Haystacks - the rocky summit in strong spring sunshine, with High Crag rising to the left, Buttermere and Crummock Water in the valley and Grasmoor across it

Haystacks (Buttermere)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited April 2026

Home › Fells › Haystacks (Buttermere)

597 mWainwright — Western Fells+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

Haystacks at 597m (1,959ft) is the fell Wainwright loved above all others — not for its height, but for its character. It is a place of rocky knolls, tiny tarns, heather and unexpected views. His ashes were scattered here at Innominate Tarn.

Summit conditions on Haystacks (Buttermere)

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 66 mph, 9.8 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 51 mph times our exposure factor of 1.13. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 66 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.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

9.8 mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight

The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.

The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.

Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.

Also checked cold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 32 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. 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 Haystacks (Buttermere)

Choose the way up before the car park: these two routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.

Compared	Haystacks	Fleetwith Edge and Haystacks
Starts from	Honister Pass (paid, slate mine)	Gatesgarth Farm
Distance and climb	11.21 km, 792 m of climb	8.83 km, 767 m of climb
Time, fast to steady	~3½–4¾ h	~3–4¼ h
Scrambling	Hands for a few steps: the craggy east end and the summit rocks (km 2.4–5.5). Easy walking to the base; only the last few metres to the true summit are a short, sharp scramble on the sharp peak, and that final top can be skipped.	Hands for a few steps: Fleetwith Edge, the craggy ground below the top of Haystacks, and the rocky step down to Scarth Gap (km 0.8–1.9 and km 4.3–6.6).
Exposure	Moderate	Not assessed
Navigation	Hard	Hard
Steepest stretch	Descent of about 31% at 10.7 km (Hard)	Climb of about 42% at 1.6 km (Severe)
After the summit	Over Brandreth and Grey Knotts	No further tops
Walked or planned	Walked by Lee, April 2026	Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the start	Honister Pass (paid, slate mine)	Gatesgarth Farm, Buttermere (paid)
Bus to the start	77 at the start. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.	77 at the start. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.

Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.

Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →

Is Haystacks hard to climb?

Haystacks is a modest height (597 m / 1,959 ft) but a wonderfully complex little mountain, and harder than its size suggests. The climb is steep in places, the rocky summit is a maze of knolls, tarns and small crags, and there's some minor hands-on scrambling near the top.

It's well within reach of a fit, sure-footed walker, but it needs care with route-finding and steep drops rather than great stamina.

Sources: Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab)

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 597 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast

Tue 27 Oct

11° / 5°

66 mph

9.8 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

9° / 6°

42 mph

10.1 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

9° / 7°

26 mph

0.6 mm (67%)

Fri 30 Oct

8° / 6°

26 mph

0.3 mm (12%)

Sat 31 Oct

8° / 2°

4 mph

4.5 mm (8%)

Sun 1 Nov

8° / 1°

13 mph

0.0 mm (2%)

Mon 2 Nov

6° / -1°

9 mph

0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 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 Haystacks (Buttermere)

Parking

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

Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) — at the start of Haystacks

Paid parking at the top of the pass — Dale Head, Fleetwith Pike, Grey Knotts with minimal ascent. This is the slate mine's own car park, the WESTERN one; the National Trust car park 170 m east is a separate one. Fees: Day parking GBP 5 per day for visitors; free for all Honister activity guests (honister.com/your-visit/). Overnight parking GBP 15 a night in the large bottom car park, open to campervans, motorhomes and vans, no tent camping, no facilities, no electric hook-ups; book online or pay by QR code on arrival and display confirmation on the dashboard (honister.com/your-visit/overnight-parking) (operator, checked August 2026). You pay by card, inside the building, not at a machine in the car park. The posted opening is 9am but it is often later; the mine is content for you to arrive before it and pay on the way out, and the car park is covered by cameras (Lee McCoy, local observation, recorded 12 August 2026). Pay and display (LDNPA, checked August 2026).

Typically full before 10:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 9 August 2026.

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Seatoller (NT, paid) (2.4 km, 259 m up)

Public toilets (~136 m straight line) — Free Sky Hi Cafe

Gatesgarth Farm, Buttermere (paid) — at the start of Fleetwith Edge and Haystacks

Farm car park at the foot of Haystacks, Fleetwith Pike and the High Stile ridge.

Directions Something changed here?

