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Walks from Portinscale

22 routes and 12 fells within about 5 km of Portinscale, nearest first. None of the walks here starts within 1 km of the village. Each fell carries today’s conditions and the bus where there is one. Planning the trip? See the full Portinscale guide for parking, buses and where to stay.

Walking routes near Portinscale

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.

• Friar's Crag & the Derwentwater shore →Start 1.4 km away4.22 km~43 m~¾–1¼ hModerate: navigation🏞️ Easy & familyPlannedPark: Keswick Rugby Club car park (paid) · Bus: 554 at the startAn almost-level lakeshore stroll from Keswick to Friar's Crag — Ruskin's favourite view down Derwentwater to the Jaws of Borrowdale — on surfaced paths.
• Walla Crag and Bleaberry Fell from Keswick →Start 1.7 km away12.53 km~658 m~3½–5 hModerate effort Hard: steepnessPlannedPark: Keswick, Central Car Park (paid) · Bus: 555 at the startA proper fell day that starts and finishes on foot from Keswick — no car needed. Walla Crag gives one of the great Derwentwater views for very little effort; Bleaberry Fell behind it is a rougher, boggier proposition. Together they make a satisfying half-day horseshoe straight out of the town.Terrain: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet.
• Scar Crags, Causey Pike →Start 1.7 km away12.16 km~848 m~3¾–5¼ hModerate effort Severe: steepnessWalked in partPark: Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) · Bus: 77 at the startBarrow, Outerside, Scar Crags, Causey Pike and Rowling End above Newlands — five tops in 12.2 km with 848 m of climbing. Hard for terrain, navigation and exposure, severe for steepness; about 3¾–5¼ hours.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 42%. Exposure, terrain and navigation: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; that stretch not walked. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Ard Crags & Knott Rigg →Start 1.7 km away19.31 km~708 m~5–6¾ hHard effort Hard: distance and steepnessPlannedOne-way: finishes at Keswick · Start: Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) · Bus: 77 at the start
• Stile End, Outerside, Causey Pike, Rowling End →Start 1.7 km away10.08 km~692 m~3–4¼ hModerate effort Severe: steepnessWalked in partPark: Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) · Bus: 77 at the startFour small Newlands tops in 10.1 km, though 692 m of ascent packed into that makes it steeper than the distance suggests, with one stage averaging 16%. Both the terrain and the exposure are rated hard along Causey Pike's knobbly crest. About 3–4¼ hours.Measured from the GPX track: the distance; the steepest sustained descent, about 42%. Exposure and terrain: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; that stretch not walked. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Ashness Bridge & Surprise View →Start 1.7 km away13.43 km~322 m~3–4½ hModerate effort Hard: steepnessPlannedPark: Lakeside long stay car park, Keswick (paid) · Bus: 78, 350 m walk from Keswick, outside Daleview HotelA circular of about 13.4 km (8.3 miles) from Keswick along the eastern shore of Derwentwater taking in the iconic Ashness Bridge and the Surprise View over the lake. Mostly low-level (it passes below Walla Crag, not over it).
• The full circuit of Derwentwater from Keswick →Start 1.7 km away14.38 km~103 m~3–4¼ hModerate effort Hard: distancePlannedPark: Lakeside long stay car park, Keswick (paid) · Bus: 78, 530 m walk from Keswick, outside Daleview HotelA loop of about 14.4 km right round Derwentwater from the Keswick landing stages, with about 100 m of climbing: south along the east shore past Friar's Crag to Lodore, over the River Derwent on a footbridge at the head of the lake, north along the west shore past Brandelhow and Hawes End to Portinscale, and back into Keswick through the town.
• Latrigg, Little Man, Sale & Cumbria Way Section →Start 2.1 km away18.15 km~971 m~5¼–7 hHard effort Hard: distance and steepnessPlannedPark: Keswick Old Station, hotel car park (paid) · Bus: 509, 450 m walk from Keswick, at Greta Bank
