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702 m · Wainwright — Northern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Wainwright — Northern FellsAlso a Birkett

Bowscale Fell

Bowscale Fell at 702m (2,303ft) is a broad summit above Mungrisdale, its eastern face concealing one of Lakeland's most atmospheric tarns — Bowscale Tarn, set in a dark corrie below the fell's north-east face.

702 m
Height
~3–4 h
Typical time
+5
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →
702 mWainwright — Northern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 702 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 11° to 8°C, gusts to 30 mph, 1.5 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 30 mph
🌧 1.5 mm (90%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
13° / 8°
💨 46 mph
🌧 25.8 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
12° / 7°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.1 mm (48%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
14° / 6°
💨 32 mph
🌧 8.1 mm (84%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
12° / 7°
💨 34 mph
🌧 7.8 mm (75%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 33 mph
🌧 2.3 mm (57%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
10° / 7°
💨 38 mph
🌧 6.2 mm (74%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 702 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Bowscale Fell at a glance

Bowscale Fell

Bowscale Fell, a Lake District fell
Photo: Mick Knapton, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Bowscale Fell at 702m (2,303ft) is a broad summit above Mungrisdale, its eastern face concealing one of Lakeland's most atmospheric tarns — Bowscale Tarn, set in a dark corrie below the fell's north-east face. Wainwright described the tarn as one of the finest in the Northern Fells, a dark, deep lake with an air of seclusion and mystery. The ascent from Mungrisdale via the tarn path is an excellent short outing. The views from the summit across to Blencathra and east to the Pennines are very fine.

Routes up Bowscale Fell

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

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Northern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
702 m
Height
2,303 ft
In feet
NY 3333 3054
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Bowscale Fell a Wainwright?

Bowscale Fell is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list and the Fellranger list.

Where do you park for Bowscale Fell?

The nearest car park we hold is Mosedale / Bowscale (verge, west), about 2.1 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Roadside parking for Round Knott (free), 2.1 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

My hikes over Bowscale Fell (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Parking & buses for Bowscale Fell

Best parking to hike Bowscale Fell

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Mosedale / Bowscale (verge, west) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
Verge parking on the Caldew valley road, 1.2 km west of the other Mosedale / Bowscale verge - for Carrock Fell, Round Knott and the back o' Skiddaw fells. Fee and capacity are unknown: this is a location Lee supplied, not a survey.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Roadside parking for Round Knott (free) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
Approx 6 spaces. 1.2 km from Round Knott. Added from the 5 Aug 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Mosedale / Bowscale (verge) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
Verge parking for Carrock Fell and the back o' Skiddaw fells via the Caldew valley.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
If it is full: Mungrisdale village hall (donation) (2.7 km); Mungrisdale (verge, by the village hall) (3.0 km); Roadside parking for The Tongue (free) (1.5 km, 81 m up) a few spaces only
Tarn Crags Top, north-east (layby) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Tarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top) (1.4 km), Carrock Fell (1.4 km), Round Knott (1.9 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Round Knott (layby) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)
1.3 km from Round Knott.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

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

Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Bowscale Fell by bus

The 509 stops at Mungrisdale, adjacent to Road End. From there it is 3.2 km and 76 m of ascent to the start of Blencathra to Mungrisdale Common and over the back — a walk in before the walk. Last bus: Monday to Friday 22:11 towards Penrith (X5) and 17:07 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:42 towards Hartsop (509); Saturday 22:11 towards Penrith (X5) and 17:07 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:42 towards Hartsop (509); Sunday 18:38 towards Penrith (X5) and 17:07 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:42 towards Hartsop (509). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 509
Penrith ↔ Keswick around Ullswater — calls at Pooley Bridge, Watermillock, Glenridding, Patterdale, Hartsop, Dockray, Matterdale, Mungrisdale and Threlkeld
Catch it from: Penrith · Keswick
The Ullswater side of the Penrith–Keswick corridor, and a second option where we previously showed only the 508. Reaches Helvellyn and Catstye Cam from Glenridding, Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes from Patterdale, the Hartsop fells, and Gowbarrow from Dockray. Frequency and season are not listed here because we have not verified a timetable — check Stagecoach before you rely on it. Note the Troutbeck on this route is the one on the A66 near Penrith, not the Troutbeck near Windermere.

