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Illgill Head - the summit rocks with a small cairn, looking across Wasdale to Yewbarrow, Kirk Fell and Great Gable with cloud sitting on the tops

Illgill Head

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609 mWainwright — Southern Fells+1 bonus Birkett within 3 km Serious in Clag

Illgill Head at 609m (1,997ft) is the highest point of the famous Wastwater Screes — one of the most dramatic and photographed features in the Lake District.

Summit conditions on Illgill Head

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 62 mph, 8.9 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 49 mph times our exposure factor of 1.2. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 62 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

8.9 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 1 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 22 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 Illgill Head

Choose the way up before the car park: these two routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.

Whin Rigg, Illgill Head & the Wastwater ScreesBoat How, Illgill Head & Whin Rigg
Starts fromEasthwaite Farm Car ParkDalegarth Station, Eskdale (paid)
Distance and climb16.86 km, 682 m of climb20.67 km, 1,170 m of climb
Time, fast to steady~4½–6 h~6–8¼ h
ScramblingIt looks like a shortcut and is a serious mistake — the Wastwater Screes are steep, loose and boulder-choked, and the shoreline beneath them is a notorious, hazardous boulder-scramble, not an escape.Not mentioned in the route’s notes
ExposureHardNot assessed
NavigationModerateModerate
Steepest stretchClimb of about 42% at 2.2 km (Severe)Descent of about 42% at 10.9 km (Severe)
After the summitNo further topsOver Whin Rigg (Wasdale)
Walked or plannedPlanned: drawn, not yet walkedPlanned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the startIrton Fell car park (donation)Dalegarth Station, Eskdale (paid)
Bus to the startNot measuredNot measured

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 Illgill Head?

Moderate, and easier than its reputation — the fell is famous for the Wast Water Screes, but the walkers' route never goes near them. From Wasdale Head church the ascent is a steady grass-and-path pull of roughly 500 m; our walked round over Whin Rigg and back is 16.9 km with 682 m of ascent. The catch is the edge, not the climb. The summit plateau runs along the top of the Screes with a sudden, unfenced drop of hundreds of metres to the lake — magnificent in clear weather, and no place to be wandering in cloud or strong wind. Stay well back from the rim and the day is straightforward.

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° / 5°
62 mph
8.9 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
9° / 6°
39 mph
6.4 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
9° / 7°
26 mph
0.9 mm (67%)
Fri 30 Oct
8° / 6°
26 mph
0.3 mm (12%)
Sat 31 Oct
8° / 2°
4 mph
4.5 mm (8%)
Sun 1 Nov
8° / 1°
13 mph
0.0 mm (2%)
Mon 2 Nov
6° / -2°
9 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 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 Illgill Head

Parking

Where do you park for Illgill Head?

Two options, and they make very different days. Wasdale Head (the National Trust parking near the inn and the green) gives the direct approach up the fell's northern flank — but it fills early, because it also serves Scafell Pike and Great Gable. The Irton Fell car park near Easthwaite, at the foot of Wast Water, puts you at the Whin Rigg end; our round over both tops starts there. The Wasdale road is long and single-track, so arrive early rather than hopefully.

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

Irton Fell car park — 0.1 km from the start of Whin Rigg, Illgill Head & the Wastwater Screes (straight line)
2.0 km from Irton Fell. 40 vehicles (Lee, 9 August 2026). 98 m from the Whin Rigg / Illgill Head route start, whose nearest published pin was 2,361 m away. Fees: No pay-and-display machine; donation box (NT, checked August 2026). Free for NT members (checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Dalegarth Station, Eskdale (paid) — at the start of Boat How, Illgill Head & Whin Rigg
Pay & display at the La'al Ratty terminus — Eskdale fells, Harter Fell, Green Crag. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Dalegarth Station (~41 m straight line) — Accessible Fellbites Cafe
Lake Head, Wasdale (NT, paid) — 3.5 km on foot from the summit
Walking base for Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Scafell Pike — the 'Great Gable & Kirk Fell' route starts 10 m away. Also serves 'Scafell Pike from Wasdale, by Lingmell Col'. National Trust's access statement records a pay-and-display machine here (National Trust, January 2024) but does not say which payment methods it takes; the same document notes mobile reception is poor across Wasdale, so carry coins as well as a card. Compacted surface (OSM-tagged). Toilets on site. National Trust, pay & display (free for members). The classic base for Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Yewbarrow. Fills very early. Fees: £7 up to 2 hours; £8.50 up to 4 hours; £10 all day. Charges apply at all times (NT, checked August 2026). Free for NT members (checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
If it is full: Overbeck Bridge, Wastwater (NT, paid) (1.8 km, 110 m up); Greendale, Nether Wasdale (roadside, free) (4.9 km, 197 m up)
Wasdale Head Inn

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

We don’t know yet. Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway (“La'al Ratty”) serves this area, but we don’t hold its stop positions, so we can’t measure the walk from it — and we won’t tell you to drive on the strength of a gap in our own data. Check the operator’s timetable.

