Carrock Fell
Carrock Fell at 663m (2,175ft) is the easternmost of the Northern Fells, an isolated summit above the Vale of Eden with a remarkable ancient hillfort on its summit — one of the finest Iron Age fortifications in northern England.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 662 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 13°C, gusts to 38 mph, 5.5 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 662 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
About the walk
Carrock Fell
Routes up Carrock Fell
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Mungrisdale village hall (donation), about 4.3 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Carrock 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.
Routes over Carrock Fell
✎️ 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.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
The View from Carrock 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.
What you can see from Carrock Fell, by direction
- South-east: High Raise (23 km), Rampsgill Head (23 km), Kidsty Pike (24 km), High Street (25 km)
- South: Atkinson Pike (6 km), Blencathra (6 km), Gategill Fell Top (7 km), Great Dodd (13 km), Little Dodd (13 km), Watson's Dodd (14 km), Green Side (15 km), White Side (17 km), Catstye Cam (18 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (18 km), Helvellyn (18 km), St Sunday Crag (20 km), Gavel Pike (20 km), Fairfield (22 km), Hart Crag (22 km), Stony Cove Pike (25 km), Thornthwaite Crag (25 km), Red Screes (26 km)
- South-west: Knowe Crags (7 km), Broad End (9 km), Skiddaw North Top (9 km), Skiddaw (9 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (9 km), Skiddaw Little Man (10 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (10 km), Skiddaw South Top (10 km), Crag Hill (20 km), High Stile (26 km), Green Gable (26 km), Great Gable (27 km), Kirk Fell East Top (27 km), Pillar Rock (27 km), Kirk Fell (27 km), Pillar (28 km), Scoat Fell (29 km), Red Pike (29 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Merrick (105 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (99 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (104 km, England), Cairnsmore of Fleet (90 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (100 km, Scotland), Tinto (108 km, Scotland), Green Lowther (90 km, Scotland), White Coomb (83 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.
What you can see from Carrock Fell
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland.
- Criffel Scotland
- Great Dun Fell North Pennines
- Solway Firth bay/estuary
- Cross Fell North Pennines
All 59 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
High Pike (Caldbeck), Bowscale Fell, Knott, Bannerdale Crags, Great Calva, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Bakestall, Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw, Skiddaw Little Man, Great Mell Fell, Clough Head, Little Mell Fell, Great Dodd, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Hart Side, Watson's Dodd, White Side, Arthur's Pike, Bonscale Pike, Catstye Cam, Place Fell, Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), Helvellyn, Beda Fell (Beda Head), Maiden Moor, Loadpot Hill, Birks, St Sunday Crag, Wether Hill, High Spy, The Nab, Hindscarth, Dale Head, Fairfield, Rest Dodd, Hart Crag, High Raise (High Street), Hartsop Dodd, The Knott (High Street), Rampsgill Head, Kidsty Pike, Gray Crag, Grey Knotts, High Street, Middle Dodd, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Thornthwaite Crag, Brandreth, Red Screes, Red Pike (Buttermere), Green Gable, Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Pillar, Ill Bell, Yoke, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Red Pike (Wasdale)
How Carrock 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.
Best parking to hike Carrock Fell
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
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.
Buses to Carrock Fell from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere
No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Hazard & Incident Information for Carrock Fell
A rough, rugged fell at the northern edge of the Lakes above Mosedale, crowned by an ancient hill fort and girt with crags of loose volcanic rock. Its steep south-western face is a tortuous tangle of crag, scree, heather and bracken, threaded only by an indistinct grassy rake, and its lower slopes are riddled with the disused shafts and levels of Carrock Mine. Rough and tricky in mist. Keswick Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.
- Crags, loose rock & the hidden Rake Trod: The crags are bypassed by a steep grassy rake (Rake Trod) that is hard to find, hidden among bracken and scree, on loose volcanic rock. Take care to locate and stay on the line; the loose rock, thistles and heather make for a tortuous, slippery climb.
- Disused Carrock Mine workings: The lower reaches are littered with the open shafts and levels of Carrock Mine. Keep clear of openings and spoil, and don't enter or peer into the old workings.
- Rough terrain & navigation in mist: Carrock Fell is rough and genuinely tricky to navigate in mist, with steep, unstable scree on the descent. Carry map and compass, take the loose descent carefully, and pick a clear day if you can.
Most common causes: Slips on loose volcanic rock, scree and the hidden Rake Trod · Falls into or near the disused Carrock Mine shafts and levels · Navigation errors on the rough, craggy ground in mist · Unstable scree on the steep descent
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.
Navigating Carrock Fell in cloud
StraightforwardA 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 Carrock Fell compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Frequently asked questions about Carrock Fell
Is Carrock Fell a Wainwright?
Yes — 662 m (2,172 ft) in the Northern Fells, out in the quiet Back o' Skiddaw country above Mosedale. It's the odd one out among its grassy neighbours: rocky, heathery and craggy-fronted, with far more mountain character than its height suggests.
Is Carrock Fell hard to climb?
Moderate, and rougher than most Northern Fells: the direct way up from the Mosedale road picks through heather, scree and rocky steps — hands out of pockets occasionally, nothing sustained. In descent, or in mist, the broken ground demands more attention than the map suggests.
What is on the summit of Carrock Fell?
The remains of a large ancient hillfort — a tumbled stone rampart ringing the whole summit plateau, one of the most striking archaeological sites on any Lakeland top. Its age and story are still debated by archaeologists; walk the wall line and don't move the stones.
Where do you park for Carrock Fell?
Roadside pull-offs on the Mosedale–Calebreck lane below the fell's eastern front (the Stone Ends area) — informal and limited; park considerately on firm verge only. Baggers usually pair Carrock with High Pike for a half-day round.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-07-20 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)
Other fells near Carrock Fell
Maps & guidebooks for Carrock Fell
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