Blake Fell

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573 mWainwright — Western Fells+14 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Blake Fell at 573m (1,879ft) is a broad, heathery summit above Crummock Water and Loweswater, giving fine views of both lakes from its open top. Wainwright included it in his Western Fells guide. The ascent from Lamplugh or Loweswater is pleasant.

Summit conditions on Blake Fell

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 64 mph, 2.5 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 52 mph times our exposure factor of 1.12. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 64 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 (opens in new tab) 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.

Also checked cold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 40 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20; rain: 2.5 mm in the day, under our 6 mm line. 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 (opens in new tab)

Routes up Blake Fell

All three start from Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid); the last two rows give its parking and bus. Full maps further down.

Compared	Around Loweswater	Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb	Birketts by Loweswater
Starts from	Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid)	Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid)	Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid)
Distance and climb	19.13 km, 1,068 m of climb	14.03 km, 764 m of climb	18.69 km, 1,082 m of climb
Time, fast to steady	~5½–7½ h	~4–5½ h	~5½–7½ h
Scrambling	Not mentioned in the route’s notes	Not mentioned in the route’s notes	Not mentioned in the route’s notes
Exposure	Moderate	Not assessed	Not assessed
Navigation	Moderate	Hard	Hard
Steepest stretch	Climb of about 35% at 2.1 km (Severe)	Climb of about 29% at 2.9 km (Hard)	Climb of about 31% at 2.1 km (Hard)
After the summit	Over Gavel Fell	Over Gavel Fell, Hen Comb and Little Dodd (Loweswater)	Over Sharp Knott, Owsen Fell and Burnbank Fell
Walked or planned	Planned: drawn, not yet walked	Planned: drawn, not yet walked	Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the start	Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid)	Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid)	Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid)
Bus to the start	77, 3.2 km walk from Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.	77, 3.2 km walk from Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.	77, 3.3 km walk from Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.

Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.

Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →

Is Blake Fell a hard walk?

No scrambling, and no steep ground on Blake Fell itself — it is the highest of the quiet Loweswater group, and the walking on it is grass and heather throughout. Our round with Gavel Fell and Hen Comb is 14.0 km with 764 m of ascent, though, and it has a steep stretch: the climb onto Hen Comb is a sustained pull of about 33%, and we grade the round’s steepness hard.

We grade its navigation hard too, and that is the difficulty most likely to catch you out. These are rolling, boggy, sparsely pathed fells where the tops look alike and the valleys between them all run the same way. Lovely on a clear day and genuinely disorienting on a poor one.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 573 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°

64 mph

2.5 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

10° / 7°

44 mph

3.2 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

9° / 8°

25 mph

0.4 mm (18%)

Fri 30 Oct

10° / 6°

25 mph

0.3 mm (29%)

Sat 31 Oct

11° / 2°

6 mph

0.0 mm (29%)

Sun 1 Nov

8° / 1°

7 mph

0.0 mm (12%)

Mon 2 Nov

8° / 0°

11 mph

0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Blake Fell

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid) — at the start of Around Loweswater, Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb and Birketts by Loweswater

Small paid car park for Mellbreak, Hen Comb and the Loweswater fells. Free for NT members (checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Car park for Loweswater Fell (free) (1.0 km, 38 m up); Lanthwaite Wood, Crummock Water (NT, paid) (1.7 km, 61 m up); Darling Fell (layby) (2.9 km, 141 m up)

High Hows car park (free) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: High Hows (Lamplugh) (0.9 km), Owsen Fell (1.2 km), Murton Fell (Knock Murton) (1.8 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Fell Dyke (LDNPA, free) — 2.5 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: High Hows (Lamplugh) (1.2 km), Murton Fell (Knock Murton) (1.2 km), Owsen Fell (1.9 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Compacted surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

2 more places to park near Blake Fell

Kelton Fell, west (layby) — 2.7 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Kelton Fell (0.8 km), Murton Fell (Knock Murton) (1.1 km), Godworth (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Kelton Fell (layby) — 2.8 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Kelton Fell (0.7 km), Murton Fell (Knock Murton) (1.2 km), Godworth (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).

