Great Borne

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616 mWainwright — Western Fells+11 bonus Birketts within 3 km Fewer traps in Clag

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. The ascent from Ennerdale or Lamplugh is across open moorland.

Summit conditions on Great Borne

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 64 mph, 3.0 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.

Wind on the top

Past the line

60 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 52 mph times our exposure factor of 1.15. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 64 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS (opens in new tab) describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.

Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.

Also checked cold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 31 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20; rain: 3.0 mm in the day, under our 6 mm line. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.

Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.

Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Routes up Great Borne

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

Great Borne & Starling Dodd Planned, not yet walked

15.97 km · ~1122 m ascent · ~5–6¾ h · loop · 3 summits

Hard effort Severe: steepness

Park: Buttermere village, by the Bridge Hotel (roadside, free) · Bus: 77 at the start

Red Pike, Starling Dodd and Great Borne along the western end of the High Stile ridge — three tops, 16 km and 1,122 m, with one stage averaging 20%. Hard for length, severe for steepness; about 5–6¾ 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 →

Is Great Borne hard to climb?

The climb is steep and the ground is rough, but there is nothing technical on it. Great Borne guards the western end of the Ennerdale ridge. On our round most of the climbing comes first, on the pull up to Red Pike, and the last rise onto Great Borne from the col below Starling Dodd is a steady drag.

Our round with Starling Dodd is 16.0 km with 1122 m of ascent and we grade its steepness severe. What makes it a day to think about is remoteness rather than difficulty: this is the far western end of the district and the walk out is as long as the walk in.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 616 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast

Tue 27 Oct

12° / 6°

64 mph

3.0 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

9° / 6°

45 mph

3.8 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

9° / 7°

25 mph

0.6 mm (26%)

Fri 30 Oct

9° / 6°

25 mph

0.3 mm (31%)

Sat 31 Oct

11° / 2°

6 mph

0.0 mm (25%)

Sun 1 Nov

8° / 1°

7 mph

0.0 mm (12%)

Mon 2 Nov

7° / 0°

15 mph

0.0 mm (0%)

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)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Great Borne

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Buttermere village, by the Bridge Hotel (roadside, free) — at the start of Great Borne & Starling Dodd

Walking base for Red Pike (Buttermere), High Stile, High Stile (Grey Crag - High Stile) and High Crag (Buttermere) — the 'High Stile, Seat via Buttermere' route starts 5 m away. Also serves 'Great Bourne & Starling Dodd'. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

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. Fees (Forestry England, read 17 October 2026): up to 2 hours £3, up to 4 hours £6, all day £10; cards only, or RingGo within 48 hours; Blue Badge holders pay; free to Forestry England members; no overnight stays. The last 4 km of road to the car park is narrow and bendy, with few passing places, and there is no vehicle access beyond it.

Directions Something changed here?

Kelton Fell (layby) — 4.1 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Kelton Fell (0.7 km), Murton Fell (Knock Murton) (1.2 km), Godworth (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

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 and 77A stop at Buttermere, outside Court Hotel, a 100 m walk from the start of Great Borne & Starling Dodd — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. 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. Last bus: Monday to Friday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Saturday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Sunday 18:20 towards Keswick (77). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”

Keswick – Portinscale – Hawes End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)

Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)

Seasonal (Summer 2026 timetable: 23 March to 1 November 2026). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

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 Great Borne

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Great Borne & Starling Dodd

If you need to get off (the leg from Starling Dodd): From the col between Starling Dodd and Great Borne, the way back is the way you came, over Starling Dodd; it is also the way this walk returns. We have not checked a line down into Ennerdale from the col, so none is offered here.

Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Great Borne.

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.

Navigating in cloud

Fewer traps in cloud

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of steep ground within half a kilometre of the summit. This top is in the lowest of the index’s four bands, and a low band never means “safe”: carry map and compass and know how to use them.

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 (experimental).

