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A rocky knoll topped by a trig point, with a mackerel sky above the fells beyond

High Seat

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609 mWainwright — Central Fells+7 bonus Birketts within 3 km Fewer traps in Clag

High Seat at 609m (1,998ft) is the highest summit of the Bleaberry Fell–Armboth plateau above Thirlmere and Derwent Water — a broad, boggy moorland that Wainwright regarded as something of an endurance test, given the extensive wet ground.

Summit conditions on High Seat

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 6°C, gusts to 52 mph, 11.2 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 45 mph times our exposure factor of 1.14. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 52 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.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

11.2 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 3 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 36 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

Routes up High Seat

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

Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove and Armboth Fell Walked by Lee
17.02 km · ~812 m ascent · ~4¾–6½ h · loop · 5 summits
Hard effort Hard: distance and steepness
Park: Walla Crag car park (free) · Bus: 78 at the start

The long boggy ridge south from Keswick: five tops in 17 km with 812 m of climbing, hard for length and steepness.

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 High Seat a hard walk?

Not to climb, and thoroughly hard work anyway — the difficulty here is water. High Seat sits on the watershed between Borrowdale and Thirlmere, the ground is notoriously sodden, and the ridge on to Bleaberry Fell has a reputation as some of the boggiest walking in the district.

The views are grand and out of proportion to the height. Our round taking it in with Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Tove and Armboth Fell is 17.0 km with 812 m of ascent — note how modest that climb is for the distance. Choose a dry spell.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 609 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
11° / 6°
52 mph
11.2 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
10° / 6°
36 mph
8.7 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
9° / 7°
28 mph
0.1 mm (33%)
Fri 30 Oct
9° / 6°
29 mph
0.0 mm (23%)
Sat 31 Oct
10° / 0°
8 mph
0.3 mm (18%)
Sun 1 Nov
8° / 0°
8 mph
0.0 mm (10%)
Mon 2 Nov
7° / 0°
17 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 High Seat

Parking

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

Walla Crag car park (free) — at the start of Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove and Armboth Fell
Walking base for Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat and Armboth Fell (Birkett) — the 'Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove and Armboth Fell' route starts 4 m away. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Armboth, Thirlmere (United Utilities, paid) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
West shore of Thirlmere - Armboth Fell and High Tove. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026). Pay and display (visitlakedistrict.com, which names United Utilities as operator) (United Utilities, checked August 2026). Toilets beside the car park, including disabled; seasonal (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, read 12 September 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Watendlath (NT, paid) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
End of the narrow Watendlath road — Grange Fell, Great Crag, Armboth fells. Fees: pay and display (LDNP directory, checked August 2026). £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
3 more places to park near High Seat
Raven Crag (layby) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
On the west-shore road below Raven Crag. The 'Raven Crag from Thirlmere' route starts 0.5 km to the north, at the car park on Dam Road.
Directions Something changed here?
Surprise View (NT) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
The National Trust's car park at Surprise View, on the road up to Watendlath. The 'Watendlath & the packhorse bridge' route and the 'Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove and Armboth Fell' route pass within 10 m; the nearest start on foot is Ashness Gate on the B5289, 1.5 km (the Walla Crag round), and the Watendlath walk starts on the B5289 by the Lodore Falls Hotel, 1.9 km. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026). £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026). JustPark location 80521 (National Trust, checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Dam Triangle, Thirlmere (paid) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
On Dam Road at the north end of Thirlmere: the 'Raven Crag from Thirlmere' route starts here. Paid car park. The National Park's car-parks directory (read 12 September 2026) lists it as 'Dam Triangle', pay and display, and OSM names it 'Dam triangle car park' (way/485343809).
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 78 stops at Ashness, opposite Derwentwater Youth Hostel, a 240 m walk and 38 m of ascent from the start of Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove and Armboth Fell — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and steepness). As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (78): Tuesday to Sunday 20:19. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

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, about 2 km up the lane).

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 High Seat

Hazard & Incident Information for High Seat

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

Hazard: Moderate

A boggy central fell on the watershed between Borrowdale and Thirlmere, with grand views but notoriously sodden ground — the ridge to Bleaberry Fell is often called the wettest ridge walk in the Lake District. The path is indistinct over rough, knolly bog, so navigation is the main hazard, with a steep descent by Ashness Gill. Keswick Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Boggy, indistinct ground & navigation: Rough, knolly and exceptionally wet, with a faint path and many 'wet places'. In mist it's easy to drift off line over featureless ground. Take a compass bearing, use the fence line where present, and don't rely on a trodden path.
  • Deep bog (the wettest ridge in the Lakes): The traverse to Bleaberry Fell is among the boggiest ground anywhere — tiring and disorientating, and best saved for after a dry spell. Pick careful lines and allow plenty of time.
  • Steep Ashness Gill descent: The descent toward Ashness Bridge by Ashness Gill is fairly steep and the rough ground gets slippery in the wet. Take care with footing, especially in rain.
Who should attempt this fell: High Seat rewards a clear, dry day — the views are superb but the ground is sodden and the path faint, so be confident with map and compass, keep to handrails like the fence in cloud, and save the wettest ridge for drier weather. Take the Ashness Gill descent carefully, and treat the open ground as a navigation challenge in snow.