Fleetwith Pike (layby) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)

On the Honister Pass road (B5289), about 610 m east of the Gatesgarth Farm car park. The nearest route start is 'Fleetwith Edge and Haystacks', at the Gatesgarth Farm car park, about 0.6 km west in a straight line. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

2 more places to park near Haystacks (Buttermere)

Honister Crag (layby) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Honister Crag (Black Star) (0.7 km), Fleetwith Pike (0.8 km), Dale Head (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Honister (NT, paid) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Great Gable, Green Gable, Brandreth and Grey Knotts — the 'Great Gable from Honister Slate Mine' route starts 61 m away. Also serves 'Haystacks'. Paid National Trust car park - the prices we used to show here came from an aggregator rather than the Trust, so we no longer publish a figure; check the machine on arrival, and members should bring their card (National Trust car-park list, checked August 2026). The machine takes cards, and National Trust members park free on production of their membership card (Lee McCoy, local observation, recorded 12 August 2026).

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 stops at Gatesgarth, at Mountain Rescue Point, a 40 m walk from the start of Fleetwith Edge and Haystacks — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). 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. The last bus is 18:26 towards Keswick (77), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 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 Haystacks (Buttermere)

Hazard & Incident Information for Haystacks (Buttermere)

Checked by Lee McCoy, 13 June 2026. Draws on published material from Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team and Keswick Mountain Rescue Team. Editorial background, not a live callout feed.

Hazard: Moderate

Haystacks punches above its modest height for incidents. Wainwright's fame — his ashes are scattered at Innominate Tarn — draws an unusually large and varied crowd, including many walkers without previous fell experience. The terrain is genuinely complex: rocky scrambling on the main ascent ridges, a knobbly summit plateau that disorients in mist, and a short but steep descent to Scarth Gap where ankle injuries are a recurring theme. Cockermouth MRT and Keswick MRT both respond here regularly.

Summit plateau in mist: The summit area of Haystacks is a maze of rocky knolls, tarns and boggy hollows — one of the most complex summit plateaux in Lakeland. In cloud it is very easy to lose the path and end up above steep crags. Do not attempt the summit in poor visibility unless you are a confident navigator with map and compass.
Rocky ascent ridges (Scarth Gap and Black Beck approaches): The main routes involve hands-on scrambling on rough volcanic rock. In wet conditions the rock is greasy and slips are likely. Take your time and do not rush the descent.
Descent to Scarth Gap: The short descent from the summit plateau to Scarth Gap Pass is steep and rocky. Multiple ankle injuries have occurred here, and Cockermouth MRT has been called to walkers unable to self-evacuate.

Who should attempt this fell: Haystacks deserves its reputation as a fell that repays care. The scrambling and complex summit are well within the abilities of an experienced hillwalker, but are not appropriate for beginners in poor conditions. Go on a clear day, wear boots with good ankle support, and carry a compass — the summit tarns make wonderful landmarks on a sunny day but vanish completely in cloud.

What to watch for: Ankle injuries on the rocky descent to Scarth Gap · Navigation errors on the complex summit plateau in mist · Slips on wet rock on the scrambling ascent · Underestimating the technical nature of the terrain

Local Mountain Rescue: Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · Keswick Mountain Rescue Team — Haystacks incident report (opens in new tab)

Safety: Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Report incorrect information (opens in new tab)

Navigating in cloud

Severe

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. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

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 Haystacks (Buttermere) 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 Haystacks (Buttermere)

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

0.8 km WNWSeat561 m · Western

1.5 km SSWLooking Stead (Pillar)628 m · Western

2.2 km ENEHonister Crag (Black Star)634 m · Western

2.3 km WSWPillar Rock780 m · Western

2.5 km SSEKirk Fell East Top (Kirk Fell North Top)787 m · Western

2.9 km NWHigh Stile (Grey Crag)807 m · Western

Routes over Haystacks (Buttermere)

Fleetwith Edge and Haystacks

Summits: Fleetwith PikeHaystacks (Buttermere)

The start is the paid car park at Gatesgarth Farm, beside the B5289 at the head of Buttermere, with bus stops beside it.