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

Hazards on Bowscale Fell

Hazard & Incident Information for Bowscale Fell

Hazard: Moderate

A rounded Northern Fell above Mungrisdale with smooth western slopes but a craggy eastern side cradling the dark corrie lake of Bowscale Tarn. The ascent to the col above the tarn is steep and loose with a hands-on section, the long eastern ridge ends in the steep Raven Crags, and the high plateau (toward Mungrisdale Common) is a navigation trap. Keswick Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Steep, loose path by Bowscale Tarn & eastern crags: The climb to the col above Bowscale Tarn is steep on a loose stone path, needing hand-on-rock in places, and the eastern side breaks into crags around the tarn's corrie. Take the loose ground carefully and keep back from the crag edges above the tarn.
  • Raven Crags descent: The long eastern ridge to Mungrisdale steepens over Raven Crags, where the path is steep and slippery even in fine weather. Take this descent carefully and on the right line.
  • Featureless plateau navigation: The broad top, and especially the link toward Mungrisdale Common, is featureless and boggy — easy to lose your line in cloud. Navigate by compass and don't drift toward the eastern crags.
Who should attempt this fell: Bowscale Fell is gentle on its western side but craggy and loose on the east — take the steep stony path by Bowscale Tarn and the Raven Crags descent carefully, keep back from the corrie edges, and navigate the featureless plateau by compass in cloud. Treat the steep eastern ground as serious in winter.

Most common causes: Slips on the steep, loose path by Bowscale Tarn and on Raven Crags · Walkers straying onto the eastern crags around the corrie · Navigation errors on the featureless plateau in cloud · Winter ice on the steep eastern ground

Local Mountain Rescue: Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026

Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Report incorrect information (opens in new tab)

Navigating Bowscale Fell in cloud

Straightforward

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

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 Bowscale Fell compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Mosedale / Bowscale (verge, west), about 2.1 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Bowscale Fell (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.

0.9 km NETarn Crags Top (Bowscale Fell East Top)665 m · Northern
1.5 km ESEThe Tongue553 m · Northern
2.4 km SSWAtkinson Pike (Foule Crag)845 m · Northern
2.7 km SScales Fell682 m · Northern
2.9 km SDoddick Fell742 m · Northern

Routes over Bowscale Fell

17.59 km · ~961 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

10.6 km · ~689 m ascent · loop · ~3–4.5 h
Summits: The TongueBowscale Fell

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: The climb to The Tongue is largely pathless — rough grass and bracken with only intermittent sheep-trods. The plotted line is a guide, not a path; navigation needs care in mist.

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

The view from Bowscale Fell

The 360° skyline from Bowscale 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
Computed 360-degree skyline from Bowscale Fell36 labelled tops shown (15 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 16 kmSkiddaw · 7 kmPillar · 25 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 7 kmGrasmoor · 19 kmAtkinson Pike · 2 kmSt Sunday Crag · 18 kmBroad End · 7 kmHigh Street · 22 kmHigh Stile · 23 kmStony Cove Pike · 22 kmLow Raise · 21 kmDoddick Fell · 3 kmKnott · 4 kmGreat Calva · 4 kmScales Fell · 3 kmBakestall · 7 kmLoadpot Hill · 18 kmScar Crags · 16 kmHigh Pike · 5 kmGreat Sca Fell · 5 kmCross Fell · 36 km · clear daysKnowe Crags · 4 kmTarn Crags Top · 1 kmCarrock Fell · 3 kmCoomb Height · 3 kmHare Stones · 4 kmGreat Lingy Hill · 4 kmMiton Hill · 4 kmRound Knott · 3 kmBurn Tod · 6 kmThe Tongue · 2 kmGreat Mell Fell · 8 kmSouther Fell · 3 kmSighty Crag · 57 km · clear daysHeughscar Hill · 17 kmSkiddaw South Top · 8 kmFairfield · 19 kmRampsgill Head · 21 kmThornthwaite Crag · 23 kmRed Screes · 23 kmHopegill Head · 17 kmRobinson · 19 kmWether Hill · 18 kmBlencathra · 3 kmGategill Fell Top · 4 kmClough Head · 8 kmLonscale Fell · 6 kmSale How · 6 kmMiller Moss · 4 kmSwarth Fell · 16 kmLittle Mell Fell · 11 kmGowk Hill · 18 kmWisp Hill · 69 km · clear daysRoan Fell · 64 km · clear daysEycott Hill · 5 kmKnipescar Common · 22 kmLittle Eycott Hill · 5 kmCold Fell · 37 km · clear daysLarriston Fells · 66 km · clear daysWhite Hill · 60 km · clear daysGrange Fell · 52 km · clear daysCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 100 km · a rare clear dayThe Cheviot · 107 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Fleet · 91 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 111 km · a rare clear dayGreen Lowther · 92 km · a rare clear dayWhite Coomb · 86 km · a rare clear dayCairnharrow · 84 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 71 km · a rare clear dayTosson Hill · 95 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 101 km · a rare clear dayBlackcraig Hill · 102 km · a rare clear dayBuckden Pike · 81 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 75 km · a rare clear dayHoove · 71 km · a rare clear dayKirkland Hill · 105 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Bowscale Fell, by direction
  • South-east: High Raise (21 km), Rampsgill Head (21 km), Kidsty Pike (21 km), High Street (22 km), Thornthwaite Crag (23 km), Ill Bell (25 km)
  • South: Atkinson Pike (2 km), Great Dodd (10 km), Green Side (12 km), Raise (13 km), White Side (14 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (15 km), Helvellyn (16 km), St Sunday Crag (18 km), Gavel Pike (18 km), Cofa Pike (19 km), Fairfield (19 km), Stony Cove Pike (22 km), Red Screes (23 km)
  • South-west: Skiddaw Lesser Man (7 km), Grisedale Pike (16 km), Sail (17 km), Hopegill Head (17 km), Crag Hill (17 km), Eel Crag (17 km), Wandope (18 km), Grasmoor (19 km), High Stile (23 km), High Stile (23 km), Pillar (25 km), Steeple (26 km), Scoat Fell (26 km), Red Pike (26 km), Haycock (27 km)
  • West: Skiddaw Little Man (7 km), Broad End (7 km), Skiddaw (7 km), Skiddaw North Top (7 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (8 km), Skiddaw South Top (8 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (100 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (107 km, England), Cairnsmore of Fleet (91 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (101 km, Scotland), Tinto (111 km, Scotland), Green Lowther (92 km, Scotland), White Coomb (86 km, Scotland), Queensberry (77 km, Scotland).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

