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Walks from Rosthwaite

17 routes and 17 fells within about 5 km of Rosthwaite, nearest first. Three walks start within 1 km of the village, among them the Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round) (13.23 km) and Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag (14.11 km). Each fell carries today’s conditions and the bus where there is one. Planning the trip? See the full Rosthwaite guide for parking, buses and where to stay.

Starting in Rosthwaite

Three routes start within 1 km of the centre of Rosthwaite in a straight line, nearer Rosthwaite than any other village.

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.

• The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round) →Start 0.1 km away13.23 km~850 m~4–5½ hHard effort Severe: steepnessPlannedPark: Rosthwaite (NT, paid) · Bus: 78 at the startA wild, little-trodden round of the rough Borrowdale fells above Rosthwaite and Stonethwaite — Bessyboot, Dovenest Top and Thornythwaite Fell — a maze of rocky knolls, hidden tarns and peat hags with huge views to the Scafells. Full of character, but pathless and boggy: a fair-weather fell day, not a wet-day plod.Terrain and navigation: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet.
• Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag →Start 0.1 km away14.11 km~838 m~4–5¾ hHard effort Hard: distance and steepnessWalked August 2025Park: Rosthwaite (NT, paid) · Bus: 78 at the startBorrowdale's small rough summits in one round: Castle Crag, King's How, Brund Fell and Great Crag, 14.1 km and 838 m. None is higher than 449 m, and that is not the same as easy. One pull reaches about 36% over 250 m early on, the ground between the tops is rough, and with 58 path junctions near the line it is easy to wander off in cloud.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 31%. Terrain and navigation: graded by Lee on the ground. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 24 September 2026.
• Castle Crag from Rosthwaite →Start 0.1 km away6.02 km~254 m~1½–2¼ hEasy effort Moderate: steepness and navigationWalked in partPark: Rosthwaite (NT, paid) · Bus: 78 at the startA loop of about 6 km from Rosthwaite over Castle Crag, with about 250 m of climbing: across the River Derwent on stepping stones, north along the river, up the bridleway beside Broadslack Gill and steeply on to the top, then down to the river and back to Rosthwaite over the same stones.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 21%.

