While the Coast to Coast follows a gentler route via Brandreth, an alternative line climbs steeply from Honister up Seatoller Fell, passing below the north cliffs of Grey Knotts and Raven Crag. This is a demanding route suited to experienced walkers. The image above shows the steeper route from Honister car park, ascending beside the fence line to the crags of Grey Knotts — a bold alternative for those comfortable with sustained gradient.

The Coast to Coast route climbs gently along the northern lee of Grey Knotts, bypassing the summit. It continues west toward Seavy Knott, while a southern fork leads to Brandreth and follows the ridge to the summit of Grey Knotts

The Drum House once housed the winding gear that hauled slate wagons between the Honister workshops and the quarries above. From Green Gable, an alternative ridge path leads to Honister, crossing the summits of Brandreth and Grey Knotts before descending directly, bypassing the tramway route. Grey Knotts appears more rugged from Seathwaite, where its steep eastern crags rise above the deep bowl of Gillercomb, separating it from Base Brown.

Where the ridge path forks from the Coast to Coast route, a fine view opens to the northwest: Haystacks, High Crag, and High Stile rise in sequence, with Buttermere lying to the east and Ennerdale Water stretching out to the west.

The summit of Brandreth, at 715 m, is crowned by a simple scattering of stones and rusted fence posts embedded in the rock — a modest cairn on this exposed ridge. From here, the panorama takes in the head of Ennerdale, the slopes of Green Gable to the south, and the distant waters of Buttermere to the northwest.

The Coast to Coast path across Grey Knotts is well marked by a line of sturdy stone cairns — a welcome sight in mist or poor visibility. Walkers who’ve been navigating the soggy hollows and tangled rivulets of Dubs Bottom below will feel no small relief on spotting the cairns above. I speak from experience.

From Brandreth, the ridge of Grey Knotts appears as a broad plateau, dotted with small ponds near the 697 m Wainwright summit. A fence-line path climbs from Honister Hause and continues across the ridge to Brandreth. The summit lies just west of the fence, nearer the Honister end.

The eastern face of Grey Knotts is unlike its gentle western face. Rather, it is steep and craggy, falling away into the cirque of the Gillercomb hanging valley. Raven Crag, also kinown as Gillercombe Buttress, is a notable vertiginous crag on the west wall of the cirque.