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634 m · Birkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Hobcarton End

Hobcarton End at 634m (2,080ft) is a Birkett top on the ridge above the Hobcarton valley between Grisedale Pike and Hopegill Head in the North Western Fells.

634 m
Height
+14
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →
634 mBirkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)+14 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 634 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 13°C, gusts to 38 mph, 4.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
15° / 13°
💨 38 mph
🌧 4.8 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 11°
💨 28 mph
🌧 14.0 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 4°
💨 29 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 2°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
15° / 5°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 5°
💨 16 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 634 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

About the walk

Key information

Hobcarton End

Hobcarton End at 634m (2,080ft) is a Birkett top on the ridge above the Hobcarton valley between Grisedale Pike and Hopegill Head in the North Western Fells. A fine viewpoint for the Coledale Horseshoe circuit, giving views into the deep Hobcarton valley below. Part of the high ridge that makes the Coledale Horseshoe one of the finest circular walks in the district.

Routes up Hobcarton End

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

Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
634 m
Height
2,080 ft
In feet
NY 1952 2347
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Whinlatter Visitor Centre (paid), about 1.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Hobcarton End (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.

1.3 km SWLadyside Pike704 m · North Western
1.4 km SHobcarton Crag (Hobcarton Head)738 m · North Western
1.4 km NWhinlatter Top525 m · North Western
1.8 km SSWSand Hill756 m · North Western
1.9 km WNWSwinside509 m · North Western
2.1 km SWGasgale Crags703 m · North Western
2.2 km NNETarbarrel Moss493 m · North Western
2.4 km EKinn374 m · North Western
2.4 km SWWhiteside East Top (Whiteside) (Gasgale Crags)719 m · North Western
2.6 km WDodd (Lorton)454 m · North Western
2.8 km NESeat How (Thornthwaite)495 m · North Western
2.8 km SEel Crag (Birkett)807 m · North Western
2.9 km NNEUllister Hill525 m · North Western
3.0 km ESEStile End447 m · North Western

Routes over Hobcarton End

11.7 km · ~598 m ascent · loop · ~3–4.5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

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

Best parking to hike Hobcarton End

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

Whinlatter Visitor Centre (paid) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)
Forest centre — Lord's Seat, Barf, Whinlatter fells, Grisedale Pike's back route.
Directions (opens in new tab)
Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) — 3.5 km from summit (straight line)
Start of the Coledale Horseshoe: Grisedale Pike, Causey Pike round.
Directions (opens in new tab)

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.

Water & shelter on the way up

💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.

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

Buses to Hobcarton End from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse 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 (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.
Stagecoach X4 / X5
Penrith – Rheged – Threlkeld – Keswick – Braithwaite – Cockermouth – Workington
Catch it from: Penrith
Year-round, frequent. From Penrith this is your way into Keswick and the Northern fells — Threlkeld/Scales stops serve Blencathra directly, Braithwaite serves the Coledale fells.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Maps & guidebooks for Hobcarton End

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