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: About 120 m near the start, between about 0.1 and 0.2 km, follows the B5289, which OpenStreetMap maps with a 60 mph limit and records no pavement for. Fleetwith Edge is the steepest ground of the walk: about 42% sustained near 1.6 km, with mapped crags (Low Raven Crag and High Raven Crag) within about 10 m of the path. Fleetwith Pike’s hazard notes call the direct climb steep and airy, and a poor way down. Near 2.7 km OpenStreetMap maps a sign about 70 m from the line that reads “No Public Access, Live Mine”, at the slate workings on Honister Crag. Keep to the mapped path. OpenStreetMap maps fords on the line near 3.4 km on the bridleway, at Warnscale Beck near 4.0 km and near 7.1 km on the Scarth Gap bridleway, and stepping stones on Black Beck near 4.9 km. The way down from the top of Haystacks to Scarth Gap is the rocky step that Haystacks’ own notes advise climbing rather than descending: about 39% over 250 m near 5.9 km. About 3.3 km of the line, in three pieces, follows paths and tracks that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way: from the top of Fleetwith Pike to the bridleway at about 3.2 km, from Warnscale Beck to the paths below the top of Haystacks (about 3.9 to 5.2 km), and from the top of Haystacks down to Scarth Gap (about 5.9 to 6.6 km). The rest is public footpaths, public bridleways and the B5289. That is a map-data note, not a ruling on access: check the access land and rights of way maps before relying on this stretch.

Route guide: Fleetwith Edge and Haystacks →

Haystacks

Summits: Fleetwith PikeHaystacks (Buttermere)Brandreth Grey Knotts

Download GPX Walked by Lee, April 2026

Picked for its light in: February A winter pick assumes the tops are clear of snow and ice on the day, or that you carry winter kit and know how to use it.

Warnings: The summit area of Haystacks is a maze of rocky knolls, tarns and boggy hollows — one of the most complex summit plateaux in Lakeland. In cloud it is very easy to lose the path and end up above steep crags. Do not attempt the summit in poor visibility unless you are a confident navigator with map and compass.

Route guide: Haystacks →

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 Haystacks (Buttermere)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Fleetwith Edge and Haystacks route:

Mountain rescue point (22 m from the start, straight line) Mountain Rescue Post (30 m from the start, straight line)

On the Haystacks route:

Honister Youth Hostel / Slate Quarry (E) (123 m from the start, straight line) bus stop (129 m from the start, straight line) Honister Pass YHA (77 m from the start, straight line)

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

About Haystacks (Buttermere)

The views of Pillar, High Stile, Great Gable and the head of Ennerdale from the summit are magnificent. The ascent from Buttermere via Scarth Gap is a perfect short mountain day. A fell of extraordinary character that exceeds all expectations for its modest height.

My Strava hikes over Haystacks (Buttermere)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

A few more done in the sun (opens in new tab) — 11.3 km · 860 m ascent · 3h 22m moving · 7 April 2026

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Haystacks (Buttermere) a Wainwright?

Haystacks (Buttermere) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Selected lists

597 m

Height

1,959 ft

In feet

NY 1933 1315

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 Haystacks (Buttermere)

The 360° skyline from Haystacks (Buttermere)

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: Robinson (4 km), Wandope (7 km), Sail (7 km), Crag Hill (7 km), Grasmoor (7 km), Long Side (16 km)
North-east: Honister Crag (2 km), Dale Head (4 km), Hindscarth (4 km), Watson's Dodd (16 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (16 km), Skiddaw Little Man (16 km), Jenkin Hill (16 km), Great Dodd (17 km), Skiddaw South Top (17 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (17 km), Skiddaw (17 km)
East: Helvellyn Lower Man (15 km), White Side (15 km), Helvellyn (15 km), High Crag (15 km), Nethermost Pike (15 km), Dollywaggon Pike (15 km), Raise (16 km), Stybarrow Dodd (16 km), Fairfield (17 km), Cofa Pike (17 km), Green Side (17 km), St Sunday Crag (18 km)
South-east: Brandreth (2 km), Green Gable (3 km), Great Gable (3 km), Broad Crag (6 km)
South: Kirk Fell East Top (2 km), Kirk Fell (3 km), Scafell Pike (6 km)
South-west: Pillar (2 km), Yewbarrow North Top (4 km), Yewbarrow (5 km)
West: Iron Crag (7 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (104 km, Scotland), Cairn Table (121 km, Scotland), Agnew's Hill (177 km, Ireland), Wether Hill (95 km, Scotland), Colt Hill (99 km, Scotland), Blackcraig Hill (108 km, Scotland), Wauk Hill (85 km, Scotland), Windy Standard (105 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 Haystacks (Buttermere)

Haystacks (Buttermere) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when the sun is up for 37 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:10 against an almanac sunrise of 08:33. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (139.3°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.29°.

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	04:59 BST ±5.0 min	04:37	+22 min
Equinox	06:23 GMT ±5.0 min	06:16	+7 min
Midwinter	09:10 GMT ±5.0 min	08:33	+37 min

The northern horizon stands at about 0.82° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Haystacks (Buttermere)

Haystacks (Buttermere) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when last light is 49 minutes before almanac sunset — 21:04 against 21:53. The sun goes down to the north-west from here (305.1°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 5.03°.

