Home › Collections › Walks from Threlkeld

Walks from Threlkeld

7 routes and 7 fells within about 5 km of Threlkeld, nearest first. One walk starts within 1 km of the village: Blencathra via Blease Fell, 11.88 km. 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 Threlkeld guide for parking, buses and where to stay.

Starting in Threlkeld

One route starts within 1 km of the centre of Threlkeld in a straight line, nearer Threlkeld 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.

• Blencathra via Blease Fell →Start 0.1 km away11.88 km~816 m~3½–5 hModerate effort Hard: steepness and navigationPlannedPark: Threlkeld village (no public car park, customers only) · Bus: X5 at the startA shorter, easier way up the great northern fell of Blencathra than my favourite round from Mungrisdale over Souther Fell. From Threlkeld it climbs the grassy shoulder of Blease Fell (Knowe Crags) to the summit, with a fine high traverse over Gategill Fell Top, Doddick Fell and Scales Fell, and it avoids the boggy ground of Mungrisdale Common. Easier than the ridges, not easy: its steepest 250 m runs at about 37%. A grand viewpoint over the northern fells and the Eden valley for the effort — and well clear of the notorious Sharp Edge.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 33%. Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Blencathra - Hallsfell Top (15 July 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.

More walking routes within about 5 km

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

• High Rigg →Start 2.4 km away3.62 km~221 m~1–1½ hEasy effort Moderate: steepnessWalked April 2026Out and back · Park: St John's in the Vale verge, High Rigg (free) · Bus: 509, 2.3 km walk from Threlkeld West End (near)A round of 1–1½ hours over Naddle Fell, and a great deal of view for 221 m of climbing — with one steep pull near the top and a stretch of pathless ground to keep it honest.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 21%. Navigation: graded by Lee on the ground. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Threlkeld Knotts & Clough Head →Start 2.4 km away11.2 km~803 m~3½–5 hModerate effort Severe: steepnessPlannedPark: St John's in the Vale verge, High Rigg (free) · Bus: 509, 2.4 km walk from Threlkeld West End (near)Clough Head is the northern full stop of the Dodds, and this takes it with Threlkeld Knotts and Calfhow Pike. 11.2 km, 803 m, and a 16% stage that does most of the climbing early on. Severe for steepness. Around 3½–5 hours.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 48%. Summary checked by Lee McCoy, 26 August 2026.
• Blencathra by Sharp Edge →Start 2.9 km away7 km~669 m~2½–3½ hModerate effort Severe: steepness, terrain and exposurePlannedPark: The White Horse (free) · Bus: X5, 2.6 km walk from Threlkeld, opposite Blencathra Centre turnA narrow, airy arete of polished rock above Scales Tarn — a Grade 1 scramble with serious exposure on both sides — followed by a steep pull onto Blencathra and a fine descent over Doddick and Scales Fell. It is a magnificent line. It is also a serious scramble, and we are not going to soften that.Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 38%; the steepest descent, about 37% over 250 m. Exposure: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Atkinson Pike (Foule Crag) (27 September 2026) and Blencathra - Hallsfell Top (15 July 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! →Start 3.8 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.
• Up to Skiddaw Round Trip →Start 3.8 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 3.8 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.

Fells within about 5 km

• Blencathra - Hallsfell Top →2.4 km away868 m~4–5 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsBlencathra at 868m (2,847ft) was, by many accounts, Wainwright's personal favourite.
• Clough Head →3.2 km away726 m~3½–5 h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsClough Head at 726m (2,382ft) is the northernmost of the main Helvellyn ridge summits, a grassy whale-back that Wainwright noted as the ideal starting or finishing point for the full northern Dodds traverse.
• High Rigg (Naddle Fell) →3.5 km away356 m~1½–2 h🚌 BusDecent · 58 · rated on 27 OctoberDryHigh Rigg at 356m (1,167ft) is a delightful, craggy ridge above St John's in the Vale — a pleasant low-level walk in the Central Fells, its heathery knolls giving fine views of Blencathra, Helvellyn and the Vale of St John from multiple viewpoints.
• Lonscale Fell →3.8 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.
• Mungrisdale Common →3.9 km away632 m~4½–5½ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsMungrisdale Common at 632m (2,073ft) is a broad, boggy summit between Blencathra and Bowscale Fell, its featureless top challenging to navigate in mist but giving good views of the Blencathra massif on a clear day.Hazard notes checked by Lee McCoy: Mungrisdale Common (14 June 2026); they draw on Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.
• Bannerdale Crags →4 km away684 m~5–6¼ h🚌 BusSave it · 20 · rated on 27 OctoberToo windy for the topsBannerdale Crags at 684m (2,244ft) stands above the remote Bannerdale valley between Mungrisdale and Blencathra, its summit crags giving a dramatic view of the eastern Northern Fells.
• Latrigg →4 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.

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 Threlkeld — ‘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.