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A rocky outcrop with a small cairn on a heathery top, with fells along the distant skyline

Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

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475 mWainwright — Central Fells+10 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

Armboth 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.

Summit conditions on Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 56 mph, 12.5 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.

Wind on the top

Past the line

49 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 47 mph times our exposure factor of 1.05. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 56 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.

Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

12.5 mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight

The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.

The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.

Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.

Also checked cold: feels like 4 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 32 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.

Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.

Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Routes up Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth Not yet personally walked
14.26 km · ~601 m ascent · ~3¾–5¼ h · loop · 6 summits
Moderate effort Hard: distance and navigation
Park: 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 turn

Six 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.

Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →

Is Armboth Fell a hard walk?

Nothing about the climbing is hard. Everything about the ground is. Armboth Fell is a low rise on the sodden plateau above Thirlmere, and the walking is heather, peat and standing water with barely a path to follow.

Our round with Standing Crag and High Tove is 14.3 km with 601 m of ascent — very little climbing for the distance, which is exactly the tell — and we grade the navigation hard. Go after a dry spell, or do not go.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 475 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
12° / 6°
56 mph
12.5 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
10° / 7°
40 mph
8.9 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
10° / 8°
21 mph
0.9 mm (75%)
Fri 30 Oct
9° / 7°
25 mph
0.3 mm (8%)
Sat 31 Oct
9° / 4°
6 mph
4.2 mm (6%)
Sun 1 Nov
8° / 2°
13 mph
0.6 mm (2%)
Mon 2 Nov
6° / -1°
7 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

Parking

Fisher Crag (verge) — 1.3 km from summit (straight line)
0.4 km from Fisher Crag.
Directions Something changed here?
Fisher Crag (layby, north) — 1.3 km from summit (straight line)
0.6 km from Fisher Crag.
Directions Something changed here?
Fisher Crag (layby, south) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
0.7 km from Fisher Crag.
Directions Something changed here?
2 more places to park near Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)
Armboth, Thirlmere (United Utilities, paid) — 1.7 km from summit (straight line)
West shore of Thirlmere - Armboth Fell and High Tove. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026). Pay and display (visitlakedistrict.com, which names United Utilities as operator) (United Utilities, checked August 2026). Toilets beside the car park, including disabled; seasonal (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, read 12 September 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Watendlath (NT, paid) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
End of the narrow Watendlath road — Grange Fell, Great Crag, Armboth fells. Fees: pay and display (LDNP directory, checked August 2026). £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.

Buses

The 555 stops at Thirlmere, at Armboth turn. From there it is 1.7 km and 54 m of ascent to the start of Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and navigation) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 17.7 km in all, with the walk. Last bus: Monday to Friday 20:55 towards Keswick (555); Saturday 20:55 towards Keswick (555); Sunday 18:46 towards Keswick (555). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 555
Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.

Navigating in cloud

Severe

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of near-level ground around the summit. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top) compares with all 214: the Clag Index (experimental).

If you need Mountain Rescue

Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.

Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.

If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.

From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

0.2 km NNEArmboth Fell (Birkett)479 m · Central
0.8 km WSWShivery Knott491 m · Central
0.8 km WMiddle Crag484 m · Central
1.1 km ENEFisher Crag421 m · Central
1.1 km SWWatendlath Fell (Long Moss)515 m · Central
1.5 km SBell Crags (Long Moss) (Blea Tarn Fell)559 m · Central
1.5 km SEBrown Rigg462 m · Central
2.4 km SStanding Crag611 m · Central
2.6 km SSWLow Saddle656 m · Central
2.9 km SSWColdbarrow Fell - High Saddle675 m · Central

Routes over Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth
14.26 km · ~601 m ascent · loop · ~3¾–5¼ h
Moderate effort Hard: distance and navigation
Summits: Standing CragShivery KnottMiddle CragHigh ToveArmboth Fell (Birkett)Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

Download GPX Not yet personally walked

Route guide →

Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.

On the hill: terrain and water on Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Standing Crag, High Tove, Armboth route:

toilets (29 m off the line)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

About Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

A rocky outcrop with a small cairn on a heathery top, with fells along the distant skyline
© Lee McCoy

Wainwright included it as part of the Central Fells, noting its somewhat boggy and uninspiring character — not one of his enthusiasms. The ascent from Thirlmere is short and the summit is most naturally combined with High Tove and Watendlath for a circuit above the reservoir. The Thirlmere views are reasonable on a clear day.

My Strava hikes over Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top) a Wainwright?

Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Synge list.