• Coledale Round →Start 2.2 km away16.13 km~1277 m~5¼–7¼ hSevere effort Hard: distance, steepness, navigation and exposureWalked May 2026Park: Kinn car park · Bus: 77, 720 m walk from Braithwaite, at Croft TerraceOne of the great north-western horseshoes, and a properly big mountain day from Braithwaite. From the little car park tucked behind the trees on the Whinlatter Pass road — or straight off the bus — a steady wake-up climb leads up over Kinn and Sleet How before Grisedale Pike shows its hand: a steep, craggy pull the map never quite warns you about, with hands needed on rock near the top. From its rocky summit the round opens out — the airy ridge over Hobcarton Crag to Hopegill Head's tiny, wind-blown perch, the broad sweep to Crag Hill and Sail, then a long, satisfying horseshoe back over the tops of Outerside, Stile End and Barrow. Six Wainwrights, a handful of Birkett tops, and some of the best ridge-walking in the Lakes for the effort.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 32%. Exposure: graded by Lee on the ground. Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Grisedale Pike (14 June 2026), Hopegill Head (14 June 2026), Crag Hill (Eel Crag) (14 June 2026) and 1 more; they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy →Start 2.5 km away12.59 km~726 m~3½–5 hModerate effort Hard: steepnessWalked May 2026Park: Skelgill Bank, north car park · Bus: 77 at the startA ridge walk above the western shore of Derwentwater: from Hawes End over Catbells and Maiden Moor to High Spy, 12.6 km and 726 m. The pull onto Catbells is short and steep, about 36% over its steepest 250 m, with rocky steps where you may want your hands, and they are slippery when wet. High Spy has steep crags on both sides, so keep to the crest in wind or cloud. The ridge path is clear in good weather, but carry a map and compass for the cloud. The reward is Derwentwater and the Newlands valley below you the whole way.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 29%. Navigation: graded by Lee on the ground. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 24 September 2026. Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Cat Bells (Catbells) (13 June 2026), Maiden Moor (14 June 2026) and High Spy (14 June 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Catbells: the short way up →Start 2.5 km away5.67 km~407 m~1¾–2½ hEasy effort Hard: steepnessWalked May 2026Park: Skelgill Bank, north car park · Bus: 77 at the startThe friendliest big view in the Lakes. Under 6 km from Hawes End to the shapely little summit above Derwentwater and back — short enough for an afternoon, steep enough to feel like a proper fell, and reachable without a car by launch across the lake or, in season, the bus from Keswick.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 31%.
• Up to Skiddaw Round Trip →Start 3.5 km away12.01 km~849 m~3¾–5¼ hModerate effort Hard: steepnessWalked in partPark: Latrigg car park (free) · Bus: 555, 2.6 km walk from Keswick, at Latrigg CloseA compact way onto Skiddaw over Lonscale Fell — 12 km and 849 m — keeping off the tourist path for most of the climb. Burnt Horse Ridge is steep and often wet underfoot, the summit plateau is fully exposed to whatever the weather is doing, and the return is a sustained 527 m descent on stone and gravel.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 30%; the steepest descent, about 31% over 250 m. Exposure and terrain: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; that stretch not walked. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026. Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Lonscale Fell (14 June 2026) and Skiddaw (13 June 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Latrigg →Start 3.5 km away2.48 km~106 m~½–1 hEasy: distance, steepness and navigation🏞️ Easy & familyWalked in partPark: Latrigg car park (free) · Bus: 554, 2.6 km walk from Keswick, opposite The PheasantThe little fell on Keswick's doorstep with an outsized view — a short pull from the Gale Road car park to a grassy top looking straight down on the town, Derwentwater and the Borrowdale fells.
• Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! →Start 3.5 km away19.25 km~1118 m~5½–7¾ hHard effort Hard: distance, steepness and terrainWalked June 2025Park: Latrigg car park (free) · Bus: 554, 2.5 km walk from Keswick, opposite The PheasantSkiddaw the long way, taking in Lonscale Fell and Bakestall: 19.3 km and 1,118 m, with a pull averaging 22% from Lesser Man onto Little Man and loose slate underfoot high up. The plateau is open to the wind. The easy exposure grade is for the walking line, but the route visits Lonscale Pike, which sits right on the edge of the crags above Glenderaterra, so keep well back there. From Bakestall it is 9.7 km out, with 213 m of climbing still in it.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 29%. Exposure and terrain: graded by Lee on the ground. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 24 September 2026. Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Lonscale Fell (14 June 2026) and Skiddaw (13 June 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove and Armboth Fell →Start 3.9 km away17.02 km~812 m~4¾–6½ hHard effort Hard: distance and steepnessWalked August 2025Park: Walla Crag car park (free) · Bus: 78 at the startThe long boggy ridge south from Keswick: five tops in 17 km with 812 m of climbing, hard for length and steepness. Beyond Bleaberry Fell the ground is wet and knolly with a faint path, and in mist it is easy to drift off line, so bring a map and compass and be ready to use them. The easy exposure grade is for the walking line. Walla Crag's summit edge is a steep, unfenced drop, so keep back from the lip. About 4¾–6½ hours.Measured from the GPX track: the distance; the steepest sustained descent, about 26%. Exposure, terrain and navigation: graded by Lee on the ground. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 24 September 2026.
• Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How →Start 4.2 km away7.32 km~261 m~1¾–2¾ hModerate: navigation🏞️ Easy & familyPlannedPark: Whinlatter Visitor Centre (paid) · Bus: 77 at the startA sheltered forest loop above Whinlatter, climbing on good tracks through the plantation to a trio of low, easily-missed tops. Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill and rocky little Seat How give sudden, outsized views to Skiddaw, Grisedale Pike and the north-western fells for barely 250 m of climbing. A lower option under the trees when the high tops are in cloud; Forestry England can close the forest in storms and divert paths for felling, so check before you go.Navigation: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet.
• Birketts around Grisedale Pike →Start 4.2 km away11.7 km~750 m~3½–5 hModerate effort Hard: steepnessPlannedPark: Whinlatter Visitor Centre (paid) · Bus: 77 at the startSeven tops on and around Grisedale Pike, taking in Hobcarton End, Hobcarton Crag and Sand Hill — 11.7 km and 750 m over eight stages, rated hard for steepness. About 3½–5 hours.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 27%. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Maiden Moor and High Spy →Start 4.4 km away10.16 km~653 m~3–4¼ hModerate effort Hard: steepnessPlannedPark: unnamed layby south-east of Cat Bells · Bus: 77, 910 m walk from Brandelhow Park (outside)A loop of about 10.2 km from a layby on the lane below Cat Bells, with about 650 m of climbing: up the public bridleway from Manesty to Hause Gate, south along the ridge over Maiden Moor to High Spy, then steeply down a public footpath past Nitting Haws and back along the lanes past Manesty.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 32%.
• Scope End, Hindscarth & Dale Head from Little Town →Start 4.6 km away12.08 km~757 m~3½–5 hModerate effort Severe: steepnessPlannedPark: Little Town, Newlands (paid, small) · Bus: 77, 2.7 km walk from Manesty, outside Cocklety HowA proper Newlands mountain day that most walkers drive straight past. The shapely Scope End ridge lifts you out of Little Town onto Hindscarth, then an airy walk along Hindscarth Edge carries you over to Dale Head above the head of the valley before a long descent back to the start. It's about 12 km with 760 m of ascent; the pulls are steep and the tops are big and open.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest descent, about 43% over 250 m. Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Hindscarth (14 June 2026) and Dale Head (14 June 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Skiddaw via Ullock Pike and Dodd →Start 4.7 km away12.41 km~1123 m~4¼–6 hHard effort Hard: steepness and navigationWalked June 2025Park: Dodd Wood (paid) · Bus: X4 at the startA grand horseshoe of the northern Skiddaw group from the forest at Dodd Wood. The walk climbs the clean, shapely ridge over Ullock Pike and along airy Longside Edge to Long Side, then drops to the col by Carl Side before the stiff, loose scree pull onto Skiddaw itself — and one of the great Lakeland summit views, out across the Solway Firth to Scotland. The return crosses back over Carl Side and takes a careful, GPS-checked line down to the wooded little top of Dodd before the drop home through the trees. Five Skiddaw-group Wainwrights — Ullock Pike, Long Side, Carl Side, Skiddaw and Dodd — on a satisfying, varied loop: clean ridge, real summit, forest to finish.Exposure and terrain: graded by Lee on the ground.
• Little Dale Horseshoe →Start 4.7 km away10.77 km~793 m~3¼–4¾ hModerate effort Hard: steepness and navigationPlannedPark: Little Town, Newlands (paid, small) · Bus: 77, 2.7 km walk from Manesty, outside Cocklety HowA loop of about 10.8 km from Chapel Bridge in Newlands, round Little Dale, with about 790 m of climbing: along the lane and up High Snab Bank to Robinson, over to Hindscarth, and down the ridge over High Crags, Red Knott and Scope End.
• Dodd from Dodd Wood →Start 4.7 km away6.26 km~398 m~1¾–2¾ hEasy effort Moderate: steepness and navigationWalked in partPark: Dodd Wood (paid) · Bus: X4 at the startA loop of about 6.3 km from the Dodd Wood car park over Dodd, with about 400 m of climbing: up forest tracks past Long Doors, a path to the top of Dodd, and down by other paths and forest tracks back to the car park.