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 77 stops at Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite). From there it is 3.2 km and 118 m of ascent to the start of Around Loweswater — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 25.6 km in all, with the walk. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. It returns on 22 March 2027. Confirmed with the operator: its last day on 29 August 2026, its return on 16 October 2026. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (77): Tuesday to Sunday 18:03. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”

Keswick – Portinscale – Hawes 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 (Summer 2026 timetable: 23 March to 1 November 2026). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

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

Hazards on Blake Fell

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Around Loweswater

If you need to get off (the leg from Burnbank Fell): Do not attempt to bail blindly to the west into the dense, disorienting forestry plantations; if conditions are unmanageable, immediately retreat north back over Burnbank Fell to access your ascent route.

Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Blake Fell.

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

Not graded by the model

Our terrain model finds nothing to grade on this summit, so it gives no cloud grade here — that is not a sign of easy navigation. Read this fell’s hazard notes and the route pages before a day in cloud. Carry map and compass, and know how to use them.

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 Blake Fell 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 (opens in new tab) (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 Blake Fell

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

0.5 km NWSharp Knott482 m · Western

0.8 km SHigh Pen475 m · Western

0.9 km NECarling Knott544 m · Western

1.0 km SWLow Pen435 m · Western

1.2 km SEGavel Fell - High Nook (Gavel Fell North Top)488 m · Western

1.4 km NELoweswater End - Carling Knott519 m · Western

1.5 km WNWHigh Hows (Lamplugh)313 m · Western

1.6 km NWOwsen Fell409 m · Western

1.7 km WSWMurton Fell (Knock Murton)446 m · Western

1.7 km SSWGodworth365 m · Western

2.2 km ELittle Dodd (Loweswater)362 m · Western

2.2 km SWKelton Fell311 m · Western

2.3 km SSEBanna Fell455 m · Western

2.6 km SSEFloutern Cop451 m · Western

Routes over Blake Fell

Around Loweswater

Summits: Darling Fell Smithy Fell Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell Burnbank FellBlake FellGavel Fell

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide: Around Loweswater →

Birketts by Loweswater

Summits: High Pen Murton Fell (Knock Murton)Low Pen Carling Knott Loweswater End - Carling KnottBlake FellSharp Knott Owsen Fell Burnbank Fell

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: The Pen tops and the moor between them are only faintly pathed — expect trods that come and go rather than a continuous trail.

Route guide: Birketts by Loweswater →

Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb

Summits: Burnbank FellBlake FellGavel Fell Hen Comb Little Dodd (Loweswater)

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide: Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb →

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.

About Blake Fell

Blake Fell, a Lake District fell — Photo: Ann Bowker (madaboutmountains.com), Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

Most naturally combined with Gavel Fell and Hen Comb for a circuit of the Loweswater fells. The views of Loweswater and Crummock Water are outstanding.

Classifications & hill data

Is Blake Fell a Wainwright?

Blake Fell is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Fellranger list and the Marilyn list.

Selected lists

573 m

Height

1,879 ft

In feet

NY 1104 1968

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 also a Birkett.

