Capple Howe
Capple Howe at 445m (1,460ft) is a Birkett top on the moorland above Kentmere in the Far Eastern Fells, its grassy summit giving views across the Kentmere valley and towards the High Street ridge.
Summit conditions on Capple Howe
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 49 mph, 10.7 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Routes up Capple Howe
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Sour Howes, Capple Howe and Sallows above Troutbeck — three modest tops in 8.7 km with 490 m of climbing and one stage averaging 16%. Rated hard to navigate; about 2½–3½ 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 →
How hard is Capple Howe?
The shortest way up we hold is Capple Howe & Sallows — 8.68 km, 490 m of ascent, ~2½–3½ h. On our scale its hardest axes are steepness and navigation — Hard.
All axes: steepness: Hard · navigation: Hard · length: Moderate · terrain: Not assessed · exposure: Not assessed.
These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →
Conditions and 7-day summit forecast
Modelled for the 445 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
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)
Parking & buses for Capple Howe
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Capple Howe
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 508 stops at Troutbeck Jesus Church (near), a 40 m walk from the start of Capple Howe & Sallows — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: steepness and navigation). The last bus is 17:18, towards Penrith, every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 30 August 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
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 Capple Howe
Notes from the Capple Howe & Sallows route
If you need to get off (the leg from Sour Howes): Retrace your steps north-west to Sour Howes and descend your original ascent route. Do not drop blindly east, as this will strand you in the wrong valley.
Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Capple Howe.
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.
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
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.
Birketts within 3 km of Capple Howe
No bonus Birketts within 3 km.
Routes over Capple Howe
Download GPX Walked in part, April 2025 · km 2.6–3.5, km 5.6–8.6 from the map
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 Capple Howe
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Capple Howe & Sallows route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Capple Howe
Classifications & hill data
Is Capple Howe a Wainwright?
Capple Howe is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.
Selected lists
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
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 →
Places to stay near this fell
From Troutbeck: 1 place in Ambleside