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

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Great Borne

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

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 · Western

2.6 km ESELittle Dodd (Ennerdale)590 m · Western

2.9 km NNWHigh Pen475 m · Western

2.9 km ENEScale Knott338 m · Western

3.0 km NNELittle Dodd (Loweswater)362 m · Western

Routes over Great Borne

Great Borne & Starling Dodd

15.97 km · ~1122 m ascent · loop · ~5–6¾ h

Hard effort Severe: steepness

Summits: Red Pike (Buttermere)Starling DoddGreat Borne

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide: Great Borne & Starling Dodd →

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 Great Borne

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Great Borne & Starling Dodd route:

Bridge Hotel (10 m from the start, straight line) The Fish Hotel (53 m from the start, straight line) Mountain Road junction (142 m from the start, straight line) Buttermere Youth Hostel (N bound) (301 m from the start, straight line) Syke Farm Campsite (227 m from the start, straight line)

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

About Great Borne

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

Combined naturally with Starling Dodd for a circuit above Ennerdale Water.

Classifications & hill data

Is Great Borne a Wainwright?

Great Borne is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list, the Fellranger list, the HuMP list and the Hewitt list.

Selected lists

616 m

Height

2,021 ft

In feet

NY 1239 1636

Grid ref

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

The summit is also a Birkett.

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 →

The view from Great Borne

The 360° skyline 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

The skyline as a list, 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 Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Great Borne

Great Borne waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 December, when the sun is up for 24 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 08:36 against an almanac sunrise of 08:12. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (133.3°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.26°.

Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.

Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
	First light	Almanac sunrise	Difference
Midsummer	04:47 BST ±5.0 min	04:38	+9 min
Equinox	06:21 GMT ±5.0 min	06:16	+5 min
Midwinter	08:52 GMT ±5.0 min	08:34	+18 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.32°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Great Borne

Great Borne holds the light. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does the sun leave this summit before almanac sunset — the ground falls away westward rather than standing over you, and at midsummer it is still in the sun 4 minutes after the valley has lost it.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
	Last light	Almanac sunset	Difference
Midsummer	21:58 BST ±5.0 min	21:54	+4 min
Equinox	18:33 GMT ±5.0 min	18:27	+6 min
Midwinter	15:57 GMT ±5.0 min	15:50	+7 min

These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.

What you can see from Great Borne

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.

49Wainwrights in view+4 marginal

176 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction

2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

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

Far horizons

Slieve Binnian Northern IrelandWSW · 176 km clear
Slieve Donard Northern IrelandW · 171 km clear
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 the view from Great Borne compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed

Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Great Borne. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes.

Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. 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.

Places to stay near this fell

Bridge Hotel (opens in new tab) hotelabout 0.0 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).

Frequently asked questions about Great Borne

Is Great Borne hard to climb? Answered above.

How hard is Great Borne and Starling Dodd?

Hard. It is a steep walk that needs good fitness and navigation skills. Our round from Buttermere over Red Pike, Starling Dodd and Great Borne is 16.0 km with 1,122 m of ascent, with a steepest sustained pull of about 40%.

The catch is the length and the quiet: 16 km and 1,122 m is a full day, the ground between the tops is rough, and Ennerdale is a quiet valley, so plan to look after yourselves. Set a turn-back time before you start rather than deciding at the last summit.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-09-23 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Great Borne

Summit conditions on Great Borne

Wind on the top

Routes up Great Borne

Is Great Borne hard to climb?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Great Borne

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Great Borne

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Great Borne & Starling Dodd

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Great Borne

Routes over Great Borne

On the hill: terrain and water on Great Borne

Water & shelter on the way up

About Great Borne

Classifications & hill data

Is Great Borne a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from Great Borne

The 360° skyline from Great Borne

Sunrise and sunset on Great Borne

Last light — when the sun leaves Great Borne

What you can see from Great Borne

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Great Borne

Other fells near Great Borne