Grey Friar

Grey Friar is a fell in the Lake District’s Coniston group, standing 13 kilometres west-south-west of Ambleside. It is the least visited of the Coniston Fells, set apart from the main ridge and overlooked by most walkers. The fell forms the eastern wall of the Duddon Valley for several kilometres, sending all its drainage there instead of towards Coniston Water. Its rough slopes rise above the infant River Duddon on the north-west side, while the southern edge meets Seathwaite Tarn. The tarn was enlarged early in the 20th century to supply water to Barrow-in-Furness, its dam stretching nearly 400 yards with slate buttresses. The fell was once mined for copper, with the Seathwaite and Cockley Beck mines operating in the mid-19th century. These were smaller ventures compared to the larger Coniston copper mines further east. Grey Friar’s summit is marked by two rock outcrops, the south-easterly being the higher point. A pointed rock 200 metres north-west of the summit is known locally as the ‘Matterhorn Rock’. The view from the top includes the Scafell massif and the Coniston Fells along the ridge to the south. Visitors reach Grey Friar from several starting points, including Coniston village, the Duddon valley, Wrynose Pass or Cockley Beck. The fell’s slopes are long and rough on the north-west side, with scattered crags and streams. Seathwaite Tarn lies at the southern edge, its dam a notable feature of early 20th-century engineering. The summit offers clear views across the Duddon Valley and towards the surrounding fells.