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

Wainwright — Western FellsAlso a Birkett

Great Borne

Great Borne at 616m (2,021ft) is an isolated, rounded summit above Ennerdale Water, its summit giving excellent views of the lake and the remote Ennerdale valley below.

616 m
Height
~4–5 h
Typical time
+11
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

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616 mWainwright — Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+11 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 616 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 13°C, gusts to 34 mph, 2.2 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
14° / 13°
💨 34 mph
🌧 2.2 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 11°
💨 27 mph
🌧 12.8 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
13° / 4°
💨 28 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 2°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 15 mph
🌧 1.2 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌤️
15° / 5°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 616 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

About the walk

Key information

Great Borne

Great Borne, a Lake District fell
Photo: Mick Knapton at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Great Borne at 616m (2,021ft) is an isolated, rounded summit above Ennerdale Water, its summit giving excellent views of the lake and the remote Ennerdale valley below. Wainwright noted the fine Ennerdale views from the summit and the pleasant, solitary character of this less-visited western fell. The ascent from Ennerdale or Lamplugh is across open moorland. Combined naturally with Starling Dodd for a circuit above Ennerdale Water.

Routes up Great Borne

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

Great Bourne & Starling Dodd
16 km · ~5 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Western
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
HuMP
616 m
Height
2,021 ft
In feet
NY 1239 1636
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid), about 1.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Great Borne (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 WHerdus562 m · Western
1.0 km EGale Fell518 m · Western
1.0 km WSWBrown How (Ennerdale)330 m · Western
1.0 km NFloutern Cop451 m · Western
1.3 km NWBanna Fell455 m · Western
1.4 km SWBowness Knott333 m · Western
2.6 km NGavel Fell - High Nook (Gavel Fell North Top)488 m · North Western
2.6 km ESELittle Dodd (Ennerdale)590 m · Western
2.9 km NNWHigh Pen475 m · North Western
2.9 km ENEScale Knott338 m · Western
3.0 km NNELittle Dodd (Loweswater)362 m · North Western

Routes over Great Borne

Great Bourne & Starling DoddLive
15.97 km · ~1100 m ascent · loop · ~5–6.5 h
Summits: Red Pike (Buttermere)Starling DoddGreat Borne

