Holme Fell
Holme Fell at 317m (1,040ft) is a delightful, craggy little summit above Yewdale near Coniston, its rocky outcrops of Uskdale Gap and Ivy Crag providing surprisingly varied and interesting walking for such a modest height.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 316 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Sat 12 Sep): 17° to 8°C, gusts to 36 mph, 33.9 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 15:36 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 316 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
Holme Fell at a glance
Holme Fell
Routes up Holme Fell
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Classifications & hill data
My hikes over Holme Fell (Strava)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- A couple more Wainrights with the kids (opens in new tab) — 12.8 km · 560 m ascent · 3h 30m moving · 8 Jun 2023
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Parking & buses for Holme Fell
Best parking to hike Holme Fell
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
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.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Getting to Holme Fell by bus
The 505 stops at Holling Brow (near). From there it is 1.2 km and 105 m of ascent to the start of Holme Fell and Black Fell — a walk in before the walk. The last bus is 20:05 towards Coniston (505), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 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.
Hazards on Holme Fell
No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.
Navigating Holme Fell in cloud
StraightforwardA rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. 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 Holme Fell compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Holme Fell, east (layby), about 0.8 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Holme 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.
Routes over Holme Fell
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
The view from Holme Fell
The 360° skyline from Holme 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.
What you can see from Holme Fell, by direction
- North: Blea Rigg (7 km), Sergeant Man (9 km), Tarn Crag (9 km), Codale Head (9 km), Steel Fell (11 km), Seat Sandal (11 km), Ullscarf (12 km), Fairfield (12 km), Dollywaggon Pike (13 km), High Crag (13 km), Helvellyn (15 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (15 km), Knowe Crags (26 km)
- North-east: High Pike (10 km), Great Rigg (11 km), Dove Crag (12 km), Red Screes (12 km), Hart Crag (12 km), Little Hart Crag (12 km), Yoke (14 km), Stony Cove Pike (14 km), Ill Bell (14 km), Froswick (14 km), Thornthwaite Crag (15 km), Mardale Ill Bell (16 km), Tarn Crag (19 km)
- East: Shipman Knotts (17 km), Goat Scar (17 km), Grey Crag (19 km)
- South-west: Brim Fell (5 km), The Old Man of Coniston (5 km)
- North-west: Wrynose Fell (5 km), Pike of Blisco (6 km), Thorn Crag (7 km), Loft Crag (8 km), Harrison Stickle (8 km), Pavey Ark (8 km), Looking Steads (12 km), Glaramara (12 km), Combe Head (12 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (162 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (150 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (158 km, Wales), Cadair Berwyn (170 km, Wales), Creigiau Gleision (151 km, Wales), Y Garn (157 km, Wales), Winter Hill (92 km, England), Elidir Fawr (156 km, Wales).
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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.
Sunrise and sunset on Holme Fell
Holme Fell sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 July) first light is only 18 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.
| First light | Almanac sunrise | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 04:54 BST ±5.0 min | 04:37 | +17 min |
| Equinox | 06:17 GMT ±5.0 min | 06:15 | +2 min |
| Midwinter | 08:30 GMT ±5.0 min | 08:32 | -2 min |
The northern horizon stands at about 2.02° from here.
Last light — when the sun leaves Holme Fell
Holme Fell loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 September, when last light is 66 minutes before almanac sunset — 18:58 against 20:04. The sun goes down to the west from here (271.9°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 9.03°.
| Last light | Almanac sunset | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 21:18 BST ±5.0 min | 21:52 | -34 min |
| Equinox | 17:28 GMT ±5.0 min | 18:26 | -58 min |
| Midwinter | 15:26 GMT ±5.0 min | 15:50 | -24 min |
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 Holme Fell. 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. 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.
Holme Fell is one of our picked Lake District viewpoints — what you can see from it, when the light is best, and where to park.
What you can see from Holme Fell
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.
- Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) Wales
- Carnedd Llewelyn Wales
- Ingleborough Yorkshire Dales
- Whernside Yorkshire Dales
All 42 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Wetherlam, Black Fell, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Brim Fell, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Loughrigg Fell, Pike of Blisco, Blea Rigg, Loft Crag, Harrison Stickle, Nab Scar, Pike of Stickle, Pavey Ark, Heron Pike (Rydal), Sergeant Man, Tarn Crag (Easedale), Stone Arthur, Low Pike, Baystones (Wansfell), High Pike (Scandale), Great Rigg, Seat Sandal, Dove Crag, Red Screes, Sour Howes, Ullscarf, Hart Crag, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Fairfield, Glaramara, Sallows, Dollywaggon Pike, Yoke, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Ill Bell, Froswick, Helvellyn, Thornthwaite Crag, Mardale Ill Bell, Shipman Knotts, Tarn Crag (Sleddale), Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell)
How Holme 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.
Places to stay near this fell
From Tarn Hows: 6 places in Ambleside
Frequently asked questions about Holme Fell
How difficult is it to hike Holme Fell?
One of the easiest Wainwrights there is — at 316 m it is the second-lowest in the whole book, and a direct ascent from the Yew Tree Farm side takes well under an hour. The climbing is short and the paths are clear. Two honest caveats: the final few metres to the top involve a brief rocky step-up that surprises people expecting a stroll, and the fell is a maze of little knolls, quarry hollows and bracken — more than one walker has topped out on the wrong knoll. Our walked round pairs it with Black Fell for a fuller day of 13.7 km and 604 m of ascent; Holme Fell alone is a fraction of that.
Is Holme Fell a Wainwright?
Yes — one of the Southern Fells in Wainwright's book, and at 316 m among the very smallest. Wainwright rated its view out of all proportion to its height, and he was right: the Coniston fells fill the sky to the west and the whole quiet country of Tarn Hows and Yewdale lies below.
Where do you park for Holme Fell?
The usual starts are the roadside space near Yew Tree Farm on the A593 (very limited — a handful of cars, and don't block the farm), or the Hodge Close quarry road on the Little Langdale side. Both are informal. The National Trust's Glen Mary Bridge car park on the A593 is the reliable paid option and puts Tom Gill's waterfalls and Tarn Hows on the same day.
What are the quarries on Holme Fell?
The fell is riddled with the remains of the Hodge Close and Holme Ground slate workings — flooded pits, spoil runs and a small reservoir built to serve them. They are a large part of the fell's character and a genuine hazard: the quarry edges are unfenced and the drops are sheer. Look from a distance, keep children and dogs close, and don't be tempted onto the rims for a photograph.
Is Holme Fell the same as Holme Moss?
No — and the confusion is common enough that searches for one return the other. Holme Fell is the little Lakeland Wainwright above Yewdale; Holme Moss is a very different hill in the Peak District, best known for its transmitter mast, its road climb and a fell race. If you have come looking for the race, you want the Pennines, not Coniston.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-03 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)
Other fells near Holme Fell
- Allen Crags
- Black Fell
- Bowfell
- Brim Fell
- Cold Pike
- Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle)
- Dow Crag
- Esk Pike
- Glaramara
- Great Carrs
- Great End
- Green Crag
- Grey Friar
- Hard Knott
- Harter Fell (Eskdale)
- Illgill Head
- Lingmell
- Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
- Pike of Blisco
- Rossett Pike
- Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot
- Scafell
- Scafell Pike
- Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit)
- Slight Side
- Swirl How
- The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)
- Wetherlam
- Whin Rigg (Wasdale)