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Walks near Harrop Tarn

7 routes and 18 fells within about 5 km of Harrop Tarn, nearest first. Route mapping from here is still thin, so the fell list is doing most of the work. Each fell carries today’s conditions and the bus where there is one. Planning the trip? See the full Harrop Tarn guide for parking, buses and where to stay.

I climbed Ullscarf in April 2026, on a day that also took in Eagle Crag and Sergeant's Crag from the Thirlmere side. It's a boggy ridge rather than a rocky one, a fell to take slowly.

Walking routes near Harrop Tarn

Few routes mapped near this start so far (7); the fells within about 5 km are below.

Effort is the size of the day, from the distance and the climb; each route’s own page grades the steepness, navigation, exposure and ground underfoot, and names the hardest.

• Brown Rigg & Blea Tarn →Start 0.6 km away13.49 km~509 m~3½–4¾ hModerate effort Hard: terrain and navigationPlannedPark: Dob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on foot · Bus: 555, 1.8 km walk from Thirlmere, at Armboth turnFour tops on the boggy watershed above Thirlmere — Brown Rigg, Shivery Knott, Middle Crag and High Tove — in 13.5 km with 509 m of climbing. Rated hard to navigate, which is the whole character of this ground. About 3½–4¾ hours.Terrain: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. Navigation: estimated from the map, not checked on the ground. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth →Start 0.6 km away14.26 km~601 m~3¾–5¼ hModerate effort Hard: distance and navigationPlannedPark: Dob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on foot · Bus: 555, 1.7 km walk from Thirlmere, at Armboth turnSix tops on the wet watershed between Thirlmere and Borrowdale — Standing Crag, Shivery Knott, Middle Crag, High Tove and Armboth Fell. 14.3 km and 601 m, rated hard for length and navigation, moderate for steepness. About 3¾–5¼ hours.Measured from the GPX track: the distance; the steepest sustained descent, about 24%. Terrain and navigation: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Birketts West of Thirlmere →Start 0.7 km away23.11 km~1241 m~6½–9 hSevere effort Severe: distancePlannedPark: Dob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on foot · Bus: 555, 1.8 km walk from Thirlmere, at Armboth turnTen tops on the rough ground west of Thirlmere — Wythburn Fell, Standing Crag and the Coldbarrow Fell saddles among them — in 23.1 km with 1,241 m of climbing averaging about 10% but with a 36% pull over 250 m in the first kilometre. Severe for length, hard for steepness and underfoot; roughly 6½–9 hours.Measured from the GPX track: the distance; the steepest sustained climb, about 29%. Terrain: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Cofa Pike Via Seat Sandal and Dollywaggon →Start 2.5 km away9.3 km~1195 m~3¾–5¼ hModerate effort Severe: steepnessPlannedPark: Roadside parking for Steel Fell (free) · Bus: 555, 1.7 km walk from Thirlmere, at Armboth turnThree tops but 1,195 m of ascent in only 9.3 km — the steepest ascent-per-kilometre of any route on the site, with a stage averaging 26%. Severe for steepness; about 3¾–5¼ hours and a genuinely hard short day.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 46%. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Helvellyn from Swirls: the walkers’ way up →Start 3.3 km away9.37 km~856 m~3¼–4½ hModerate effort Severe: steepnessWalked in partPark: Swirls, Thirlmere (paid) · Bus: 555 at the startThe straightforward way up England’s third-highest fell — no scrambling, no knife edges, just a long, honest and steep climb from Thirlmere up Browncove Crags (about 42% over its steepest 250 m) to the summit plateau, returning over Lower Man and White Side. This is the route to take if Striding Edge frightens you, and there is no shame whatever in taking it: the view from the top is exactly the same.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 38%. Exposure: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; that stretch not walked.
• Helvellyn & Nethermost Pike via Seat Sandal →Start 3.3 km away15.66 km~1182 m~5–7 hHard effort Severe: steepnessWalked in partPark: Swirls, Thirlmere (paid) · Bus: 555 at the startHelvellyn the steep way — 729 m of climbing inside the first 3.5 km at 21% average, before the ridge eases over Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike and comes back over Seat Sandal.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 47%. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• The Difficult Route up Eagle Crag →Start 4.9 km away10.71 km~611 m~3–4¼ hModerate effort Severe: steepnessPlannedPark: Stonethwaite village (roadside, free) · Bus: 78, 710 m walk from Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road end