By train: change at Ravenglass onto the Ravenglass & Eskdale (narrow gauge, seasonal, not in the National Rail timetable), and Dalegarth station is 130 m on foot from the start of Boat How, Illgill Head & Whin Rigg. National Rail at Ravenglass, on the Cumbrian Coast line, not the narrow gauge: First train in 06:39, last train out 20:52, Monday to Friday, checked 12 September, valid to the 12 December timetable change; Saturday and Sunday.

At the station: Ravenglass, where you change, has some step-free access to its platforms, and there are no toilets. The rest of what meets that train. Station facilities: NationalRail (Train Information Services Ltd).

Cabs: Ravenglass station has neither a taxi rank nor a cab office. Advance booking is essential. Consider using the following local operator: Gosforth 019467 25308. As Traintaxi supplies them, read 4 October 2026. Traintaxi leaves “taxis” out of a firm’s name. Lee checked them on 4 October 2026. © Traintaxi Limited, 2000-2026. Using cabs in the UK.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Illgill Head

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Boat How, Illgill Head & Whin Rigg

If you need to get off (the leg from Boat How): The area around Burnmoor Lodge is a major crossroads. From there, you can bail either south-east back to Eskdale or north-west down the engineered path to Wasdale Head, avoiding the exposed high ridges entirely.

Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Illgill Head.

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.

Navigating in cloud

Serious in cloud

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of walkable ground near the summit that lies close to steep ground or crag. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

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 Illgill Head 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 Illgill Head

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

3.0 km ESEGreat How - Eskdale Fell522 m · Southern

Routes over Illgill Head

Boat How, Illgill Head & Whin Rigg
Summits: Boat HowIllgill HeadWhin Rigg (Wasdale)

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide →

Whin Rigg, Illgill Head & the Wastwater Screes
Summits: Whin Rigg (Wasdale)Illgill Head

Whin Rigg and Illgill Head are the two fells that cap the Wastwater Screes, looking down England’s deepest lake. A magnificent but serious round — and the rule that matters most: resist any urge to drop down the Screes; the only safe way down is the walking route.

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Best season: Late spring to autumn, in clear and dry conditions. It’s a long, exposed day; near the edge in poor visibility is no place to be, and the tops are boggy in stretches.

Warnings: Do not try to cut the walk short down the Screes to the lake. It looks like a shortcut and is a serious mistake — the Wastwater Screes are steep, loose and boulder-choked, and the shoreline beneath them is a notorious, hazardous boulder-scramble, not an escape. The only safe way off is to finish the route. A high, exposed edge above a huge drop to Wast Water — keep well back from the crumbling rim, especially in wind or poor visibility. A long day (nearly 17 km, 680 m of ascent) with boggy stretches — carry map, compass and enough food and water, and start early. Livestock on the lower fields; keep dogs under close control.

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 Illgill Head

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Boat How, Illgill Head & Whin Rigg route:

Dalegarth Station (33 m from the start, straight line) Beckfoot Bridge (439 m from the start, straight line) Post Office (487 m from the start, straight line)

On the Whin Rigg, Illgill Head & the Wastwater Screes route:

possible water source (45 m off the line) Camping Barn (mapped, not checked; 86 m off the line) toilets (53 m off the line) Nether Wasdale Car Park (105 m from the start, straight line)

Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is not proof the water is drinkable, so carry your own or use a supply you know is safe. Never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock upstream and leave you seriously ill. Use a treatment method suited to what might be in the water, and follow the device’s own instructions. Boiling and ordinary filters do not make water with dissolved metals or chemicals safe: where that is possible, choose another source.

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

About Illgill Head

Illgill Head - the summit rocks with a small cairn, looking across Wasdale to Yewbarrow, Kirk Fell and Great Gable with cloud sitting on the tops
© Lee McCoy

Wainwright described the view from Illgill Head looking down the screes to Wast Water as one of the most awe-inspiring in Lakeland. The screes themselves are best viewed from the opposite shore of the lake. The ascent from Wasdale Head via Burnmoor Tarn gives an excellent approach with fine views of the Scafell group throughout. Combined naturally with Whin Rigg for a circuit above the screes.

My Strava hikes over Illgill Head

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Selected lists

Wainwright
Southern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Marilyn
609 m
Height
1,997 ft
In feet
NY 1689 0492
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 Illgill Head

