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High House Bank

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495 mOutlying Fell — Far Eastern

High House Bank (495 m / 1,624 ft) is a grassy top on the far-eastern moors between Crookdale and Borrowdale, just west of the A6, on the Shap-fell skyline.

Summit conditions on High House Bank

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 55 mph, 10.5 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

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 High House Bank

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

Borrowdale Birketts Planned, not yet walked
21.21 km · ~857 m ascent · ~5½–7¾ h · loop · 7 summits
Hard effort Severe: distance
Park: Whatshaw Common (layby) (free)

Seven tops in the eastern Borrowdale — the one near Shap, not the Lakeland valley — from High House Bank and Robin Hood round to Lamb Pasture.

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 →

How hard is High House Bank?

The shortest way up we hold is Borrowdale Birketts — 21.21 km, 857 m of ascent, ~5½–7¾ h. On our scale its hardest axis is distance — Severe.

All axes: length: Severe · steepness: Hard · navigation: Hard · terrain: Not assessed · exposure: Not assessed.

These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 495 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°
55 mph
10.5 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
10° / 6°
39 mph
10.0 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
10° / 8°
26 mph
0.5 mm (15%)
Fri 30 Oct
10° / 6°
25 mph
0.0 mm (15%)
Sat 31 Oct
11° / 0°
12 mph
0.0 mm (18%)
Sun 1 Nov
7° / 0°
7 mph
0.0 mm (12%)
Mon 2 Nov
8° / 2°
14 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 (opens in new tab)

Parking & buses for High House Bank

Parking

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

Whatshaw Common (layby) — 0.3 km from the start of Borrowdale Birketts (straight line)
Walking base for Robin Hood, Lord's Seat (Crookdale), Harrop Pike and Great Saddle Crag — the 'Crookdale Birketts' route starts 237 m away. Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
High House Bank (layby) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: High House Bank (1.1 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Huck's Brow (free) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: High House Bank (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
2 more places to park near High House Bank
A6 Shap summit (layby) — 1.5 km from summit (straight line)
High laybys on the old A6 — Wasdale Pike, Crookdale and Borrowdale (Westmorland) fells.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Lamb Pasture, north-east (layby) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Lamb Pasture (1.5 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions (opens in new tab)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 nearest bus stop we hold is the 6 and 555 stop at Staveley, outside Abbey Square, 17.9 km of walking from the start — no bus route we hold serves it.

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

Hazards on High House Bank

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Borrowdale Birketts

If you need to get off (the leg from the start): Since you are just beginning the route, the usual retreat is to reverse your bearing and walk straight back down the grassy bank to the valley road along Borrow Beck.

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

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.

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 High House Bank

No bonus Birketts within 3 km.

Routes over High House Bank

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 High House Bank

This is broad, rolling border country — big skies, sheep pasture and few paths — overlooking three parallel valleys from the edge of the National Park. An Outlying Fell, a Birkett and a Synge top; our Borrowdale Birketts round takes it as its first top, and will likely have the whole horizon to themselves.

Classifications & hill data

Is High House Bank a Wainwright?

High House Bank is one of Wainwright's Outlying Fells, not one of the 214 in the Pictorial Guides. It is also on the Birkett list and the Synge list.

Selected lists

495 m
Height
1,624 ft
In feet
NY 5431 0484
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 →

Other fells near High House Bank