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

Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Great Rigg

Great Rigg at 766m (2,513ft) is the subsidiary summit on the Fairfield Horseshoe between Fairfield and Heron Pike, a broad ridge top that Wainwright described as giving one of the finest views of the Rydal valley and the wooded country south towards Ambleside.

766 m
Height
~3.5–4.5 h
Typical time
+2
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Great Rigg

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

766 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+2 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 766 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 12°C, gusts to 36 mph, 10.3 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
14° / 12°
💨 36 mph
🌧 10.3 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 11°
💨 32 mph
🌧 4.0 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 3°
💨 27 mph
🌧 1.0 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 1°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 2°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
15° / 3°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 12 mph
🌧 0.2 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 766 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 Rigg

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

Great Rigg at 766m (2,513ft) is the subsidiary summit on the Fairfield Horseshoe between Fairfield and Heron Pike, a broad ridge top that Wainwright described as giving one of the finest views of the Rydal valley and the wooded country south towards Ambleside. The summit is usually passed without pausing on the popular Fairfield Horseshoe circuit, but those who linger are rewarded with excellent views of Windermere and the distant sea. The descent from here via Stone Arthur to Grasmere is an excellent alternative finish to the horseshoe circuit.

Routes up Great Rigg

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

Fairfield Horseshoe
16.9 km · ~4.9 hr · Moderate
One of the classic Lakeland rounds and a fine first big horseshoe. From the car park at Rydal it's a steady, moderate climb with only a minor amount of scrambling — my kids, then 7 and 10, managed it, though they found it a long day. You can easily start from Ambleside instead: stock up at the shops on the way out and finish at the Royal Oak for a well-earned pint. The full round takes in eight tops, with Fairfield's broad summit the high point and Windermere laid out behind you on the descent.
Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside
22.4 km · ~6.7 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
766 m
Height
2,513 ft
In feet
NY 3559 1040
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Grasmere village (paid), about 3.5 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Great Rigg (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.

1.7 km NCofa Pike823 m · Eastern
1.7 km SHeron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)621 m · Eastern

Routes over Great Rigg

Fairfield HorseshoeRevised
16.92 km · ~925 m ascent · loop · ~4.5–6.5 h · Clockwise · Moderate
Summits: Nab ScarHeron Pike (Rydal)Heron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)Great RiggFairfieldHart CragDove CragHigh Pike (Scandale)Low Pike

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Any season in good conditions; save the broad, featureless summit for a clear day.

⚠️ Warnings: Fairfield's broad summit plateau is confusing in cloud — carry a map and compass and take a bearing before descending.; A little easy scrambling in places, but nothing obligatory.

Full route guide ↗

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

Long Hike to Fairfield from AmblesideRevised
22.39 km · ~1350 m ascent · loop · ~6.5–9 h
Summits: Red ScreesDove CragHart CragFairfieldGreat RiggHeron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)Heron Pike (Rydal)Nab Scar

⬇️ 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 Rigg

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 Rigg36 labelled tops shown (11 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 14 kmHelvellyn · 5 kmBowfell · 12 kmGreat Gable · 14 kmPillar · 18 kmRaise · 7 kmFairfield · 1 kmCrinkle Crags · 12 kmGrasmoor · 21 kmHigh Stile · 19 kmHigh Raise · 10 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 15 kmSwirl How · 13 kmDove Crag · 2 kmGrisedale Pike · 20 kmHarter Fell · 10 kmRed Screes · 4 kmHigh Raise · 8 kmDale Head · 14 kmCarl Side · 20 kmLittle Stand · 13 kmKentmere Pike · 11 kmWhitfell · 26 kmLord's Seat · 22 kmHart Crag · 2 kmCriffel · 65 km · clear daysHigh Pike · 2 kmHeron Pike North Top · 2 kmWard's Stone · 57 km · clear daysLow Pike · 3 kmBaystones · 7 kmKitty Crag · 13 kmLoughrigg Fell · 5 kmBirch Fell · 22 kmHolme Fell · 11 kmAye Gill Pike · 42 km · clear daysDollywaggon Pike · 3 kmEel Crag · 20 kmRampsgill Head · 9 kmDow Crag · 16 kmGrey Friar · 14 kmHopegill Head · 21 kmStonesty Pike · 12 kmIll Bell · 8 kmLow White Stones · 7 kmHindscarth · 15 kmGrey Knotts · 14 kmHarter Fell · 17 kmSeat Sandal · 2 kmLoft Crag · 8 kmWhernside · 48 km · clear daysHeron Pike · 2 kmStanding Crag · 7 kmDodd · 20 kmWansfell Pike · 7 kmSour Howes · 10 kmCat Bells · 15 kmBlake Rigg · 11 kmFair Snape Fell · 68 km · clear daysTop o' Selside · 19 kmnameless · 16 kmRaven's Barrow · 23 kmSnowdon · 173 km · a handful of days a yearAran Fawddwy · 194 km · a handful of days a yearCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 116 km · a rare clear dayCorserine · 115 km · a rare clear dayYr Eifl · 193 km · a handful of days a yearPendle Hill · 82 km · a rare clear dayMoel y Gamelin · 165 km · a handful of days a yearGreat Whernside · 74 km · a rare clear dayWauk Hill · 96 km · a rare clear dayWinter Hill · 100 km · a rare clear dayBillinge Hill · 110 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Great Rigg, by direction
  • North: Fairfield (1 km), Dollywaggon Pike (3 km), Helvellyn (5 km), Raise (7 km)
  • East: Dove Crag (2 km), Red Screes (4 km), Rampsgill Head (9 km), High Raise (10 km), Harter Fell (10 km)
  • South-west: Crinkle Crags (12 km), Shelter Crags (12 km), Crinkle Crags (12 km), Crinkle Crags (12 km), Crinkle Crags (12 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (12 km), Great Carrs (13 km), Swirl How (13 km), Brim Fell (15 km), The Old Man of Coniston (15 km)
  • West: Bowfell (12 km), Esk Pike (12 km), Great End (13 km), Ill Crag (14 km), Broad Crag (14 km), Green Gable (14 km), Scafell Pike (14 km), Great Gable (14 km), Scafell (15 km), Pillar (18 km), Pillar Rock (18 km), Black Crag (19 km), Red Pike (19 km), High Stile (19 km), High Stile (19 km), Scoat Fell (20 km), Steeple (20 km)
  • North-west: Crag Hill (19 km), Eel Crag (20 km), Grisedale Pike (20 km), Grasmoor (21 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (173 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (161 km, Wales), Aran Fawddwy (194 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (169 km, Wales), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (116 km, Scotland), Corserine (115 km, Scotland), Arenig Fawr (181 km, Wales), Yr Eifl (193 km, Wales).

