Darling Fell
Darling Fell at 392m (1,286ft) is a Birkett top just north of Loweswater, 0.8 km west of Low Fell. Our Around Loweswater route crosses its summit. Combined with Low Fell above Loweswater on a longer walk.
Summit conditions on Darling Fell
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 13° to 8°C, gusts to 53 mph, 3.1 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 Darling Fell
Choose the way up before the car park: these two routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.
| Compared | Around Loweswater | Birketts North of Loweswater |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid) | Lay-by west of Darling Fell, Loweswater |
| Distance and climb | 19.13 km, 1,068 m of climb | 10.58 km, 655 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~5½–7½ h | ~3–4½ h |
| Scrambling | Not mentioned in the route’s notes | Not mentioned in the route’s notes |
| Exposure | Moderate | Not assessed |
| Navigation | Moderate | Hard |
| Steepest stretch | Climb of about 35% at 2.1 km (Severe) | Climb of about 31% at 1.9 km (Hard) |
| After the summit | Over Smithy Fell, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Burnbank Fell, Blake Fell and Gavel Fell | Over Loweswater Fell (Low Fell South Top), Low Fell, Sourfoot Fell, Smithy Fell, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell and Hatteringill Head - Whin Fell |
| Walked or planned | Planned: drawn, not yet walked | Planned: drawn, not yet walked |
| Car park at the start | Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid) | unnamed layby west of Darling Fell |
| 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, 4.8 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 →
How hard is Darling Fell?
The shortest way up we hold is Birketts North of Loweswater — 10.58 km, 655 m of ascent, ~3–4½ h. On our scale its hardest axes are steepness, terrain and navigation — Hard.
All axes: steepness: Hard · terrain: Hard · navigation: Hard · length: Moderate · 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 392 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Darling Fell
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Darling Fell
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.
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 Darling Fell
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Around Loweswater
If you need to get off (the leg from the start): If the climb proves too hard, turn round and carefully retrace your steps down the grassy bank to the valley floor; avoid drifting west into steeper, craggier terrain overlooking the lake.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Darling 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.
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 Darling Fell
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Darling Fell
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
A planned line, drawn from the map; not yet walked. Its heights come from a terrain model, not a GPS recording, because the drawn line carried none. It shares the ridge from Low Fell to Fellbarrow with our walk round Loweswater to Fellbarrow and Low Fell, but starts on the north side of the lake and adds Darling Fell, Low Fell’s south top and Hatteringill Head.
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
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 Darling Fell
Classifications & hill data
Is Darling Fell a Wainwright?
Darling Fell 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
- 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).