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What to carry for a Lake District fell walk

Before you go

Pack for the conditions you may meet and for a delay on the hill.

Start with this day-walk checklist, then look at what changes for your route and the forecast. Kit only helps when it works and you know how to use it. This is for ordinary fell walks: scrambling, winter mountaineering and overnight trips need more.

The day-walk checklist

Footwear with good grip, and quick-drying walking clothesMatched to the ground: much of Lakeland is wet rock, and grip in mud is not grip on wet stone. Avoid cotton and denim on the fells; they stay wet and cold.
A waterproof jacket and waterproof over-trousersA real waterproof, not a showerproof one, that fits over your other layers. Put it on before the rain, not after.
A dry spare warm layer, a hat and glovesFor stops, summits and an unplanned wait. The Park recommends a hat and gloves all year.
A map and a compass, and the skill to use themA paper map covering the route and your ways off it. Digital mapping helps, but a phone can run flat, get wet or lose its place in cloud.
A working head torchEven on a short day: a delay can put you on the hill at dusk. Carry spare batteries or a way to charge it.
Enough to drink for the whole walk, and for a delayThere is no set amount; it depends on you, the day and the weather. Do not count on a beck or a café to refill you.
Food for the day, and some spareEasy to reach and to eat in the cold and wet.
A charged phone, with a power bank and its cableKeep it dry. Tell someone your route and when you expect to be back.
A small first-aid kit, and any medication you needKnow what is in the kit. Your own medication stays with you, not in someone else's pack.
A survival bag or emergency shelter, and a whistleFor waiting out an injury or the weather; not a tent. The distress signal is below.
Sun protection for skin and eyesNot only a summer item: the Park lists it for every month.
A comfortable pack, and a dry bag or liner inside itSo the spare layer is still dry when you need it.

What changes with the conditions

These can overlap. None of them is a threshold we can give you a number for.

What changes with the conditions
When	Change the pack	What kit cannot decide
Cold, wet or windy	More insulation, dry spares in a dry bag, spare gloves, the waterproofs on early, a shelter you can reach.	Wind and rain can make a route wrong for the day. Changing the plan is a decision kit cannot make for you.
After heavy rain	Nothing extra to carry; choose the route. Well-made paths drain; boggy ground and beck crossings get worse.	A crossing that was a step in summer can be a torrent. Our river crossings in spate page says what we can and cannot tell you.
Heat or strong sun	More to drink, sun protection, an earlier start.	More water does not remove the heat. Our summer guide covers it.
Snow or ice	For snow on the tops, the full winter kit and the training to use it: our winter guide lists what a winter walking course asks you to bring.	Microspikes suit flat or very gently sloping paths with some ice or packed snow. The BMC calls them unsuitable for steep or consequential ground: there you need crampons, compatible boots, an axe and the training to use them - and the BMC warns not to rely on an axe to stop a slide. If the ground is beyond your kit or your skills, choose another route or turn back. If you are not experienced, do not put yourself where you would need an ice axe. Our winter guide has the snow kit list.
A long or remote day	More food and drink in reserve, a spare light, more power.	Recheck the time you need, the ways off and where your phone has no signal.

Check the kit works

Packed is not the same as usable.

Switch the head torch on, and check the spare batteries or charge. Cold takes the battery too: Petzl’s own figure for its batteries is up to 50% less burn time between 0 and −20 °C, so a cold day can take a lot off yours: carry a spare or a way to charge it, and keep the torch in an inside pocket until you need it.
Charge the phone and the power bank, and check the cable fits.
Open your offline map with the phone in flight mode, and check it covers the whole route and your ways off it. A track line on a blank screen is not a map.
Try the waterproofs on over your warm layer.
Pack the spare layer in its dry bag, and know where your medication is.