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 Rigg

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
95Wainwrights in view+11 marginal
173 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewSolway Firth, Morecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales and Scotland.

Far horizons
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 173 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 157 km clear
  • Merrick ScotlandNW · 121 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNW · 66 km distant
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNW · 55 km in view
  • Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSE · 53 km clear
  • Whernside Yorkshire DalesSE · 47 km clear
  • Morecambe Bay bay/estuaryS · 36 km in view
All 95 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Fairfield, Stone Arthur, Hart Crag, Seat Sandal, Dove Crag, Heron Pike (Rydal), High Pike (Scandale), Dollywaggon Pike, Low Pike, Helm Crag, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Gibson Knott, Nethermost Pike, Red Screes, Helvellyn, Silver How, Tarn Crag (Easedale), Loughrigg Fell, Calf Crag, Catstye Cam, Blea Rigg, Raise, Sergeant Man, Baystones (Wansfell), Pavey Ark, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Harrison Stickle, Thunacar Knott, The Knott (High Street), Ill Bell, Loft Crag, Pike of Stickle, Black Fell, Rampsgill Head, Kidsty Pike, High Raise (High Street), Sour Howes, High Seat, Pike of Blisco, Holme Fell, Glaramara, Kentmere Pike, Wetherlam, Cold Pike, Bleaberry Fell, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Allen Crags, Esk Pike, Great Carrs, Swirl How, Great End, Base Brown, High Spy, Grey Friar, Grey Knotts, Green Gable, Dale Head, Brandreth, Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Brim Fell, Cat Bells (Catbells), The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Hindscarth, Scafell, Dow Crag, Robinson, Causey Pike, Barrow, Harter Fell (Eskdale), Ard Crags, High Crag (Buttermere), Scar Crags, Pillar, Sail, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Red Pike (Wasdale), Wandope, High Stile, Whiteless Pike, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Steeple, Grisedale Pike, Red Pike (Buttermere), Dodd (Skiddaw), Grasmoor, Hopegill Head, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Barf, Lord's Seat, Whinlatter (Brown How - Whinlatter), Broom Fell, Sale Fell

How Great Rigg’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 Rigg

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

Grasmere village (paid) — 3.5 km from summit (straight line)
For Helm Crag, Silver How, the Easedale fells and the Far Easedale round.
Directions
🚺 Grasmere (71m) — Accessible · RADAR key🚺 Stock Lane carpark (425m) — Accessible☕ The Little Inn Coffee Shop☕ Grasmere Tea Gardens☕ Thirteen Valleys Kitchen🍺 1769 Bar & Restaurant🍺 Tweedies Bar🍺 The Distiller’s Arms🏪 Grasmere Outdoors🏪 Mountain Hi🏪 Trespass🏪 Mountain Warehouse
Steel End, Thirlmere (paid) — 3.8 km from summit (straight line)
South end of Thirlmere for the Wythburn valley and Armboth fells.
Directions
🚺 Dob Gill Car Park (933m) — Free

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 Fairfield Horseshoe route:

🚌 Church for Rydal Mount (146 m)⛺ map (432 m)⛺ Rydal Hall Youth Centre Bunkhouse (441 m)

On the Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside route:

🛖 map (6 m)🛖 map (65 m)🛖 map (77 m)🚺 map (30 m)🚺 map (108 m)🚺 map (123 m)🚌 Loughrigg Avenue (71 m)🚌 Hayes Garden Centre (189 m)🚌 Kelsick Road Stand 1 (256 m)⛺ Ambleside Backpackers (19 m)

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

Buses to Great Rigg from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

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.

My hikes over Great Rigg (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Navigating Great Rigg in cloud

Straightforward

Walkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. 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 Rigg 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 Rigg

Maps & guidebooks for Great Rigg

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