a moderate-to-hard fell walk: technically non-scrambling on this line, but the 464m ascent, exposed high ground, and route-finding in mist make it more serious than its mileage suggests. Allow about 3 to 4 hours with stops. Use a map and compass or a reliable offline map, especially above Grey Knotts and on the return from Brandreth.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Lake District
81 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
13 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
76 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
51 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
233 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
176 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