What to watch for: Navigation errors on the featureless, boggy plateau in cloud · Floundering in deep bog on the Bleaberry Fell ridge · Slips on the steep Ashness Gill descent and on slippery wet ground · Disorientation in snow or rain on the open top

Local Mountain Rescue: Keswick Mountain Rescue Team

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

Navigating in cloud

Fewer traps in cloud

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of near-level ground around the summit. This top is in the lowest of the index’s four bands, and a low band never means “safe”: 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 High Seat 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 High Seat

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

1.5 km ENECastle Crag (Shoulthwaite)404 m · Central
2.0 km NEThe Benn (Sippling Crag)446 m · Central
2.2 km SMiddle Crag484 m · Central
2.3 km SSEArmboth Fell (Birkett)479 m · Central
2.5 km SEFisher Crag421 m · Central
2.7 km SShivery Knott491 m · Central
2.7 km ENEGreat How (Thirlmere)333 m · Central

Routes over High Seat

Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove and Armboth Fell
17.02 km · ~812 m ascent · loop · ~4¾–6½ h
Hard effort Hard: distance and steepness
Summits: Walla CragBleaberry FellHigh SeatArmboth Fell (Birkett)High Tove

Download GPX Walked by Lee, August 2025

Warnings: High Seat: Rough, knolly and exceptionally wet, with a faint path and many 'wet places'. In mist it's easy to drift off line over featureless ground. Take a compass bearing, use the fence line where present, and don't rely on a trodden path. Walla Crag: The summit edge is a steep, unfenced drop to Derwentwater — easy to get too close for a photo, and dangerous with children, dogs or in wind. Keep back from the lip; if you'd rather stay away from it, keep to the side of the wall away from the lake (the east side), which is a useful handrail in mist.

From the hazard notes for Walla Crag · High Seat, each with its sources.

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.

On the hill: terrain and water on High Seat

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove and Armboth Fell route:

shelter (weather shelter, mapped, not checked; 2 m off the line) toilets (18 m off the line) Barrow Bay jetty (64 m from the start, straight line) Derwentwater Youth Hostel (S bound) (99 m from the start, straight line) Derwentwater Youth Hostel (N bound) (104 m from the start, straight line) Derwentwater Independent Hostel (316 m from the start, straight line)

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

About High Seat

A rocky knoll topped by a trig point, with a mackerel sky above the fells beyond
© Lee McCoy

But the views from the summit compensate: the panorama from Skiddaw to the Helvellyn range is very fine, and the view west to Derwent Water and the Newlands fells is beautiful. Most naturally approached from Ashness Bridge or from the Watendlath road. The combination with Bleaberry Fell makes a good circuit above Derwent Water.

My Strava hikes over High Seat

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is High Seat a Wainwright?

High Seat is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Fellranger list and the HuMP list.

Selected lists

Wainwright
Central
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
HuMP
609 m
Height
1,998 ft
In feet
NY 2870 1804
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 High Seat