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

Sunrise and sunset on Bowscale Fell

Bowscale Fell catches the sun before the valley does. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does this summit wait for first light — the eastern horizon falls away rather than standing over you, and at midsummer the light reaches it 7 minutes before almanac sunrise.

30°40°50°60°04:29
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
Midsummer04:29 BST ±5.0 min04:36-7 min
Equinox06:14 GMT ±5.0 min06:15-1 min
Midwinter08:30 GMT ±5.0 min08:34-4 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.45°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Bowscale Fell

The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 March) last light is only 13 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Bowscale Fell.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:58 BST ±5.0 min21:53+5 min
Equinox18:28 GMT ±5.0 min18:26+2 min
Midwinter15:49 GMT ±5.0 min15:48+1 min

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 Bowscale 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. 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 Bowscale Fell

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
64Wainwrights in view+7 marginal
50 kmFurthest sightlineCriffel
1Sea in viewSolway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland.

Far horizons
  • Criffel ScotlandNW · 50 km clear
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesE · 38 km distant
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 38 km in view
  • Cross Fell North PenninesE · 35 km clear
All 64 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

How Bowscale Fell’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), 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

Mosedale End Farm B&B (opens in new tab) guest house

about 2.3 km from the start, in a straight line

The nearest bed in the area we can actually evidence, at 2.31 km, and it answers more of our columns from its own pages than anything else here: an EV charge point, a room that sleeps two adults plus two children, a breakfast hamper delivered to the door, picnics, and its own private yard to park in. It also tells you the one thing most pages hide - that there is no bus - which matters on a Mungrisdale start where the alternative is a taxi.

Worth knowing: “Sorry we do not take DOGS or offer help the farmer or work experience days”

They run cameras on their own livestock and wildlife and lend guests a tablet to watch them from bed - a lambing camera in the lambing shed, a badger-sett camera and nest-box cameras.

  • Family rooms “THE GRAINERY SUITE A spacious en-suite bedroom with a king-size bed. Small kitchen area for basic food prep, with kettle, toaster, microwave, fridge, sink, and cupboard storage. Private balcony with outdoor seating.”
  • Packed lunch “Leave the car and walk all day for free. Picnics available.”
  • Parking “Mosedale End Farm is a traditional Lake District white farm house and is set back off the road, behind its own private yard where you may park your car.”

Scales Farm Country Guest House (opens in new tab) guest house

about 3.9 km from the start, in a straight line

It answers more of a wet walker's questions than anything else in this area, and answers them on its own pages: a boiler-room drying room, a private car park for eight, a ground-floor room for mobility-impaired guests, dog-friendly ground-floor rooms with their own exercise field opening straight onto Scales Fell, lockable storage for up to twelve bikes, free loan of poles, compasses and maps, and a bus stop directly opposite. It ranks second rather than first only because it is 1.57 km further out than Mosedale End and is silent on children in everything we hold.

The house is a 1650s farmhouse and barn, converted to a guest house in the early 1980s, and the owners were qualified hill-walking leaders for fifteen years before they bought it.

  • Drying room “We have a boiler room to provide heat and hot water which runs all year. This room is like a mini-sauna and is ideal for drying wet clothes and boots.”
  • Dogs “All three ground floor rooms are dog friendly with direct access to the garden and our own field.”
  • Parking “We have a large off road private car park that can easily accommodate 8 vehicles.”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Bowscale Fell

Is Bowscale Fell a hard walk?

The western slopes are smooth and gentle and give no trouble at all. The eastern side is a different fell: craggy ground cradling Bowscale Tarn, the dark corrie lake that is the real reason to come here, and the ascent to the col above it is the steepest part of the day.

Our shorter round over it is 10.6 km with 689 m of ascent; taken with Blencathra and Mungrisdale Common it is 17.6 km and 961 m. Neither asks anything technical.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Other fells near Bowscale Fell