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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 → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Great Borne

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 (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 8°C, gusts to 25 mph, 2.5 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 25 mph
🌧 2.5 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 9°
💨 48 mph
🌧 28.1 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
12° / 7°
💨 14 mph
🌧 0.1 mm (74%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
14° / 7°
💨 32 mph
🌧 13.5 mm (96%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 30 mph
🌧 9.9 mm (100%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 33 mph
🌧 4.6 mm (96%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 37 mph
🌧 7.2 mm (98%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 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

Great Borne at a glance

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 Borne & Starling Dodd
16 km · ~5 hr
Red Pike, Starling Dodd and Great Borne along the western end of the High Stile ridge — three tops, 16 km and 1,100 m, with one stage averaging 20%. Hard for length, severe for steepness; about 5 hours.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Western
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
HuMP
616 m
Height
2,021 ft
In feet
NY 1239 1636
Grid ref

The short answers

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 and the HuMP list.

Where do you park for Great Borne?

The nearest car park we hold is Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid), about 1.7 km from the summit in a straight line. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

Parking & buses for Great Borne

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. Fees: £2 for 1 hour; £3.50 for 2 hours; £5 for 4 hours; £8 all day (Forestry England charges, per notice on NT Ennerdale page) (NT, checked Aug 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Bleach Green, Ennerdale (free) — 4.0 km from summit (straight line)
At the western end of Ennerdale Water, for the lakeshore path. Fees: Free (not National Trust), per NT Ennerdale page (NT, checked Aug 2026). UU Ennerdale page states it has 'no plans to close or introduce car parking charges at any of the United Utilities car parks in the Ennerdale valley' - i.e. no charge currently applies (United Utilities, checked Aug 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Grike car park (free) — 4.0 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Grike (1.4 km), Crag Fell (1.6 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?

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.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Great Borne by bus

The 77 stops at Buttermere, outside Court Hotel, 100 m from the start of Great Borne & Starling Dodd. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day, and it is not daily before then — a bus on 31 of the 56 days from 7 September. We don’t know when it returns. Confirmed with the operator, 29 August 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, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse 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 (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

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

Hazards on Great Borne

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

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.

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 · 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 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. 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)🚌 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.

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
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.

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°.

0°30°40°50°60°04:47
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 lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer04:47 BST ±5.0 min04:38+9 min
Equinox06:21 GMT ±5.0 min06:16+5 min
Midwinter08:52 GMT ±5.0 min08:34+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 lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:58 BST ±5.0 min21:54+4 min
Equinox18:33 GMT ±5.0 min18:27+6 min
Midwinter15:57 GMT ±5.0 min15:50+7 min

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. 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
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.

Places to stay near this fell

Bridge Hotel hotel

about 0.0 km from the start, in a straight line

It is 20 m from where all five Buttermere routes begin and it is the only hotel in the valley that says it takes dogs, in a cluster where three of the other four beds state a pet restriction. It also states its own size - "21 EN-SUITE BEDROOMS AND 6 SELF-CATERING APARTMENTS" - and its own food and ales, so a party coming off Red Pike at six can eat and sleep without moving the car. Set against that: only its home page is in the cache and that page answers nothing about parking, drying, children or family rooms, and it publishes no email and no phone at all, so this is a place you book online or ring on OSM's number, not one you email.

The bedrooms are deliberately unwired - no television, no radio, and no mobile signal to lose.

  • Dogs “A true dog-friendly hotel in the Lake District”
  • Evening meal “Exceptionally friendly and professional service, homemade food, carefully selected local real ales with our staff who naturally go the extra mile to ensure your needs meet your expectations.”

Worth knowing before you book

These places state on their own site that they do not take children.

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions about Great Borne

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, and whichever way you come at it you gain the height in one go.

Our round with Starling Dodd is 16.0 km with 1100 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.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction

Other fells near Great Borne