The 360° skyline from High Seat

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 Seat36 labelled tops shown (7 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 13 kmSkiddaw · 11 kmHelvellyn Lower Man · 6 kmBowfell · 12 kmGreat Gable · 11 kmPillar · 13 kmNethermost Pike · 7 kmCatstye Cam · 6 kmEsk Pike · 12 kmRaise · 6 kmBlencathra · 10 kmDollywaggon Pike · 8 kmGreat Dodd · 6 kmGrasmoor · 12 kmStybarrow Dodd · 6 kmHigh Stile · 12 kmKirk Fell · 12 kmGrisedale Pike · 10 kmWatson's Dodd · 5 kmDow Crag · 20 kmGreat Rigg · 10 kmSand Hill · 11 kmRobinson · 9 kmSergeant Man · 9 kmJenkin Hill · 10 kmLong Side · 11 kmClough Head · 6 kmLonscale Fell · 9 kmKnott · 15 kmCalfhow Pike · 5 kmWhiteless Pike · 11 kmHigh Pike · 17 kmHeron Pike North Top · 12 kmSteel Fell · 8 kmLord's Seat · 12 kmWhinlatter Top · 11 kmIll Crag · 12 kmWhite Side · 5 kmCrinkle Crags · 14 kmRed Pike · 14 kmSkiddaw Lesser Man · 10 kmLingmell · 13 kmEel Crag · 10 kmKnowe Crags · 9 kmHigh Raise · 8 kmDale Head · 7 kmHindscarth · 7 kmUllscarf · 6 kmCold Pike · 15 kmScales Fell · 11 kmHigh Spy · 6 kmHobcarton End · 11 kmMaiden Moor · 5 kmSouther Fell · 13 kmCriffel · 55 km · clear daysStanding Crag · 5 kmBleaberry Fell · 2 kmWhite Stones · 12 kmOuterside · 8 kmBell Crags · 4 kmHigh Tove · 2 kmThrelkeld Knotts · 7 kmDodd · 10 kmTarbarrel Moss · 11 kmArmboth Fell · 2 kmBarf · 11 kmBrown Rigg · 4 kmNab Scar · 13 kmThe Benn · 2 kmFisher Crag · 2 kmWalla Crag · 3 kmHigh Rigg · 4 kmGreat How · 3 kmMerrick · 109 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 106 km · a rare clear dayThe Cheviot · 120 km · a rare clear dayCairn Table · 120 km · a handful of days a yearFair Snape Fell · 77 km · a rare clear dayBishop Forest Hill · 76 km · a rare clear dayWhite Hill · 71 km · a rare clear day
The skyline as a list, by direction
  • North: Knowe Crags (9 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (10 km), Gategill Fell Top (10 km), Skiddaw Little Man (10 km), Blencathra (10 km), Skiddaw South Top (11 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (11 km), Skiddaw (11 km), Skiddaw North Top (12 km)
  • North-east: Great Dodd (6 km)
  • East: White Side (5 km), Raise (6 km), Stybarrow Dodd (6 km), Catstye Cam (6 km)
  • South-east: Helvellyn Lower Man (6 km), Nethermost Pike (7 km), High Crag (7 km), Dollywaggon Pike (8 km)
  • South: Bowfell (12 km), Shelter Crags (13 km), Crinkle Crags (13 km), Crinkle Crags (14 km), Crinkle Crags (14 km), Crinkle Crags (14 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (14 km)
  • South-west: Great Gable (11 km), Great End (11 km), Esk Pike (12 km), Broad Crag (12 km), Ill Crag (12 km), Lingmell (13 km), Scafell Pike (13 km), Pillar (13 km), Scafell (14 km), Red Pike (14 km)
  • West: Crag Hill (10 km), Eel Crag (10 km), Grasmoor (12 km), High Stile (12 km), High Stile (12 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Merrick (109 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (106 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (120 km, England), Corserine (105 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (104 km, Scotland), Cairn Table (120 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore [Black Craig of Dee] (91 km, Scotland), Millfore (99 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 High Seat

High Seat waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 November, when the sun is up for 24 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 07:39 against an almanac sunrise of 07:15. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east-south-east from here (119.2°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.8°.

0°30°40°50°60°04:46
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
Midsummer04:46 BST ±5.0 min04:37+9 min
Equinox06:29 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+14 min
Midwinter08:45 GMT ±5.0 min08:33+12 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.18°).

Last light — when the sun leaves High Seat

The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 September) last light is only 10 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on High Seat.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:57 BST ±5.0 min21:53+4 min
Equinox18:30 GMT ±5.0 min18:26+4 min
Midwinter15:47 GMT ±5.0 min15:49-2 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 High Seat

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
89Wainwrights in view+4 marginal
110 kmFurthest sightlineMerrick · possible under favourable refraction
1Sea in viewSolway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland.

Far horizons
  • Merrick ScotlandNW · 110 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNW · 56 km distant
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 45 km in view
All 89 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Bleaberry Fell, High Tove, Raven Crag, Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top), Grange Fell (Brund Fell), Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Castle Crag, High Rigg (Naddle Fell), Cat Bells (Catbells), Maiden Moor, Watson's Dodd, White Side, Raise, High Spy, Stybarrow Dodd, Ullscarf, Great Dodd, Eagle Crag, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Catstye Cam, Clough Head, Nethermost Pike, Sergeant's Crag, Dale Head, Barrow, Hindscarth, Causey Pike, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Dollywaggon Pike, Ard Crags, Scar Crags, Outerside, High Raise (High White Stones), Glaramara, Robinson, Seat Sandal, Grey Knotts, Base Brown, Knott Rigg, Lonscale Fell, Sail, Sergeant Man, Brandreth, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), Grisedale Pike, Skiddaw Little Man, Wandope, Dodd (Skiddaw), Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Green Gable, Great Rigg, Carl Side, Whiteless Pike, Stone Arthur, Great Gable, Pike of Stickle, Hopegill Head, Long Side, Rossett Pike, Barf, Skiddaw, Great End, Grasmoor, Ullock Pike, Esk Pike, Kirk Fell, Heron Pike (Rydal), Lord's Seat, Whinlatter (Brown How - Whinlatter), Bowfell, Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), High Stile, Lingmell, Broom Fell, Nab Scar, Scafell Pike, Pillar, Great Calva, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), Scafell, Red Pike (Wasdale), Cold Pike, Knott, Gavel Fell, High Pike (Caldbeck), Grey Friar, Dow Crag

How the view from High Seat 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 High Seat. 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

From Ashness Bridge: 8 places in Keswick

Frequently asked questions about High Seat

Is High Seat 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 High Seat

Places nearby: Lodore Falls