Wainwright — Southern FellsAlso a Birkett

Hard Knott

550 m

Height

~2.5–3 h

Typical time

+13

Bonus Birketts

See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Hard Knott

550 mWainwright — Southern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+13 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 550 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 9°C, gusts to 31 mph, 2.7 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep

🌦️

12° / 9°

💨 31 mph

🌧 2.7 mm (100%)

Sat 12 Sep

🌧️

14° / 9°

💨 53 mph

🌧 55.1 mm (100%)

Sun 13 Sep

🌦️

12° / 9°

💨 23 mph

🌧 0.4 mm (74%)

Mon 14 Sep

🌧️

14° / 8°

💨 32 mph

🌧 24.1 mm (96%)

Tue 15 Sep

🌧️

14° / 8°

💨 34 mph

🌧 14.1 mm (100%)

Wed 16 Sep

🌦️

10° / 9°

💨 33 mph

🌧 6.5 mm (96%)

Thu 17 Sep

🌧️

11° / 9°

💨 38 mph

🌧 12.0 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 550 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

Hard Knott at a glance

Hard Knott

Hard Knott at 549m (1,801ft) stands above the infamous Hardknott Pass, its rocky summit giving superb views down to the Roman fort of Mediobogdum directly below — one of the most evocative historical viewpoints in the Lake District. Wainwright described it as a fell of considerable character, its craggy, complex terrain quite out of proportion to its modest height. The ascent from the pass is short and steep, rewarded with outstanding views across to Harter Fell (Eskdale) and up to Scafell. Often combined with Harter Fell for a fine Eskdale circuit. An unmissable viewpoint for anyone driving or cycling the Hardknott road.

Routes up Hard Knott

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

Alternative Hardknott Round (Green Crag, Harter Fell & Hard Knott)

14.7 km · ~4.5 hr · Hard

A rugged Eskdale round over three characterful, quiet tops — Green Crag, Harter Fell and Hard Knott — through some of the wildest, least-walked country in the Lakes, with the Scafells filling the skyline. Rocky, boggy and lightly pathed: a proper fell day for those who like their hills empty.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright

Southern

Birkett

Fellranger

Synge

Marilyn

550 m

Height

1,804 ft

In feet

NY 2318 0237

Grid ref

The short answers

Is Hard Knott a Wainwright?

Hard Knott is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Fellranger list and the Marilyn list.

Where do you park for Hard Knott?

The nearest car park we hold is Roadside parking for Border End, about 0.9 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Hardknott Pass (roadside pull-ins), 0.9 km out. 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 Hard Knott

Best parking to hike Hard Knott

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

Roadside parking for Border End — 0.9 km from summit (straight line)

0.5 km from Border End. Added from the 5 Aug 2026 OSM candidate review.

Directions Something changed here?

Hardknott Pass (roadside pull-ins) — 0.9 km from summit (straight line)

Limited pull-ins near the pass summit for Hard Knott and Harter Fell. Don't block passing places.

Directions Something changed here?

Border End car park — 0.9 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Border End (0.7 km), Hard Knott (0.9 km), Horsehow Crags (1.1 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.

Directions Something changed here?

Border End (verge, east) — 0.9 km from summit (straight line)

0.5 km from Border End.

Directions Something changed here?

Border End (verge, west) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)

0.4 km from Border End.

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 Hard Knott by bus

The nearest bus stop we hold is the 516 at Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel (at), 10.9 km of walking from the start — not realistically reachable without a car.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Hard Knott

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 Hard Knott in cloud

Straightforward

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. 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 Hard Knott 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: Roadside parking for Border End, about 0.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Hard Knott (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 SWBorder End522 m · Southern

0.7 km NYew Bank499 m · Southern

1.7 km SSWHorsehow Crags433 m · Southern

1.8 km NWSilverybield Crag395 m · Southern

2.0 km NNWThrostlehow Crag404 m · Southern

2.1 km ENELittle Stand740 m · Southern

2.4 km SSWDemming Crag525 m · Southern

2.5 km NEStonesty Pike765 m · Southern

2.6 km NWHigh Scarth487 m · Southern

2.6 km NNWScar Lathing439 m · Southern

2.8 km NECrinkle Crags South Top (First Crinkle)834 m · Southern

2.8 km WSWGoat Crag312 m · Southern

2.8 km WDawsonground Crags397 m · Southern

Routes over Hard Knott

Alternative Hardknott Round (Green Crag, Harter Fell & Hard Knott)Planned

14.68 km · ~957 m ascent · loop · ~4.5–6 h · Hard

Summits: Green Crag Harter Fell (Eskdale)Hard Knott

✎️ Three wild, quiet Eskdale tops linked into a big round — boggy in stretches (notably north of Green Crag) and rocky underfoot; a dry, clear day makes all the difference.

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Late spring to autumn, in dry weather. The ground north of Green Crag is notably boggy and much slower when wet.

⚠️ Warnings: The ground north of Green Crag is boggy — wet, tussocky and slow, and worse after rain. Pick a dry spell and expect to lose time here. Rough, rocky and only lightly pathed — navigation needs care in poor visibility. Carry map and compass. A long, remote round (nearly 15 km, 950 m of ascent) with little quick escape; start early and carry food, water and layers. Livestock on the lower fields; keep dogs under close control.

