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Hen Comb

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506 mWainwright — Western Fells+13 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Hen Comb at 506m (1,661ft) is a distinctively shaped ridge above Loweswater, its narrow summit giving fine views of Loweswater and Crummock Water. Wainwright included it in his Western Fells guide. The ascent from Loweswater is short.

Summit conditions on Hen Comb

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

56 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 1.07. 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 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 3 °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

Routes up Hen Comb

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

Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb Planned, not yet walked
14.03 km · ~764 m ascent · ~4–5½ h · loop · 5 summits
Hard effort Hard: distance, steepness and navigation
Park: Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid) · Bus: 77, 3.2 km walk from Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite)

Five tops behind Loweswater — Burnbank Fell, Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb and Little Dodd — in 14 km with 764 m of climbing and a steepest sustained pull of about 29%.

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 Hen Comb a hard walk?

The fell is a simple grassy dome and the climb is short but steep: the pull onto it is the steepest on our round, about 33% at its steepest. Getting to the foot of it is the part people underestimate: it stands alone between Whiteoak Beck and Mosedale, and our way in, past Whiteoak Moss and Floutern Tarn, crosses boggy ground and is slower than the distance suggests.

Our round with Blake Fell and Gavel Fell is 14.0 km with 764 m of ascent, navigation graded hard. Take it after dry weather and it is a pleasant quiet fell; take it after rain and you will remember the valley rather than the summit. On the way back to Loweswater our line fords Mosedale Beck, about 12 km in. If it is running high after rain, do not wade it; save the round for a drier day.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 506 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
10° / 7°
45 mph
3.8 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
10° / 8°
25 mph
0.6 mm (26%)
Fri 30 Oct
10° / 7°
25 mph
0.3 mm (31%)
Sat 31 Oct
11° / 3°
6 mph
0.0 mm (25%)
Sun 1 Nov
8° / 2°
7 mph
0.0 mm (12%)
Mon 2 Nov
8° / 1°
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

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Hen Comb

Parking

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

Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid) — at the start of Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb
Small paid car park for Mellbreak, Hen Comb and the Loweswater fells. Free for NT members (checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
If it is full: Car park for Loweswater Fell (free) (1.0 km, 38 m up); Lanthwaite Wood, Crummock Water (NT, paid) (1.7 km, 61 m up); Darling Fell (layby) (2.9 km, 141 m up)
Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater (free) — 3.0 km from summit (straight line)
The Kirkstile Inn's own car park, for its customers: please use the pub if you park here. OSM records access=customers here - check the restriction before relying on it.
Directions Something changed here?
Car park for Loweswater Fell (free) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
In Loweswater village, beside the road through it. The nearest route starts are at Maggie's Bridge, among them 'Loweswater circuit', 1.0 km on foot. Added from the 5 August 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions Something changed here?
2 more places to park near Hen Comb
Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid) — 3.6 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?
Lanthwaite Wood, Crummock Water (NT, paid) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
By Crummock Water, distinct from Lanthwaite Green further up the valley. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked 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 Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite). From there it is 3.2 km and 121 m of ascent to the start of Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance, steepness and navigation) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 20.5 km in all, with the walk. 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. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (77): Tuesday to Sunday 18:03. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 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 or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Hen Comb

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb

If you need to get off (the leg from Gavel Fell): The Mosedale bridleway offers the obvious bailout. Instead of climbing Hen Comb, stay on the bridleway: it crosses Mosedale Beck by a bridge and runs north down the valley all the way back to Loweswater.

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

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

Not graded by the model

Our terrain model finds nothing to grade on this summit, so it gives no cloud grade here — that is not a sign of easy navigation. Read this fell’s hazard notes and the route pages before a day in cloud. 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 Hen Comb 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 (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 Hen Comb

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

1.1 km NLittle Dodd (Loweswater)362 m · Western
1.2 km SWFloutern Cop451 m · Western
1.4 km WNWGavel Fell - High Nook (Gavel Fell North Top)488 m · Western
1.7 km NEMellbreak North Top509 m · Western
1.7 km SGale Fell518 m · Western
1.8 km WSWBanna Fell455 m · Western
1.8 km EScale Knott338 m · Western
2.3 km SWHerdus562 m · Western
2.3 km WNWHigh Pen475 m · Western
2.7 km NWCarling Knott544 m · Western
2.7 km NNWLoweswater End - Carling Knott519 m · Western
2.8 km SWBrown How (Ennerdale)330 m · Western
2.9 km WNWLow Pen435 m · Western

Routes over Hen Comb

Blake Fell, Gavel Fell, Hen Comb
14.03 km · ~764 m ascent · loop · ~4–5½ h
Hard effort Hard: distance, steepness and navigation
Summits: Burnbank FellBlake FellGavel FellHen CombLittle Dodd (Loweswater)

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide →

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.

About Hen Comb

Hen Comb, a Lake District fell
Photo: Mick Knapton, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Combined naturally with Mellbreak for a circuit of the Loweswater fells. The lake views are a highlight.

Classifications & hill data

Is Hen Comb a Wainwright?

Hen Comb is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Fellranger list and the HuMP list.

