⛰️ Clough Head

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

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726 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km

📖 Key Information

Clough Head at 726m (2,382ft) is the northernmost of the main Helvellyn ridge summits, a grassy whale-back that Wainwright noted as the ideal starting or finishing point for the full northern Dodds traverse. The summit gives outstanding views north to Skiddaw and Blencathra, east to the Pennines and south along the full length of the Helvellyn range. The steep northern face above the Vale of St John is particularly impressive. Approached from Wanthwaite or Dockray, or as the turnaround point of the excellent ridge walk from Thirlspot over Raise and the northern Dodds.

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 NWThrelkeld Knotts514 m · Eastern
1.4 km SSWCalfhow Pike660 m · Eastern
2.1 km SERanderside729 m · Eastern
2.2 km SLittle Dodd (St John's Common)785 m · Eastern
2.9 km WSWHigh Rigg (High Rigg South Top)343 m · Eastern
3.0 km SWWren Crag311 m · Eastern

⚠️ Hazard & Incident Information

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🦶 My hikes over Clough Head (Strava)

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🅿️ Potential parking

Threlkeld village (free/donation) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
Blencathra via Hall's Fell ridge; Clough Head across the valley.
Directions ↗
Legburthwaite (United Utilities, small) — 3.5 km from summit (straight line)
St John's in the Vale — Sticks Pass side, High Rigg, Raven Crag.
Directions ↗

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

🚌 Buses from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

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.
Stagecoach 555
Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.

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

🌦️ 7-day summit forecast

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Other fells in this region

Open Clough Head in the interactive explorer ↗