Selected lists

Wainwright
Central
Synge
475 m
Height
1,558 ft
In feet
NY 2958 1574
Grid ref

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

The summit is not a Birkett top.

Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →

The view from Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

The 360° skyline from Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys
Computed 360-degree skyline from Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)34 labelled tops shown (0 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 12 kmHelvellyn · 5 kmBowfell · 11 kmGreat Gable · 10 kmPillar · 13 kmNethermost Pike · 5 kmEsk Pike · 10 kmHigh Crag · 5 kmRaise · 5 kmFairfield · 7 kmBlencathra · 12 kmWhite Side · 4 kmGreat Dodd · 7 kmGrasmoor · 13 kmLingmell · 12 kmGrisedale Pike · 12 kmSand Hill · 12 kmDale Head · 7 kmHigh Crag · 12 kmSeat Sandal · 6 kmHindscarth · 8 kmClough Head · 8 kmBrandreth · 9 kmLonscale Fell · 12 kmKnott · 17 kmColdbarrow Fell · 3 kmHeron Pike North Top · 9 kmSteel Fell · 5 kmStanding Crag · 2 kmBrown Crag · 4 kmHigh Seat · 2 kmBell Crags · 2 kmHigh Tove · 1 kmArmboth Fell · 0 kmHelvellyn Lower Man · 4 kmDollywaggon Pike · 6 kmCrag Hill · 11 kmKnowe Crags · 11 kmAllen Crags · 9 kmGrey Knotts · 8 kmGreat Calva · 16 kmScales Fell · 13 kmCalfhow Pike · 6 kmThornythwaite Fell · 6 kmLow Saddle · 3 kmShivery Knott · 1 km
The skyline as a list, by direction
  • North: Knowe Crags (11 km), Gategill Fell Top (12 km), Blencathra (12 km), Doddick Fell (12 km)
  • North-east: Watson's Dodd (6 km), Little Dodd (6 km), Great Dodd (7 km)
  • East: Helvellyn Lower Man (4 km), White Side (4 km), Helvellyn (5 km), Nethermost Pike (5 km), Raise (5 km)
  • South-east: High Crag (5 km), Dollywaggon Pike (6 km), Seat Sandal (6 km), Fairfield (7 km)
  • South-west: Glaramara (7 km), Looking Steads (8 km), Allen Crags (9 km), Great End (10 km), Great Gable (10 km), Esk Pike (10 km), Bowfell (11 km), Kirk Fell East Top (11 km), Ill Crag (11 km), Kirk Fell (11 km), Lingmell (12 km), Scafell Pike (12 km)
  • West: Dale Head (7 km), Wandope (12 km), High Crag (12 km), Grasmoor (13 km), Pillar (13 km)
  • North-west: Sail (11 km), Crag Hill (11 km), Eel Crag (12 km), Grisedale Pike (12 km), Hobcarton Crag (12 km), Sand Hill (12 km), Hopegill Head (13 km)

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 April, when the sun is up for 44 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 07:29 against an almanac sunrise of 06:45. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east from here (89.9°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 5.88°.

0°30°40°50°60°70°05:07
Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.
Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
First lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer05:07 BST ±5.0 min04:37+30 min
Equinox06:58 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+43 min
Midwinter08:51 GMT ±5.0 min08:33+18 min

The northern horizon stands at about 1.58° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when last light is 25 minutes before almanac sunset — 15:24 against 15:49. The sun goes down to the south-west from here (223.3°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.37°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:36 BST ±5.0 min21:53-17 min
Equinox18:14 GMT ±5.0 min18:26-12 min
Midwinter15:24 GMT ±5.0 min15:49-25 min

These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.

What you can see from Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
40Wainwrights in view+15 marginal
—Sea in viewnone from here
All 40 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

High Tove, High Seat, Raven Crag, White Side, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Raise, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Watson's Dodd, Dollywaggon Pike, Stybarrow Dodd, High Spy, Seat Sandal, Great Dodd, Glaramara, Dale Head, Fairfield, Hindscarth, Grey Knotts, Brandreth, Fleetwith Pike, Green Gable, Heron Pike (Rydal), Great End, Great Gable, Bowfell, Haystacks (Buttermere), Sail, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Kirk Fell, Lingmell, Wandope, Lonscale Fell, High Crag (Buttermere), Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Hopegill Head, Grasmoor, Pillar, Great Calva, Knott

How the view from Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top) compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed

Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top). Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes.

Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. Corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Places to stay near this fell

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions about Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

Is Armboth Fell a hard walk? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction

Other fells near Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)

Places nearby: Thirlmere · Harrop Tarn