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	21:04 BST ±5.0 min	21:53	-49 min
Equinox	18:32 GMT ±5.0 min	18:27	+5 min
Midwinter	15:05 GMT ±5.0 min	15:50	-45 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 Haystacks (Buttermere)

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

36Wainwrights in view+7 marginal

55 kmFurthest sightlineCriffel

1Sea in viewSolway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland.

Far horizons

Criffel ScotlandNNW · 55 km clear
Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 44 km in view

All 36 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

High Crag (Buttermere), Fleetwith Pike, Pillar, Brandreth, Grey Knotts, Kirk Fell, Green Gable, Great Gable, Dale Head, Robinson, Hindscarth, Knott Rigg, Rannerdale Knotts, Whiteless Pike, Wandope, Sail, Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Grasmoor, Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Illgill Head, Crag Fell, Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top), Grike, Low Fell, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, White Side, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Dollywaggon Pike, Raise, Watson's Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd, Carl Side, Skiddaw Little Man, Skiddaw

How the view from Haystacks (Buttermere) 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 Haystacks (Buttermere). 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

Seatoller House (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 2.0 km

Also nearby, but not independent

YHA Borrowdale (opens in new tab) hostelabout 3.1 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 Haystacks (Buttermere)

Is Haystacks hard to climb? Answered above.

What is the best route up Haystacks?

The two popular starts are Gatesgarth Farm (the shorter way, about 7 km / 520 m of ascent) and a fuller circular from Buttermere village (about 13.7 km). It's best walked anti-clockwise — up via Scarth Gap and down past the tarns — so you climb rather than down-climb the short rocky scramble near Scarth Gap.

The return over Innominate and Blackbeck Tarns is the highlight, passing Wainwright's beloved tarn.

How long does it take to climb Haystacks? Answered above: Routes up Haystacks (Buttermere).

Is there scrambling on Haystacks?

Yes, but only short and easy. There's a little hands-on scrambling near the summit, particularly on the steep step up from Scarth Gap, and careful route selection is needed among the rocks. Walking it anti-clockwise means you go up this rather than down it.

None of it is exposed in the way Striding Edge or Sharp Edge are, but it's slippery when wet and best taken steadily. In mist, the summit area is a maze of rocky knolls, tarns and boggy hollows — one of the most complex summit plateaux in Lakeland.

Why was Haystacks Wainwright's favourite fell?

Alfred Wainwright loved Haystacks above all others for its intricate, ever-changing summit of knolls, tarns and crags packed into a small space. His ashes were scattered by Innominate Tarn on its top, as he wished.

If you walk there, tread gently and respect the spot; it remains a place of quiet pilgrimage for many fellwalkers.

Sources: Walk My World — Haystacks (opens in new tab)

Can you take a dog up Haystacks, and is it OK for older children?

With care; the scrambly bits are short. Our stile census maps a stile of unknown type on the route. But the rocky summit has steep drops, small crags and tarns, so keep dogs and children close on the top and at Scarth Gap.

Keep dogs on a lead around grazing sheep, and watch the lake/tarn edges. Pick a clear day so the maze-like top doesn't confuse you.

Sources: Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab)

Is it easy to get lost on Haystacks?

It can be — the summit is a genuine maze of little tops, hollows, tarns and crags, and in mist it's surprisingly easy to lose the path or drift toward a steep edge. This is the main hazard on an otherwise modest fell.

Carry a map and compass, follow the path carefully among the knolls, and save Haystacks for a clear day to enjoy its views and stay on track. Take care on wet rock and in winter.

Sources: Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab)

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-06-14 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Haystacks (Buttermere)

Summit conditions on Haystacks (Buttermere)

Wind on the top

Rain, and the becks

Routes up Haystacks (Buttermere)

Is Haystacks hard to climb?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Haystacks (Buttermere)

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Haystacks (Buttermere)

Hazard & Incident Information for Haystacks (Buttermere)

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Haystacks (Buttermere)

Routes over Haystacks (Buttermere)

On the hill: terrain and water on Haystacks (Buttermere)

Water & shelter on the way up

About Haystacks (Buttermere)

My Strava hikes over Haystacks (Buttermere)

Classifications & hill data

Is Haystacks (Buttermere) a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from Haystacks (Buttermere)

The 360° skyline from Haystacks (Buttermere)

Sunrise and sunset on Haystacks (Buttermere)

Last light — when the sun leaves Haystacks (Buttermere)

What you can see from Haystacks (Buttermere)

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Haystacks (Buttermere)

Other fells near Haystacks (Buttermere)