Selected lists

Wainwright
Western
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
HuMP
506 m
Height
1,661 ft
In feet
NY 1321 1812
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 Hen Comb

The 360° skyline from Hen Comb

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 Hen Comb30 labelled tops shown (10 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 14 kmRaise · 21 kmGreat Dodd · 21 kmGrasmoor · 5 kmCrag Hill · 6 kmBlack Crag · 7 kmHigh Stile · 5 kmHaycock · 8 kmGlaramara · 14 kmHopegill Head · 7 kmDale Head · 10 kmRobinson · 7 kmWhiteside East Top · 6 kmCaw Fell · 7 kmFleetwith Pike · 8 kmIron Crag · 6 kmGreat Borne · 2 kmBlake Fell · 3 kmCarling Knott · 3 kmGavel Fell · 2 kmLoweswater End · 3 kmBroom Fell · 11 kmGraystones · 10 kmBanna Fell · 2 kmFloutern Cop · 1 kmLow Fell · 4 kmFellbarrow · 6 kmDarling Fell · 4 kmCaermote Hill · 20 kmFlat Fell · 9 kmPillar · 7 kmStybarrow Dodd · 21 kmWandope · 6 kmSand Hill · 7 kmLittle Gowder Crag · 7 kmWhiteless Pike · 5 kmStarling Dodd · 3 kmSergeant's Crag · 16 kmMellbreak North Top · 2 kmKirk Fell · 9 kmDodd · 4 kmSourfoot Fell · 5 kmWhite Hill · 66 km · clear daysGrange Fell · 65 km · clear daysSlieve Donard · 172 km · a handful of days a yearBroad Law · 105 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 79 km · a rare clear daySlieve Croob · 172 km · a handful of days a yearGreen Lowther · 97 km · a rare clear dayCulter Fell · 111 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 85 km · a rare clear dayRoan Fell · 82 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 114 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 95 km · a rare clear day
The skyline as a list, by direction
  • North-east: Grasmoor (5 km), Whiteside East Top (6 km), Gasgale Crags (6 km), Hopegill Head (7 km), Sand Hill (7 km), Broom Fell (11 km)
  • East: Whiteless Pike (5 km), Thirdgill Head Man (5 km), Wandope (6 km), Crag Hill (6 km), Robinson (7 km), Dale Head (10 km), Watson's Dodd (20 km), White Side (21 km), Little Dodd (21 km), Raise (21 km), Great Dodd (21 km), Stybarrow Dodd (21 km)
  • South-east: Starling Dodd (3 km), High Stile (5 km), Pillar Rock (7 km), Pillar (7 km), Black Crag (7 km), Fleetwith Pike (8 km), Honister Crag (9 km), Grey Knotts (10 km), Scafell Pike (14 km), Glaramara (14 km), Combe Head (14 km), Sergeant's Crag (16 km), High Raise (17 km)
  • South: Iron Crag (6 km), Caw Fell (7 km), Little Gowder Crag (7 km), Haycock (8 km)
  • South-west: Great Borne (2 km)
  • West: Gavel Fell (2 km)
  • North-west: Blake Fell (3 km), Carling Knott (3 km), Loweswater End (3 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (172 km, Ireland), Broad Law (105 km, Scotland), Snaefell (79 km, Isle of Man), South Barrule (97 km, Isle of Man), Slieve Croob (172 km, Ireland), Green Lowther (97 km, Scotland), White Coomb (97 km, Scotland), Queensberry (83 km, Scotland).

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Hen Comb

Hen Comb waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 August, when the sun is up for 34 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 05:59 against an almanac sunrise of 05:25. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east-north-east from here (63.4°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.92°.

0°30°40°50°60°70°04:56
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
Midsummer04:56 BST ±5.0 min04:38+18 min
Equinox06:21 GMT ±5.0 min06:16+5 min
Midwinter09:05 GMT ±5.0 min08:34+31 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.05°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Hen Comb

The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (at midwinter) last light is only 12 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Hen Comb.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:55 BST ±5.0 min21:54+1 min
Equinox18:30 GMT ±5.0 min18:27+3 min
Midwinter15:38 GMT ±5.0 min15:50-12 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 Hen Comb

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
36Wainwrights in view+5 marginal
177 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

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

Far horizons
  • Slieve Binnian Northern IrelandWSW · 177 km clear
  • Slieve Donard Northern IrelandWSW · 173 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 80 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNNW · 48 km clear
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 37 km in view
  • Irish Sea open waterWSW · 35 km in view
All 36 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Gavel Fell, Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), Great Borne, Starling Dodd, Blake Fell, Red Pike (Buttermere), Low Fell, Grasmoor, Whiteless Pike, Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), Wandope, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Knott Rigg, Hopegill Head, Robinson, Caw Fell, Pillar, Haycock, Fleetwith Pike, Dale Head, Graystones (Graystones North Top), Grey Knotts, Maiden Moor, Broom Fell, Scafell Pike, Glaramara, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Sergeant's Crag, High Raise (High White Stones), Binsey, Watson's Dodd, White Side, Raise, Great Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd

How the view from Hen Comb 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 Hen Comb. 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

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.

Frequently asked questions about Hen Comb

Is Hen Comb a hard walk? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction

Other fells near Hen Comb

Places nearby: Scale Force · Crummock Water · Loweswater