Groups and dogs

Everyone in a group still carries their own clothing, drink, food, light and medication. Shared kit, like a group shelter or a first-aid kit, needs a named person carrying it, big enough for everyone, and a plan for what happens if the group splits. The route has to suit the least experienced person, whatever the leader carries. For dogs, our page on dogs on the fells covers water, leads, livestock and the ground a dog can manage.

Before you leave

Read a mountain forecast, not the town one: our outlook and the Met Office's mountain forecast.
Know how long it takes. Naismith’s rule is a starting point: about an hour for every 5 km, plus about a minute for every 10 m of climb. Add time for stops, rough ground, steep descents, snow, hard navigation and the slowest person.
Check the daylight and, if you are going by bus, the last bus back.
Set a time to stop and think. A turn-back time is a point to reassess, not an order to reverse on any ground. Our page on decisions on the fell says why.
Tell someone your route and when you will be back.

If something goes wrong. Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue. The distress signal, in Mountain Rescue’s words: six good long blasts in a minute, stop for one minute, repeat, until someone reaches you. A torch works the same way. Our first-aid guide has more.

What I carry: two examples

These are my own packs, not a list you have to follow: my choices for the walks I do, in the conditions I expect. Use the checklist above for yours.

In autumn

Autumn can be warm, wet or cold, sometimes in the same week. I dress for the day’s forecast but pack for wet and cold. I carry my winter pack below, less the hand warmers and waterproof socks, and the microspikes only when the forecast has ice on the ground I am going to. I leave my thin summer trousers and my sun hoodie at home. Before I go I recheck the batteries on everything, and I am careful about how boggy a route is: I save the notoriously wet ones for summer after a dry spell, and in autumn I pick routes on well-made paths.

In winter

I wear thermals and base layers, winter walking trousers with a thermal lining, a warm jacket and a waterproof shell. Lined trousers are my choice; layers under ordinary walking trousers can do the same job.
I carry a head torch, a map and compass, extra layers in a dry bag, a bivvy bag, a spare hat and gloves, extra food, a power bank, hand warmers and waterproof socks.
For a hot drink I carry a 1-litre flask, because the tube of a water bladder can freeze. A flask slows the cold down; it does not stop it, and it is on top of enough to drink for the day, not instead of it.
Microspikes, for gentle icy paths only, as above. On steeper winter ground they are not enough.
I leave at home the sun hoodie I wear in summer.

That is my pack for an ordinary winter day. Snow on the tops is different: a winter walking course asks for a longer list, with crampons, an ice axe and a helmet, and our winter guide sets it out. If you have not been taught to use an axe and crampons, do not put yourself where you would need them.

Before you buy more

Fill the gaps in weather protection, navigation, light and emergency kit before upgrading anything else. Borrowing the right thing and learning to use it can beat buying more. Our starting-out guide says where to spend and where to save.

Frequently asked questions

What should I wear for a walk in the Lake District?

A system rather than one garment: quick-drying walking clothes, a warm layer you can add or take off, and a waterproof jacket and over-trousers over the top. Carry a dry spare layer, a hat and gloves for stops and delays. Avoid cotton and denim on the fells: they stay wet and cold.

Do I need a head torch on a short walk?

Yes. A delay, a wrong turn or a slow descent can put you on the hill at dusk, and in winter the days are short. Check it works before you go, carry spare batteries or a way to charge it, and keep it where you can reach it.

Are microspikes enough in winter?

Only on the right ground. The BMC says microspikes are best on flat or very gentle paths with some ice or packed snow, and unsuitable on steep or consequential ground, where you need crampons, compatible boots, an axe and the training to use them. If the ground is beyond your kit or skills, choose another route. If you have not been trained to use an axe and crampons, do not go where you would need them.

What is the distress signal on the fells?

Mountain Rescue's wording: six good long blasts on a whistle (or flashes of a torch) in a minute, stop for a minute, then repeat until someone reaches you. To call for help, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Sources

Each read on 23 September 2026. The winter wording follows the BMC’s published limits. The examples under “What I carry” are our own.