Fells within about 5 km

• Ullscarf →2.4 km away723 m~4–5 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsUllscarf at 723m (2,372ft) is a broad, heathery plateau in the Central Fells above the headwaters of Wyth Burn, with views in all directions.
• Steel Fell (Dead Pike) →2.6 km away553 m~4½–6¼ h🚌 BusMarginal · 52 · rated on 27 OctoberDrySteel Fell at 553m (1,814ft) is the ridge south of Dunmail Raise above Thirlmere, its long summit crest giving outstanding views of Grasmere below and the full Southern Fells beyond.
• Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top) →2.6 km away475 m~2½–3 h🚌 BusMarginal · 50 · rated on 27 OctoberDryArmboth Fell's Wainwright summit, the south top at 475m (1,558ft), is a broad, peaty top on the central plateau between Thirlmere and Watendlath, giving adequate views across to the Helvellyn range.
• Nethermost Pike →3.3 km away891 m~4–5 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsNethermost Pike at 891m (2,924ft) is the first of the great eastern summits south of Helvellyn, standing above the head of the Nethermost Cove corrie.
• Calf Crag →3.3 km away537 m~4½–6¼ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsCalf Crag at 537m (1,762ft) is a rocky top at the head of Greenburn and Far Easedale, giving fine views down into Wythburn and north to the Helvellyn range.
• Helvellyn →3.5 km away950 m~5–6 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsHelvellyn at 950m (3,116ft) is the most climbed of all the major Lakeland summits, and Wainwright devoted more pages to it than almost any other fell.
• Dollywaggon Pike →3.5 km away859 m~3½–4¼ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsDollywaggon Pike at 859m (2,817ft) stands at the southern end of the Helvellyn ridge, above the deep corrie of Ruthwaite Cove and overlooking the head of Grisedale.
• Gibson Knott →3.6 km away420 m~2–2½ h🚌 BusMarginal · 54 · rated on 27 OctoberDryGibson Knott at 420m (1,378ft) is a craggy, pleasant little summit on the ridge between Far Easedale and Greenburn, above Grasmere, giving good views of the valley and of Helm Crag to the south-east.
• High Tove →3.6 km away515 m~2½–3 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsHigh Tove at 515m (1,690ft) is a modest, boggy summit on the Armboth plateau between Thirlmere and Borrowdale, its open top giving views across to the Helvellyn range and north to Skiddaw.
• Eagle Crag →3.9 km away523 m~2½–3 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsEagle Crag at 523m (1,715ft) is a magnificent rocky buttress above Langstrath, its eastern face dropping in great crags to the valley below.
• Seat Sandal →3.9 km away737 m~3½–4½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsSeat Sandal at 737m (2,417ft) is an isolated summit above Dunmail Raise, its pointed profile clearly visible from the A591 and from Grasmere below.
• White Side →4 km away863 m~3½–4¼ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsWhite Side at 863m (2,832ft) is the broad ridge summit between Raise and Lower Man on the northern Helvellyn ridge, its grassy, open top offering good views west across Thirlmere to the Borrowdale fells.
• Great Crag (Stonethwaite) →4.2 km away449 m~2½–3 h🚌 BusDecent · 55 · rated on 27 OctoberDryGreat Crag at 449m (1,473ft) is a small, craggy summit above Watendlath, its rocky top giving fine views of the charming hamlet and tarn below and across to Glaramara and the Borrowdale fells.
• Catstye Cam →4.3 km away890 m~3½–4¼ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsCatstycam at 890m (2,919ft) is the perfect mountain in miniature — a shapely, symmetrical cone above Red Tarn that Wainwright described as one of the finest summit shapes in Lakeland.
• Sergeant's Crag →4.3 km away571 m~2½–3 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsSergeant's Crag at 571m (1,873ft) is a craggy, rocky summit above Langstrath in Borrowdale, its small crags giving a surprisingly dramatic profile for a modest summit.
• Tarn Crag (Easedale) →4.4 km away549 m~4¼–5½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsTarn Crag at 549m (1,801ft) above Easedale is a craggy little summit above the head of the Sour Milk Gill path from Grasmere.
• Helm Crag →4.5 km away405 m~2–2½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsHelm Crag at 405m (1,329ft) is one of the most famous and distinctive summits in Lakeland — the jagged, rocky outline known as 'The Lion and the Lamb' visible from Grasmere below.
• Raise →4.9 km away883 m~3½–4¼ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsRaise at 883m (2,896ft) sits on the northern Helvellyn ridge just south of Sticks Pass, a broad, rounded top that Wainwright described as giving outstanding views north to Great Dodd and Clough Head and west to Thirlmere.

1 of the fells here are rated good to climb on 27 October — see live conditions →
A prediction from our daily fell score, not a guarantee — always check the mountain forecast before you go. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab).

Distances are straight-line from the centre of Harrop Tarn — ‘within ~5 km’ means as the crow flies, not that the walk necessarily starts there. Always plan your own route and check the bus before you travel.