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 Blake Fell

The 360° skyline from Blake Fell

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

The skyline as a list, by direction

North-east: Skiddaw South Top (18 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (18 km), Skiddaw Little Man (18 km), Skiddaw (18 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (18 km), Skiddaw North Top (18 km), Jenkin Hill (18 km), Broad End (18 km)
East: Grasmoor (6 km), Wandope (8 km), Hopegill Head (8 km), Sand Hill (8 km), Grisedale Pike (9 km), Robinson (10 km), Dale Head (12 km), White Side (23 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (23 km), Raise (23 km), Helvellyn (24 km), Nethermost Pike (24 km), Catstye Cam (24 km)
South-east: Red Pike (7 km), High Stile (8 km), High Stile (8 km), Steeple (9 km), Scoat Fell (10 km), Pillar (10 km), Black Crag (10 km), Kirk Fell (12 km), Kirk Fell East Top (13 km), Great Gable (14 km), Broad Crag (16 km), Great End (16 km), Scafell (16 km), Glaramara (16 km), Combe Head (16 km), Looking Steads (16 km), Ill Crag (17 km), High Raise (20 km)
South: Haycock (10 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (173 km, Wales), Slieve Donard (171 km, Ireland), Carnedd Llewelyn (161 km, Wales), Merrick (95 km, Scotland), Aran Fawddwy (199 km, Wales), Broad Law (104 km, Scotland), Snaefell (78 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (94 km, Scotland).

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

Sunrise and sunset on Blake Fell

Blake Fell sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 April) first light is only 18 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

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 light	Almanac sunrise	Difference
Midsummer	04:32 BST ±5.0 min	04:38	-6 min
Equinox	06:26 GMT ±5.0 min	06:17	+9 min
Midwinter	08:45 GMT ±5.0 min	08:34	+11 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.37°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Blake Fell

Blake Fell holds the light. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does the sun leave this summit before almanac sunset — the ground falls away westward rather than standing over you, and at midsummer it is still in the sun 4 minutes after the valley has lost it.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
	Last light	Almanac sunset	Difference
Midsummer	21:58 BST ±5.0 min	21:54	+4 min
Equinox	18:33 GMT ±5.0 min	18:27	+6 min
Midwinter	15:57 GMT ±5.0 min	15:50	+7 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 Blake Fell

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.

57Wainwrights in view+2 marginal

176 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction

2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.

Far horizons

Slieve Binnian Northern IrelandWSW · 176 km clear
Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 173 km clear
Slieve Donard Northern IrelandWSW · 171 km clear
Merrick ScotlandNW · 96 km clear
Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 78 km clear
Criffel ScotlandNNW · 46 km clear
Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 35 km in view
Irish Sea open waterWNW · 19 km in view

All 57 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Gavel Fell, Burnbank Fell, Hen Comb, Great Borne, Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), Starling Dodd, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Crag Fell, Grike, Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), Grasmoor, Red Pike (Buttermere), Whiteless Pike, High Stile, Wandope, Hopegill Head, Lank Rigg, Caw Fell, Grisedale Pike, Steeple, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Haycock, Robinson, Graystones (Graystones North Top), Pillar, Whinlatter (Brown How - Whinlatter), Fleetwith Pike, Broom Fell, Ling Fell, Lord's Seat, Dale Head, Kirk Fell, Grey Knotts, Sale Fell, Great Gable, Great End, Ullock Pike, Scafell, Glaramara, Long Side, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Carl Side, Skiddaw Little Man, Skiddaw, Sergeant's Crag, Binsey, High Raise (High White Stones), Great Cockup, Meal Fell, Longlands Fell, White Side, Great Sca Fell, Raise, Helvellyn, Brae Fell, Nethermost Pike, Catstye Cam

How the view from Blake Fell 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 Blake Fell. 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

Crummockwater Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 0.9 km

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 (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Blake Fell

Is Blake Fell a hard walk? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Blake Fell

Summit conditions on Blake Fell

Wind on the top

Routes up Blake Fell

Is Blake Fell a hard walk?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Blake Fell

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Blake Fell

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Around Loweswater

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Blake Fell

Routes over Blake Fell

About Blake Fell

Classifications & hill data

Is Blake Fell a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from Blake Fell

The 360° skyline from Blake Fell

Sunrise and sunset on Blake Fell

Last light — when the sun leaves Blake Fell

What you can see from Blake Fell

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Blake Fell

Other fells near Blake Fell