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356 m · Wainwright — Central Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Wainwright — Central FellsAlso a Birkett

High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

High Rigg at 357m (1,171ft) is a delightful, craggy ridge above St John's in the Vale — one of the most pleasant low-level walks in the Eastern Fells, its heathery knolls giving fine views of Blencathra, Helvellyn and the Vale of St John from multiple viewpoints.

356 m
Height
~1.5–2 h
Typical time
+6
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

356 mWainwright — Central Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 356 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 17° to 15°C, gusts to 28 mph, 3.9 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
17° / 15°
💨 28 mph
🌧 3.9 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
17° / 13°
💨 25 mph
🌧 7.6 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
14° / 6°
💨 29 mph
🌧 2.0 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
16° / 3°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
16° / 4°
💨 14 mph
🌧 5.4 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌫️
17° / 5°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
17° / 6°
💨 15 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 356 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

About the walk

Key information

High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

High Rigg (Naddle Fell), a Lake District fell
Photo: Michael Graham, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

High Rigg at 357m (1,171ft) is a delightful, craggy ridge above St John's in the Vale — one of the most pleasant low-level walks in the Eastern Fells, its heathery knolls giving fine views of Blencathra, Helvellyn and the Vale of St John from multiple viewpoints. The traverse of the full ridge from Newsham to Legburthwaite is a classic short walk. Fine views of Blencathra's great southern face throughout.

🗒️ My notes
This diminutive fell was first attempted late on January where the weather was expectedly cold and blustery. I made my way over the relatively short distance from Instagram mecca that is Raven Crag. This was a rushed route where I didn't plan my route properly using the OS website - I marked my point on what it said was High Rigg, in fact I tagged the general area. When I returned I thought I'd bagged it but Summit Bag said something different - a Birkett: High Rigg South Top. In my angst I reviewed my route, zooming in further and realised my error. The actual Wainwright summit was a hundred yards or so to the north east. I won't be making that mistake again. I eventually summitted the very easy fell from the north side, parking the other side of St Johns-in-the-Vale on a wonderful summery day after doing Haystacks and some others. If you manage to park near the church this is probably the easiest fell after Latrigg.

Routes up High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

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

High Rigg
3.6 km · ~1.1 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Central
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Marilyn
356 m
Height
1,168 ft
In feet
NY 3085 2200
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Legburthwaite (United Utilities, small), about 3.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near High Rigg (Naddle Fell) (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.

0.5 km SSWHigh Rigg (High Rigg South Top)343 m · Eastern
2.0 km SSEWren Crag311 m · Eastern
2.4 km ESECalfhow Pike660 m · Eastern
2.4 km ENEThrelkeld Knotts514 m · Eastern
2.7 km SSECastle Rock339 m · Eastern
2.8 km SSWThe Benn (Sippling Crag)446 m · Eastern

Routes over High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

High RiggRevised
3.62 km · ~215 m ascent · loop · ~1–1.5 h
Summits: High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

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 High Rigg (Naddle Fell)28 labelled tops shown (1 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 8 kmSkiddaw · 9 kmRaise · 6 kmGreat Dodd · 4 kmCrag Hill · 12 kmHigh Stile · 16 kmGrisedale Pike · 11 kmWatson's Dodd · 4 kmLittle Dodd · 3 kmCarl Side · 8 kmDoddick Fell · 6 kmUllscarf · 10 kmLonscale Fell · 6 kmGreat Calva · 9 kmStarling Dodd · 18 kmHigh Seat · 4 kmBleaberry Fell · 3 kmGategill Fell Top · 5 kmSteel Fell · 11 kmLord's Seat · 11 kmIll Crag · 11 kmKnowe Crags · 5 kmWhinlatter Top · 12 kmDodd · 8 kmSale Fell · 14 kmThrelkeld Knotts · 2 kmBrown Rigg · 7 kmEycott Hill · 11 kmWhite Side · 6 kmSand Hill · 12 kmRed Pike · 16 kmHindscarth · 11 kmLonscale Pike · 6 kmScales Fell · 6 kmLow Saddle · 9 kmLittle Calva · 10 kmHobcarton End · 11 kmBlencathra · 6 kmOuterside · 10 kmWythburn Fell · 10 kmSeat How · 10 kmTarbarrel Moss · 11 kmBarf · 10 kmBengairn · 63 km · clear daysLatrigg · 4 kmGreat How · 3 kmLittle Eycott Hill · 11 kmWren Crag · 2 kmLamachan Hill · 103 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from High Rigg (Naddle Fell), by direction
  • North: Lonscale Pike (6 km), Doddick Fell (6 km), Scales Fell (6 km), Great Calva (9 km), Little Calva (10 km)
  • South-east: Little Dodd (3 km), Watson's Dodd (4 km), Great Dodd (4 km), Raise (6 km), White Side (6 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (7 km), Helvellyn (8 km)
  • South: Low Saddle (9 km), Coldbarrow Fell (9 km), Ullscarf (10 km)
  • South-west: Hindscarth (11 km), Robinson (12 km), High Stile (16 km), Dodd (16 km), Red Pike (16 km)
  • West: Grisedale Pike (11 km), Sail (11 km), Hobcarton End (11 km), Hobcarton Crag (12 km), Crag Hill (12 km), Eel Crag (12 km), Sand Hill (12 km), Wandope (12 km), Hopegill Head (12 km), Whiteless Pike (13 km), Starling Dodd (18 km)
  • North-west: Lonscale Fell (6 km), Jenkin Hill (6 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (7 km), Skiddaw Little Man (7 km), Carl Side (8 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (8 km), Skiddaw (9 km), Skiddaw North Top (9 km), Long Side (9 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Lamachan Hill (103 km, Scotland), Millfore (99 km, Scotland).

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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
40Wainwrights in view+2 marginal
—Sea in viewnone from here
All 40 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, Raven Crag, Watson's Dodd, Great Dodd, Latrigg, High Seat, Lonscale Fell, Raise, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, White Side, Cat Bells (Catbells), Skiddaw Little Man, Helvellyn, Carl Side, Maiden Moor, Barrow, Dodd (Skiddaw), Skiddaw, Long Side, Causey Pike, Great Calva, Outerside, Ullscarf, Scar Crags, Ard Crags, Barf, Hindscarth, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Grisedale Pike, Sail, Lord's Seat, Knott Rigg, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Robinson, Wandope, Hopegill Head, Whiteless Pike, Sale Fell, Starling Dodd

How High Rigg (Naddle Fell)’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.

Best parking to hike High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

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

Legburthwaite (United Utilities, small) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
St John's in the Vale — Sticks Pass side, High Rigg, Raven Crag.
Directions
🚺 Legburthwaite Car Park (155m) — Free
Great Wood, Keswick (NT, paid) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Under Walla Crag on the Borrowdale road.
Directions
🚺 Theatre by the Lake (1048m) — Free · Accessible🚺 Lakeside Car Park (1054m) — Accessible · RADAR key

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.

Buses to High Rigg (Naddle Fell) from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 555
Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.
Stagecoach 78 “Borrowdale Rambler”
Keswick – Lodore – Grange – Rosthwaite – Seatoller
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 or X4/X5)
Year-round, frequent in season. Serves all the Borrowdale starts — Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable via Seathwaite (alight Seatoller, 20 min walk up the lane).

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

My hikes over High Rigg (Naddle Fell) (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Navigating High Rigg (Naddle Fell) 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 High Rigg (Naddle Fell) compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

Maps & guidebooks for High Rigg (Naddle Fell)

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