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

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

The view from Hard Knott

The 360° skyline from Hard Knott

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

What you can see from Hard Knott, by direction

North: Bowfell (4 km), Pike de Bield (4 km), Ill Crag (5 km), Scafell Pike (5 km), Esk Pike (5 km), Broad Crag (5 km), Great End (6 km)
North-east: Little Stand (2 km), Stonesty Pike (2 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (3 km), Crinkle Crags (3 km)
East: Little Carrs (4 km), Great Carrs (4 km), Wetherlam (6 km), Sallows (20 km), Swinklebank Crag (27 km), nameless (27 km), Capplebarrow (28 km), White Howe (29 km), The Forest (30 km)
South-east: Grey Friar (4 km), Swirl How (4 km), Brim Fell (6 km), Dow Crag (6 km), Buck Pike (6 km), The Old Man of Coniston (6 km), Brown Pike (6 km), Walna Scar (7 km)
South: White Maiden (7 km), White Pike (7 km), Caw (8 km)
South-west: Whitfell (12 km), Burn Moor (13 km), Kinmont Buck Barrow (14 km)
West: Illgill Head (7 km), Whin Rigg (8 km)
North-west: Scafell (5 km), Seatallan (11 km), Haycock (12 km), Caw Fell (13 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Aran Fawddwy (184 km, Wales), Snaefell (85 km, Isle of Man), Arenig Fawr (170 km, Wales), South Barrule (101 km, Isle of Man), Cadair Berwyn (171 km, Wales), Carnedd y Filiast (162 km, Wales), Arenig Fach (166 km, Wales), Moel Famau (140 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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Hard Knott

Hard Knott waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when the sun is up for 43 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 05:21 against an almanac sunrise of 04:38. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the north-east from here (54.0°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 4.28°.

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	05:21 BST ±5.0 min	04:38	+43 min
Equinox	06:15 GMT ±5.0 min	06:16	-1 min
Midwinter	08:57 GMT ±5.0 min	08:33	+24 min

The northern horizon stands at about 3.85° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Hard Knott

The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (at midsummer) last light is only 9 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Hard Knott.

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	21:43 BST ±5.0 min	21:52	-9 min
Equinox	18:32 GMT ±5.0 min	18:27	+5 min
Midwinter	15:57 GMT ±5.0 min	15:50	+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 Hard Knott. 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 Hard Knott

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

23Wainwrights in view

85 kmFurthest sightlineSnaefell

1Sea in viewIrish Sea

On the clearest days the view reaches across to the Isle of Man.

Far horizons

Snaefell Isle of ManW · 85 km clear
Irish Sea open waterW · 41 km in view

All 23 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Harter Fell (Eskdale), Slight Side, Grey Friar, Great Carrs, Bowfell, Swirl How, Scafell, Scafell Pike, Esk Pike, Brim Fell, Dow Crag, Wetherlam, Great End, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Illgill Head, Whin Rigg (Wasdale), Middle Fell, Seatallan, Haycock, Caw Fell, Sour Howes, Sallows

How Hard Knott’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

We have not verified an independent place near this fell — these are the chains and charities that serve it.

YHA Eskdale (opens in new tab)

about 1.5 km from the start, in a straight line

The only bed in this radius that answers the whole 6pm-to-8am sequence from its own page: a shared drying room, parking at the hostel, breakfast from 07:30 (the same minute reception reopens), a snack menu 18:00-20:00 and a licensed bar so nobody drives, a self-catering kitchen, a cot and a highchair. It is also the only property here that publishes any child age policy at all, and that policy has a price attached: a family with under-12s cannot use the dorm beds and must buy private rooms or a Landpod. Reception is shut 10:00-17:00, so an early finisher on the Hardknott round cannot check in mid-afternoon.

Worth knowing: “Dogs: Pets are not permitted at YHA Eskdale, except in our Camping & Cabins accommodation or when hiring the whole hostel through YHA Exclusive Hire. Assistance dogs are welcome - please notify us at the time of booking.”

Purpose-built in the 1930s out of local pink granite by John Downer, it stayed open right through the war; YHA commissioned solar panels and a biomass wood-fuelled boiler here in 2008 and opened a solar garden in 2010.

Drying room “Shared drying room”
Family rooms “Four rooms that sleep up to 5 people each. They include 1 set of bunk beds and a high sleeper bunk with a double bed underneath.”
Evening meal “Food and drink: Breakfast is served to guests daily from 07:30 – 09:00. Our snack menu is also available from 18:00 - 20:00.”
Packed lunch “With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something tasty to eat at YHA Eskdale (see sample menu )”
Parking “Parking: There is parking at the hostel.”
Children “People of all ages are welcome at YHA. Guests aged under 16 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 years or older. Guests aged 16 and 17 years old who are unaccompanied by an adult can only stay in private rooms in 24/7 staffed hostels, with parental consent. See our under 18s admissions policy for more information and the list of hostels. Under 12s are not permitted in dorm rooms. Children under 3 can stay with us for free.”

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 (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Hard Knott

Is Hard Knott a hard walk?

The name is about the pass rather than the fell, and the fell is a modest one — rough, knobbly ground with plenty of little crags but no sustained climb and nothing technical.

The day around it is what takes the effort. Our Hardknott round is 14.7 km with 957 m of ascent, which we rate Hard and grade severe for steepness. Getting to this corner of Eskdale is half the commitment; the summit itself is a scramble-free wander among outcrops.

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 (opens in new tab)

Hard Knott

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

Hard Knott at a glance

Hard Knott

Routes up Hard Knott

Classifications & hill data

The short answers

Is Hard Knott a Wainwright?

Where do you park for Hard Knott?

Parking & buses for Hard Knott

Best parking to hike Hard Knott

Getting to Hard Knott by bus

Hazards on Hard Knott

Navigating Hard Knott in cloud

Map & nearby Birketts

Birketts near Hard Knott (within 3 km)

Routes over Hard Knott

The view from Hard Knott

The 360° skyline from Hard Knott

Sunrise and sunset on Hard Knott

Last light — when the sun leaves Hard Knott

What you can see from Hard Knott

Places to stay near this fell

YHA Eskdale (opens in new tab)

Frequently asked questions about Hard Knott

Other fells near Hard Knott