More walking routes within about 5 km

• Ullscarf, Eagle Crag & Sergeant's Crag →Start 0.9 km away14.83 km~756 m~4–5¾ hHard effort Severe: steepnessWalked April 2026Park: Stonethwaite lane (layby) (free) · Bus: 78, 430 m walk from Rosthwaite, opposite Longthwaite road endA rugged ~15 km round from Stonethwaite over three Wainwrights: straight up the bold rocky nose of Eagle Crag, over Sergeant's Crag to the broad whaleback of Ullscarf, and back down Greenup Gill into the head of Borrowdale.
• The Difficult Route up Eagle Crag →Start 1.2 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
• Seathwaite, Green Gable, Base Brown →Start 1.6 km away15.85 km~960 m~4¾–6½ hHard effort Severe: steepnessPlannedPark: Seatoller, south-east field car park (paid) · Bus: 78, 820 m walk from Seatoller, at National Trust car parkBoth Seathwaite Fell tops with Green Gable and Base Brown — four summits in 15.9 km and 960 m, rated hard for terrain, navigation and exposure and severe for steepness. About 4¾–6½ hours on properly rough ground.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 42%. Exposure, terrain and navigation: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• The Bowder Stone →Start 2 km away1.16 km there and back~16 m~¼–½ hModerate: navigation🏞️ Easy & familyPlannedOut and back · Park: Quay Foot Quarry, Borrowdale (NT, paid) · Bus: 78 at the startA very short stroll to Borrowdale's famous balanced boulder — the house-sized Bowder Stone, with steel steps to climb to the top. About 0.6 km each way, so roughly 1.2 km there and back, plus your time at the stone.Terrain: estimated from the map, not checked on the ground.
• Allen Crags & Glaramara →Start 3.4 km away10.94 km~853 m~3½–5 hModerate effort Severe: steepnessPlannedPark: Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge) · Bus: 78, 2.2 km walk from Seatoller, at National Trust car parkGlaramara's knobbly crest and Allen Crags, five summits linked along the ridge above Borrowdale. 853 m of climbing in 10.9 km, rated severe for steepness though navigation and exposure both stay moderate. About 3½–5 hours.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 49%. Exposure and navigation: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Glaramara, Allen Crags via Stockley Bridge →Start 3.4 km away9.74 km~826 m~3¼–4½ hModerate effort Severe: steepnessPlannedOne-way: finishes 0.8 km from the start in a straight line · Start: Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge) · Bus: 78, 2.1 km walk from Seatoller, at National Trust car park
• Dale Head Hindscarth and Robinson →Start 3.5 km away17.46 km~808 m~4¾–6½ hHard effort Hard: distance and steepnessWalked July 2026One-way: finishes at Keswick · Start: Honister (NT, paid) · Bus: 77 at the startThree big Newlands tops — Dale Head, Hindscarth and Robinson — linked by a fast, airy ridge, reached by a lung-bursting pull straight off Honister Pass with no warm-up at all. A linear day rather than a round: 17.5 km and 808 m of climbing, of which the last 11.7 km is the valley walk-out to Keswick after the final summit.Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Dale Head (14 June 2026), Hindscarth (14 June 2026) and Robinson (14 June 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Great Gable from Honister Slate Mine →Start 3.6 km away9.61 km~721 m~3–4¼ hModerate effort Severe: steepness and navigationPlannedPark: Honister (NT, paid) · Bus: 77 at the startThe kindest way to England’s most-loved mountain. Honister starts you at 350 m. The route goes out along Moses Trod, under Gable Crag to Beck Head, climbs the steep, stony north-west ridge onto Great Gable, and comes back over Green Gable, Brandreth and Grey Knotts. Four Wainwrights, a summit war memorial and the finest view in Lakeland down into Wasdale — but the top is a broad boulder plateau, and in cloud it is one of the great navigation traps.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 45%. Terrain and navigation: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet.
• Honister to Keswick: over the Newlands fells →Start 3.6 km away19.62 km~1057 m~5½–7¾ hHard effort Severe: steepnessPlannedOne-way: finishes at Keswick · Start: Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) · Bus: 77 at the startA big Newlands horseshoe walked one–way from the top of Honister Pass to Keswick. You climb straight onto Dale Head, trace the broad grassy tops over Hindscarth and Robinson, drop to Newlands Hause and pick up the Knott Rigg–Ard Crags ridge, then walk out down the Newlands valley into town — five summits and a proper day out, with no car to collect.
• Haystacks →Start 3.7 km away11.21 km~792 m~3½–4¾ hModerate effort Hard: steepness and navigationWalked April 2026Park: Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) · Bus: 77 at the startFrom Honister up the old quarry tracks to Fleetwith Pike, down past Dubs Hut to the tarns and rocky knolls of Haystacks, then a late climb back over Brandreth and Grey Knotts — four Wainwrights in one round. There is a scramble to the true top of Haystacks, and a maze of paths up there that needs care in cloud.Exposure: graded by Lee on the ground. Navigation: estimated from the map, not checked on the ground. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Black Star Brandreth and others →Start 3.7 km away9.29 km~629 m~2¾–4 hModerate effort Hard: steepness and navigationWalked in partPark: Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) · Bus: 77 at the startStraight up from the Honister pass — Honister Crag, Fleetwith Pike, Brandreth and Grey Knotts in 9.3 km with 629 m of climbing. Short but hard for steepness, with one stage averaging 15%. About 2¾–4 hours.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 33%. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Scafell Pike via the Corridor Route →Start 3.7 km away15.84 km~949 m~4¾–6½ hHard effort Severe: exposurePlannedPark: Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (farm field, paid) · Bus: 78, 2.2 km walk from Seatoller, at National Trust car parkA grander, more interesting way up England's highest mountain than the Wasdale tourist path — the Corridor Route threads beneath the crags from Seathwaite in Borrowdale, with Lingmell a worthwhile detour for the finest view of the Scafell face. I haven't walked this exact line myself, and there are plenty of accounts of people struggling on certain sections, so read up or watch a route video first. Whatever you do, never be tempted onto Broad Stand. It's a long, rough and serious day on the highest ground in England.Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Lingmell (14 June 2026) and Scafell Pike (13 October 2026); they draw on Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team.
• Watendlath & the packhorse bridge →Start 4.1 km away10.33 km~298 m~2½–3½ hModerate effort Hard: steepnessWalked in partPark: Surprise View (NT) (paid) · Bus: 78 at the startA roughly 6.4-mile Borrowdale loop up to the hidden hamlet of Watendlath, its tarn and the much-photographed packhorse bridge, returning down the valley. A satisfying low-level half-day with one steep descent of about 33% over 250 m near the end.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest descent, about 33% over 250 m.
• Maiden Moor and High Spy →Start 4.5 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%.