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from Great Borne

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 Great Borne36 labelled tops shown (20 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 22 kmSkiddaw · 19 kmGreat End · 13 kmFairfield · 24 kmGreat Dodd · 22 kmScoat Fell · 6 kmCrag Hill · 8 kmBlack Crag · 6 kmHigh Stile · 5 kmGreen Gable · 11 kmHaycock · 6 kmGlaramara · 14 kmRobinson · 8 kmClough Head · 22 kmWhiteside East Top · 8 kmCaw Fell · 5 kmArd Crags · 9 kmLank Rigg · 6 kmBroom Fell · 13 kmCriffel · 48 km · clear daysBinsey · 22 kmIron Crag · 4 kmHerdus · 1 kmCarling Knott · 4 kmCrag Fell · 3 kmLoweswater End · 4 kmBengairn · 52 km · clear daysGrike · 4 kmHigh Pen · 3 kmLow Pen · 3 kmLingmell · 4 kmLow Fell · 6 kmFellbarrow · 8 kmKinniside · 7 kmDent · 9 kmCaermote Hill · 22 kmGreat Gable · 11 kmPillar · 6 kmHigh Crag · 22 kmGrasmoor · 6 kmRed Pike · 4 kmLittle Gowder Crag · 6 kmHindscarth · 9 kmWhiteless Pike · 6 kmHen Comb · 2 kmMurton Fell · 4 kmSourfoot Fell · 7 kmBishop Forest Hill · 69 km · clear daysSnowdon · 170 km · a handful of days a yearSlieve Donard · 171 km · a handful of days a yearMerrick · 98 km · a rare clear dayBroad Law · 107 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 78 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 97 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Fleet · 80 km · a rare clear daySlieve Croob · 171 km · a handful of days a yearYr Eifl · 188 km · a handful of days a yearGreen Lowther · 98 km · a rare clear dayDivis · 172 km · a handful of days a yearCulter Fell · 113 km · a rare clear dayBeneraird · 117 km · a rare clear dayAgnew's Hill · 170 km · a handful of days a yearWisp Hill · 87 km · a rare clear dayRoan Fell · 84 km · a rare clear dayColt Hill · 93 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 116 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 97 km · a rare clear dayCairnkinna Hill · 92 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Great Borne, by direction
  • North-east: Grasmoor (6 km), Wandope (7 km), Whiteside (7 km), Whiteside East Top (8 km), Crag Hill (8 km), Gasgale Crags (8 km), Hopegill Head (8 km), Ladyside Pike (9 km), Skiddaw (19 km)
  • East: Red Pike (4 km), High Stile (5 km), High Stile (5 km), Robinson (8 km), Hindscarth (9 km), Dale Head (10 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (21 km), Watson's Dodd (21 km), Helvellyn (22 km), Clough Head (22 km), Nethermost Pike (22 km), High Crag (22 km), Great Dodd (22 km), Catstye Cam (22 km), Dollywaggon Pike (22 km), Fairfield (24 km), Cofa Pike (24 km)
  • South-east: Steeple (6 km), Scoat Fell (6 km), Black Crag (6 km), Pillar (6 km), Kirk Fell East Top (9 km), Brandreth (10 km), Great Gable (11 km), Green Gable (11 km), Great End (13 km), Glaramara (14 km), Looking Steads (14 km), Thunacar Knott (18 km)
  • South: Little Gowder Crag (6 km), Haycock (6 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (170 km, Wales), Slieve Donard (171 km, Ireland), Carnedd Llewelyn (158 km, Wales), Merrick (98 km, Scotland), Broad Law (107 km, Scotland), Snaefell (78 km, Isle of Man), Moel Siabod (167 km, Wales), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (97 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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Great Borne

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
49Wainwrights in view+4 marginal
170 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Far horizons
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 170 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 155 km clear
  • Merrick ScotlandNW · 99 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 78 km clear
  • Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 59 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNNW · 49 km clear
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 38 km in view
  • Irish Sea open waterWNW · 22 km in view
All 49 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Starling Dodd, Hen Comb, Gavel Fell, Crag Fell, Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), Blake Fell, Red Pike (Buttermere), Grike, High Stile, Rannerdale Knotts, Caw Fell, Lank Rigg, Steeple, Haycock, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Whiteless Pike, Pillar, Low Fell, Grasmoor, Wandope, Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), Robinson, Knott Rigg, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Hopegill Head, Ard Crags, Hindscarth, Dale Head, Brandreth, Great Gable, Green Gable, Maiden Moor, Graystones (Graystones North Top), Broom Fell, Great End, Glaramara, Bleaberry Fell, Thunacar Knott, Watson's Dodd, Binsey, Helvellyn, Clough Head, Nethermost Pike, Great Dodd, Catstye Cam, Dollywaggon Pike, Fairfield, Great Mell Fell

How Great Borne’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 Great Borne

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

Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid) — 1.7 km from summit (straight line)
Forestry England car park at the end of the Ennerdale valley road, on the lake's north shore (OS NY 110 154; parking charges apply since 2023) — Great Borne, Starling Dodd, and the long walk-ins to Pillar and Steeple.
Directions
Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, free) — 4.8 km from summit (straight line)
Small free car park for Mellbreak, Hen Comb and the Loweswater fells.
Directions

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.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Great Bourne & Starling Dodd route:

🚌 Bridge Hotel (10 m)🚌 The Fish Hotel (53 m)🚌 Mountain Road junction (142 m)🚌 Buttermere Youth Hostel (N bound) (301 m)⛺ Syke Farm Campsite (227 m)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

Buses to Great Borne 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 or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Navigating Great Borne in cloud

Straightforward

A rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. 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 Great Borne compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near Great Borne

Maps & guidebooks for Great Borne

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