High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
High House Tarn Top at 683m (2,240ft) is a high Birkett top on the ridge between Allen Crags and Glaramara above Borrowdale, its position above the Langstrath valley giving dramatic views into the wild upper Borrowdale and across to the Scafell group.
Summit conditions on High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 68 mph, 11.1 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Routes up High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
Both start from Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge); the last two rows give its parking and bus. Full maps further down.
| Compared | Allen Crags & Glaramara | Glaramara, Allen Crags via Stockley Bridge |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Seathwaite Farm | Seathwaite Farm |
| Distance and climb | 10.94 km, 853 m of climb | 9.74 km, 826 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~3½–5 h | ~3¼–4½ h |
| Scrambling | Hands for a few steps: between Red Beck Top and Glaramara's top, and the 3 m step at the start of the descent (km 6.9–7.9). Make the final short traverse north from Looking Steads, dipping into a shallow, stony hollow, then scramble up to the twin rocky crowns of Glaramara. | Hands for a few steps: between Glaramara's top and Red Beck Top (km 2.9–4.0). |
| Exposure | Moderate | Not assessed |
| Navigation | Moderate | Hard |
| Steepest stretch | Descent of about 49% at 9.5 km (Severe) | Climb of about 50% at 1.4 km (Severe) |
| After the summit | Over Red Beck Top (Glaramara South Top) (Lincomb Head - Glaramara), Looking Steads (Glaramara) and Glaramara | Over Allen Crags |
| Walked or planned | Planned: drawn, not yet walked | Planned: drawn, not yet walked |
| Car park at the start | Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge) | Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge) |
| Bus to the start | 78, 2.2 km walk from Seatoller, at National Trust car park. The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. | 78, 2.1 km walk from Seatoller, at National Trust car park. The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. |
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 →
How hard is High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)?
The shortest way up we hold is Glaramara, Allen Crags via Stockley Bridge — 9.74 km, 826 m of ascent, ~3¼–4½ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · navigation: Hard · length: Moderate · 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 683 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
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)
Parking & buses for High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
1 more place to park near High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
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 and 78 stop at Seatoller, at National Trust car park. From there it is 2.2 km and 75 m of ascent to the start of Allen Crags & Glaramara — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 15.2 km in all, with the walk. The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (78): Tuesday to Sunday 20:00. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
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 High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Allen Crags & Glaramara
- The flanks of Glaramara are craggy and carry loose rock, and rock set off by a walker above has injured a walker below. On steep, loose ground, don't climb or stand directly below another walker; keep the party within sight of each other. Stay on the path to avoid dislodging stones onto those beneath you.
- Esk Hause (and the ‘false’ Esk Hause close by, which walkers often take for it) is a notorious place to go wrong: several paths meet and in cloud it is easy to set off toward the wrong valley — Langstrath, Grains Gill, Langdale or back to Sty Head. Know exactly which path you want and take a compass bearing before committing.
If you need to get off (the leg from Allen Crags): If visibility vanishes and you lose the path, your best bet is to retreat up the rocky slope to Allen Crags and descend via Esk Hause. Attempting to bail off the sides of this ridge into the flanking valleys involves dangerously steep and craggy ground.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags).
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
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.
Birketts within 3 km of High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
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 High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Allen Crags & Glaramara route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)
Classifications & hill data
Is High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags) a Wainwright?
High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags) is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Nuttall list.
Selected lists
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
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 →
Places to stay near this fell
- Seatoller House (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.8 km
Also nearby, but not independent
- YHA Borrowdale (opens in new tab) hostelabout 2.8 km
- YHA Black Sail (opens in new tab) hostelabout 4.0 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).