Fells within about 5 km

• Great Crag (Stonethwaite) →1.1 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.
• Castle Crag →1.4 km away290 m~2–2½ h🚌 BusDecent · 64 · rated on 27 OctoberDry, firm underfootCastle Crag at 290m (951ft) is the lowest of all the Wainwright fells, yet one of the most dramatic — a rocky prow standing sentinel in the narrowest part of the Borrowdale gorge between Grange and Rosthwaite.
• Grange Fell (Brund Fell) →1.5 km away417 m~2–2½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsGrange Fell's highest point, Brund Fell, is 417m (1,369ft); the rock tor Wainwright took as the summit is about 70 m to the south-west and a metre or two lower.
• Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot →2.4 km away551 m~2½–3 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsBessyboot at 551m (1,808ft) is the distinctive rocky summit of Rosthwaite Fell in the Southern Fells above Stonethwaite and Borrowdale.
• High Spy →2.8 km away653 m~4–5 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsHigh Spy at 653m (2,143ft) is the high point of the Newlands Horseshoe ridge above Maiden Moor, its summit giving excellent views of Derwent Water to the north and the Dale Head group to the south.
• Eagle Crag →3.2 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.
• High Tove →3.5 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.
• Dale Head →3.6 km away754 m~3½–4¼ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsDale Head at 754m (2,474ft) is the highest summit of the Newlands Horseshoe, a broad, rocky top above the head of the Newlands valley giving outstanding views of the full horseshoe circuit and south to the Borrowdale fells.
• Sergeant's Crag →3.8 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.
• Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top) →3.8 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.
• Maiden Moor →4 km away575 m~4–5 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsMaiden Moor at 575m (1,886ft) is the broad ridge south of Cat Bells on the Newlands Horseshoe, giving outstanding views of Derwent Water from its open summit plateau.
• Ullscarf →4.2 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.
• High Seat →4.3 km away609 m~4½–5¾ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsHigh Seat at 609m (1,998ft) is the highest summit of the Bleaberry Fell–Armboth plateau above Thirlmere and Derwent Water — a broad, boggy moorland that Wainwright regarded as something of an endurance test, given the extensive wet ground.Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: High Seat (14 June 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Glaramara →4.6 km away783 m~5–6 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsGlaramara at 783m (2,568ft) is the great ridge fell of upper Borrowdale, a long, complex summit with multiple rocky tops and a character quite unlike its smoother neighbours.
• Hindscarth →4.6 km away727 m~3½–4½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsHindscarth at 727m (2,385ft) is an elegant summit on the Newlands Horseshoe between Dale Head and Robinson, its pointed profile visible from the Newlands valley below.
• Grey Knotts →4.7 km away697 m~2¾–3½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsGrey Knotts at 697m (2,287ft) is the first summit above Honister Pass, a pleasant rocky summit giving fine views of the Gable group and across Borrowdale.
• Base Brown →4.7 km away646 m~4½–5½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsBase Brown at 646m (2,119ft) is a craggy summit above Seathwaite in Borrowdale, its north face dropping in crags to the Borrowdale valley.

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 Rosthwaite — ‘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.