Barrow Hiking Guide & Routes

455 mWainwright — North Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km

📖 Key Information

Barrow 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. Wainwright described it as a perfect evening walk from Keswick — the views of the Newlands valley and the North Western Fells composing beautifully from the summit. The ascent from Braithwaite is short and direct. A good introduction to the North Western Fells for visitors to Keswick.

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

🎯 Bonus Birketts within 3 km

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.

0.6 km WStile End447 m · North Western

1.1 km SSERowling End433 m · North Western

1.6 km NNWKinn374 m · North Western

2.2 km SESkelgill Bank338 m · Central

⚠️ Hazard & Incident Information

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🦶 My hikes over Barrow (Strava)

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🅿️ Potential parking

Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)

Start of the Coledale Horseshoe: Grisedale Pike, Causey Pike round.

Directions ↗

Little Town, Newlands (paid, small) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)

Newlands valley — Catbells, Maiden Moor, Hindscarth, Robinson.

Directions ↗

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

🚌 Buses from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”

Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)

Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)

Seasonal (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

Stagecoach X4 / X5

Penrith – Rheged – Threlkeld – Keswick – Braithwaite – Cockermouth – Workington

Catch it from: Penrith

Year-round, frequent. From Penrith this is your way into Keswick and the Northern fells — Threlkeld/Scales stops serve Blencathra directly, Braithwaite serves the Coledale fells.

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

🌦️ 7-day summit forecast

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Open Barrow in the interactive explorer ↗

⛰️ Barrow