Grey Friar is a

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of M ...

in the English

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

, it is one of the

Coniston Fells Coniston may refer to: Australia * Coniston (Northern Territory), a cattle station ** Coniston massacre, 1928 * Coniston, New South Wales ** Coniston railway station, New South Wales * Coniston, Tasmania, a town in the Derwent Valley United Kin ...

and is situated west-south-west of

Ambleside Ambleside is a town in the civil parish of Lakes and the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Westmorland and located in the Lake District National Park, the town sits at the ...

. It reaches a height of and stands to the north west of the other Coniston Fells, a little off the beaten track and tends to be the least visited of the group. It is quite a large fell and forms the eastern wall of the

Duddon Valley The Duddon Valley is a valley in the southern Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Duddon flows through the valley, rising in the mountains between Eskdale and Langdale, before flowing into the Irish Sea near Broughton ...

for several kilometres, in fact all drainage from Grey Friar goes to the Duddon Valley and not to

Coniston Water Coniston Water is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. It is the third largest by volume, after Windermere and Ullswater, and the fifth-largest by area. The lake has a length of , a maximum width of , and a maximum depth of . Its ou ...

Topography

The Coniston (or Furness) Fells form the watershed between Coniston Water and the Duddon valley to the west. The range begins at

Wrynose Pass The Wrynose Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England between the Duddon Valley and Little Langdale. Etymology The unusual name of the pass is taken from that of the adjacent Wrynose hill, also called Wr ...

and runs south for around before petering out at

Broughton in Furness Broughton in Furness is a market town in the civil parish of Broughton West in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It had a population of 529 at the 2011 Census. It is located on the south western boundary of England's Lak ...

on the Duddon Estuary. Grey Friar is the only major fell in the group not to stand on this main axis, rising to the west of

Great Carrs Great Carrs is a fell in the England, English Lake District. It stands above Wrynose Pass in the Southern Fells, southern part of the District. Topography The Coniston (or Furness) Fells form the watershed between Coniston Water and the Duddon ...

across the depression of Fairfield. Bounded to the north and west by the infant Duddon, Grey Friar has long rough slopes on this side with many small areas of crag. The southern perimeter is formed by

Seathwaite Tarn Seathwaite Tarn is a reservoir in the Furness Fells within the English Lake District. It is located to the south of Grey Friar and to the west of Brim Fell (on the ridge between The Old Man of Coniston and Swirl How) and north east of the v ...

and its attendant streams. The tarn was originally a much smaller waterbody, but was raised early in the 20th century to provide drinking water for the

Barrow in Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

area. The dam is almost long and is concrete cored with slate buttresses, the resulting depth of the tarn being around . Water is not abstracted directly from the tarn, but flows some distance downriver to an off-take weir.Blair, Don: ''Exploring Lakeland Tarns'': Lakeland Manor Press (2003): Since Grey Friar curves southward, the main ridge stands across the tarn,

Brim Fell Brim Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands to the west of Coniston village in the southern part of the District. Topography The Coniston (or Furness) Fells form the watershed between Coniston Water and the Duddon valley to th ...

and the back of

Dow Crag Dow Crag is a fell in the English Lake District near Coniston, Cumbria. The eastern face is one of the many rock faces in the Lake District used for rock climbing. The name Dow Crag originally applied specifically to the eastern face which loo ...

forming the opposing slope.

Mining

The fell has been mined for

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

extensively in the past. The Seathwaite mine was situated on the southern slopes above Seathwaite Tarn while the Cockley Beck mine stood on the fell's lower north western slopes. They operated in the mid-19th century and were nowhere near as profitable or extensive as the main Coniston copper mines in the so-called “Coppermines Valley”.Adams, John: ''Mines of the Lake District Fells'': Dalesman (1995)

Ascents

Grey Friar can be climbed from several locations; it is often ascended along with the other six Coniston fells and this walk is usually started at Coniston village. Direct ascents of the fell can be started from the Duddon valley, the top of the

or Cockley Beck.

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright Order of the British Empire, MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalking, fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial ...

: ''

A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells ''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells (the local word for hills and mountains) of the Lake District in northwest England. Written over a period of 13 years from 1952, they ...

'', Book 4: Birkett, Bill: ''Complete Lakeland Fells'': Collins Willow (1994):

Summit

The summit of the fell is stony with two cairned rock outcrops, the south easterly is the higher while the north westerly offers the better view. There is a good view of the Scafell massif and the other Coniston fells are well seen along the ridge to the south. north west of the main summit is a distinctive pointed rock, often called the “

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

Rock”.Richards, Mark: ''Southern Fells'': Collins (2003):

References

{{Southern Fells Hewitts of England Fells of the Lake District Nuttalls Westmorland and Furness