The 360° skyline from Illgill Head

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 Illgill Head29 labelled tops shown (10 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell · 4 kmGreat Gable · 7 kmPillar · 7 kmCrinkle Crags · 8 kmScoat Fell · 6 kmBlack Crag · 7 kmLingmell · 5 kmKirk Fell · 6 kmSwirl How · 11 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 13 kmHaycock · 6 kmStonesty Pike · 8 kmRobinson · 12 kmCaw Fell · 7 kmSeatallan · 5 kmBrown Pike · 12 kmWhite Pike · 12 kmBlack Combe · 20 kmCaw · 12 kmHesk Fell · 10 kmYewbarrow · 4 kmWhin Rigg · 2 kmYew Bank · 7 kmGreen Crag · 7 kmGlade How · 4 kmGreat Worm Crag · 8 kmPonsonby Fell · 9 kmSeat How · 8 kmMuncaster Fell · 9 kmKirk Fell East Top · 6 kmDow Crag · 12 kmGrey Friar · 10 kmBlack Sails · 12 kmLittle Stand · 8 kmLong Side · 25 kmLittle Gowder Crag · 7 kmBrandreth · 8 kmHarter Fell · 7 kmBuck Barrow · 14 kmPikes · 12 kmEskdale Fell · 3 kmBuckbarrow · 4 kmBroad Crag · 8 kmThe Pike · 12 kmBirker Fell · 7 kmThe Knott · 10 kmSnowdon · 161 km · a handful of days a yearSlieve Donard · 174 km · a handful of days a yearSouth Barrule · 96 km · a rare clear daySlieve Croob · 175 km · a handful of days a yearYr Eifl · 179 km · a handful of days a yearMoel y Gamelin · 158 km · a handful of days a yearDivis · 178 km · a handful of days a yearBeneraird · 127 km · a handful of days a yearFair Snape Fell · 72 km · a rare clear dayWinter Hill · 102 km · a rare clear day
The skyline as a list, by direction
  • North: Red Pike (6 km), Scoat Fell (6 km), Black Crag (7 km), Looking Stead (7 km), Pillar (7 km), Robinson (12 km), Scar Crags (16 km), Long Side (25 km), Ullock Pike (25 km)
  • North-east: Lingmell (5 km), Kirk Fell (6 km), Kirk Fell East Top (6 km), Great Gable (7 km), Brandreth (8 km)
  • East: Scafell (4 km), Crinkle Crags (8 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (8 km), Stonesty Pike (8 km), Little Stand (8 km), Great Carrs (11 km), Black Sails (12 km), Wetherlam (12 km)
  • South-east: Harter Fell (7 km), Grey Friar (10 km), Swirl How (11 km), Dow Crag (12 km), Brim Fell (12 km), Buck Pike (12 km), Walna Scar (12 km), White Pike (12 km), Brown Pike (12 km), The Old Man of Coniston (13 km)
  • South: Whitfell (12 km), Burn Moor (13 km), Buck Barrow (14 km), Black Combe (20 km)
  • North-west: Seatallan (5 km), Haycock (6 km), Little Gowder Crag (7 km), Caw Fell (7 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (161 km, Wales), Slieve Donard (174 km, Ireland), Carnedd Llewelyn (149 km, Wales), Snaefell (79 km, Isle of Man), Moel Siabod (157 km, Wales), Mynydd Mawr (163 km, Wales), South Barrule (96 km, Isle of Man), Slieve Croob (175 km, Ireland).

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 Illgill Head

Illgill Head waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 May, when the sun is up for 37 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 06:13 against an almanac sunrise of 05:36. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east-north-east from here (69.7°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 4.59°.

0°30°40°50°60°70°04:58
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
Midsummer04:58 BST ±5.0 min04:38+20 min
Equinox06:26 GMT ±5.0 min06:16+10 min
Midwinter08:35 GMT ±5.0 min08:33+2 min

The northern horizon stands at about 1.12° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Illgill Head

The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (at midsummer) last light is only 2 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Illgill Head.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:51 BST ±5.0 min21:53-2 min
Equinox18:32 GMT ±5.0 min18:27+5 min
Midwinter15:57 GMT ±5.0 min15:50+7 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 Illgill Head

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
24Wainwrights in view+8 marginal
174 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Donard · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Morecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.

Far horizons
  • Slieve Donard Northern IrelandW · 174 km clear
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 161 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 145 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 79 km clear
  • Morecambe Bay bay/estuarySSE · 37 km in view
  • Irish Sea open waterWSW · 35 km in view
All 24 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Middle Fell, Buckbarrow, Scafell, Slight Side, Seatallan, Lingmell, Kirk Fell, Haycock, Great Gable, Hard Knott, Caw Fell, Pillar, Harter Fell (Eskdale), Green Crag, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Brandreth, Haystacks (Buttermere), Grey Friar, Great Carrs, Swirl How, Dow Crag, Brim Fell, Wetherlam, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)

How the view from Illgill Head 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 Illgill Head. 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

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.

Frequently asked questions about Illgill Head

How hard is Illgill Head? Answered above.

Is Illgill Head a Wainwright?

Yes — 609 m, in Wainwright's Southern Fells, and the higher of the two tops above the Wast Water Screes. Its neighbour Whin Rigg (537 m) is a separate Wainwright at the other end of the same ridge, which is why almost everybody walks the two together.

Where do you park for Illgill Head? Answered above: Parking for Illgill Head.

Can you walk down the Wast Water Screes?

There is a path along the base of the Screes beside the lake, and it is notorious — a slow, ankle-turning boulder scramble that takes far longer than its distance suggests and is genuinely awkward when wet. It is not a descent from the summit: the face of the Screes itself is not a walkers' route at all. The way off Illgill Head is by the ridge, at either end. Treat the lakeside path as a separate outing to be judged on its own terms, not a shortcut home.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-03 · Suggest a question or correction

Other fells near Illgill Head

Places nearby: Wast Water · Wasdale