Fells within about 5 km

• Barrow →2.9 km away455 m~2–2½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsBarrow at 455m (1,493ft) is a small, grassy summit above Braithwaite, giving one of the finest views of the Coledale valley and the Causey Pike ridge for its modest height.
• Latrigg →3.1 km away369 m~1½–2 h🚌 BusDecent · 60 · rated on 27 OctoberDryLatrigg at 369m (1,211ft) is the little fell above Keswick, its summit giving one of the finest and most accessible viewpoints of Derwent Water and the surrounding fells in the whole Lake District.
• Walla Crag →3.6 km away379 m~2–2½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsWalla Crag at 379m (1,243ft) is the great rocky escarpment above Derwent Water, its summit giving one of the finest aerial views of the lake in the whole district.
• Dodd (Skiddaw) →3.7 km away502 m~2–2½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsDodd at 502m (1,647ft) is the prominent wooded cone above Bassenthwaite Lake, its open summit — above the Dodd Wood forest — giving a fine view down onto Bassenthwaite Lake.
• Cat Bells (Catbells) →3.9 km away451 m~2½–3 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsCat Bells is one of Alfred Wainwright's great favourites, and his fondness for it shines through in The North-Western Fells — he saw it as a family fell, approachable enough for grandparents and young children to climb together, yet rewarding with shapely, sun-warmed slopes and a genuinely striking position above Derwent Water.
• Causey Pike →4.2 km away637 m~3–3¾ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsCausey Pike at 637m (2,090ft) is one of the most attractive North Western summits — a pointed, rocky knob visible from across Derwent Water that Wainwright regarded as giving one of the finest low-level views of the lake.
• Carl Side →4.4 km away747 m~3½–4¼ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsCarl Side at 747m (2,450ft) is the prominent shoulder of Skiddaw above Millbeck, its summit giving excellent views across Bassenthwaite Lake and north to Scotland on clear days.
• Skiddaw Little Man →4.4 km away865 m~3½–4¼ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsSkiddaw Little Man at 865m (2,838ft) is the subsidiary summit on the Skiddaw ridge south of the main top, often climbed with Skiddaw but a separate fell in its own right.
• Outerside →4.4 km away568 m~2½–3 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsOuterside at 568m (1,864ft) is a small, grassy summit between Causey Pike and the Coledale valley, giving pleasant views of the surrounding North Western Fells.
• Barf →4.6 km away469 m~2½–3 h🚌 BusDecent · 60 · rated on 27 OctoberDryBarf at 469m (1,539ft) is one of the most distinctive fells in the North Western group, rising steeply above Bassenthwaite Lake.Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Barf (14 June 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Long Side →4.7 km away734 m~4–5 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsLong Side at 734m (2,408ft) is an intermediate summit on the Ullock Pike to Skiddaw ridge, its long, narrow crest giving outstanding views across Bassenthwaite Lake below and north to the Solway coast.
• Lonscale Fell →5 km away715 m~3½–4½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsLonscale Fell at 715m (2,346ft) is the eastern shoulder of Skiddaw above the River Glenderaterra, giving fine views of the Blencathra massif and east across the Northern Fells.

2 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 Portinscale — ‘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.