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556 m · Wainwright — North Western Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Wainwright — North Western FellsAlso a Birkett

Knott Rigg

Knott Rigg at 556m (1,824ft) is a pleasant, grassy ridge summit above the Newlands valley between Ard Crags and the Buttermere road, giving fine views of the Grasmoor and Newlands Horseshoe ranges.

556 m
Height
~2.5–3 h
Typical time
+8
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

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556 mWainwright — North Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+8 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 556 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 14°C, gusts to 37 mph, 4.7 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
15° / 14°
💨 37 mph
🌧 4.7 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 11°
💨 27 mph
🌧 11.9 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
13° / 5°
💨 29 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 3°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 6°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
16° / 6°
💨 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 556 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

Knott Rigg

Knott Rigg, a Lake District fell
Photo: Mick Knapton, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Knott Rigg at 556m (1,824ft) is a pleasant, grassy ridge summit above the Newlands valley between Ard Crags and the Buttermere road, giving fine views of the Grasmoor and Newlands Horseshoe ranges. Wainwright included it as part of the North Western group, noting its pleasant character and good views. Most naturally combined with Ard Crags as a short circuit above the Newlands Pass. A good lower-level option for the North Western Fells.

Routes up Knott Rigg

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

Ard Crags & Knott Rigg
19.7 km · ~5.1 hr
Honister to Keswick: over the Newlands fells
19.6 km · ~5.6 hr · Hard
A big Newlands horseshoe walked one–way from the top of Honister Pass to Keswick. You climb straight onto Dale Head, trace the broad grassy tops over Hindscarth and Robinson, drop to Newlands Hause and pick up the quieter Knott Rigg–Ard Crags ridge, then walk out down the Newlands valley into town — six summits and a proper day out, with no car to collect.
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
North Western
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
556 m
Height
1,824 ft
In feet
NY 1974 1887
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Buttermere village (NT, paid), about 2.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Knott Rigg (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.

0.4 km NEIll Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)546 m · North Western
1.6 km WNWThirdgill Head Man734 m · North Western
1.9 km NNWEel Crag (Birkett)807 m · North Western
2.2 km SSWHigh Snockrigg526 m · North Western
2.4 km ESEHigh Crags (Newlands)529 m · Western
2.5 km ESERed Knott452 m · Western
2.6 km WLad Hows426 m · North Western
2.7 km EScope End412 m · Western

Routes over Knott Rigg

Ard Crags & Knott RiggPlanned
19.74 km · ~687 m ascent · linear · ~5–7 h
Summits: Ard CragsIll Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)Knott Rigg

⬇️ 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.

Honister to Keswick: over the Newlands fellsPlanned
19.62 km · ~1035 m ascent · linear · ~5.5–7.5 h · Hard
Summits: Dale HeadHindscarthRobinsonKnott RiggIll Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)Ard Crags

✎️ Because it finishes in a different valley from where it starts, this one suits a car–free day: the seasonal Honister Rambler (the 77 / 77A) sets you down at Honister Hause and you walk back into Keswick for the bus home. From Penrith it’s the X4 / X5 to Keswick, then the Rambler up to Honister. Check the last bus before you set off — the walk’s long tail down the Newlands valley eats time when legs are tired.

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Late spring to autumn, in clear conditions. The steep descent off Robinson to Newlands Hause is rough and slippery when wet, and the broad grassy tops need a compass in mist; in full winter it’s a serious outing.

⚠️ Warnings: The descent off Robinson to Newlands Hause is the crux — steep, eroded and grassy (around a 40–45% pull), and slippery when wet. Take the walkers’ line and keep away from the crags; cross the Buttermere road with care at the bottom.; A long day — nearly 20 km and about 1,035 m of ascent over six tops, with a further long walk–out down the valley at the end. Carry map, compass, food and water, and start early.; The high ridge from Dale Head over Hindscarth and Robinson is broad and grassy — easy to drift off line in cloud, so navigate on a bearing between the tops.; It’s a linear route: fix your return transport (and the last bus time) before you leave, as there’s no loop back to the start.

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.

The View from Knott Rigg

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 Knott Rigg29 labelled tops shown (1 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 15 kmPillar · 7 kmRaise · 15 kmFairfield · 18 kmBlencathra · 15 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 11 kmGreat Dodd · 15 kmStybarrow Dodd · 15 kmScoat Fell · 8 kmCrag Hill · 2 kmHigh Stile · 5 kmKirk Fell · 8 kmRed Pike · 5 kmRobinson · 2 kmHindscarth · 3 kmClough Head · 14 kmBowscale Fell · 18 kmHigh Spy · 4 kmStarling Dodd · 6 kmLooking Stead · 7 kmGreat Borne · 8 kmCrag Fell · 11 kmWandope · 1 kmSail · 1 kmHen Comb · 7 kmScar Crags · 2 kmWhiteless Pike · 2 kmRowling End · 4 kmScale Knott · 5 kmNethermost Pike · 15 kmCatstye Cam · 15 kmWatson's Dodd · 14 kmKirk Fell East Top · 8 kmCalfhow Pike · 14 kmGale Fell · 7 kmBanna Fell · 8 kmArd Crags · 1 kmSeat · 6 kmGreat Mell Fell · 21 kmRed Knott · 2 kmSlieve Donard · 179 km · a handful of days a year
What you can see from Knott Rigg, by direction
  • North: Crag Hill (2 km)
  • North-east: Skiddaw Little Man (11 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (11 km), Knowe Crags (14 km), Gategill Fell Top (15 km), Blencathra (15 km), Atkinson Pike (16 km), Bowscale Fell (18 km)
  • East: Calfhow Pike (14 km), Watson's Dodd (14 km), Clough Head (14 km), Little Dodd (14 km), White Side (14 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (14 km), Raise (15 km), Great Dodd (15 km), Stybarrow Dodd (15 km), Helvellyn (15 km), Nethermost Pike (15 km), Catstye Cam (15 km), High Crag (16 km), Dollywaggon Pike (16 km), Cross Fell (51 km)
  • South-east: Hindscarth (3 km), High Spy (4 km), Cofa Pike (18 km), Fairfield (18 km)
  • South: Robinson (2 km), High Crag (5 km), Looking Stead (7 km), Pillar (7 km), Kirk Fell East Top (8 km), Kirk Fell (8 km)
  • South-west: High Stile (5 km), Red Pike (5 km), High Stile (5 km), Starling Dodd (6 km), Steeple (8 km), Scoat Fell (8 km)
  • West: Great Borne (8 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (179 km, Ireland), Slieve Binnian (184 km, Ireland), Slievelamagan (182 km, Ireland), Slieve Commedagh (180 km, Ireland).

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 Knott Rigg

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
43Wainwrights in view+2 marginal
51 kmFurthest sightlineCross Fell
—Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 51 km clear
All 43 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Wandope, Ard Crags, Sail, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Whiteless Pike, Robinson, Scar Crags, Causey Pike, Hindscarth, Maiden Moor, High Spy, Cat Bells (Catbells), Red Pike (Buttermere), High Stile, High Crag (Buttermere), Haystacks (Buttermere), Starling Dodd, Hen Comb, Pillar, Great Borne, Steeple, Walla Crag, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Kirk Fell, Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, Latrigg, Crag Fell, Skiddaw Little Man, High Rigg (Naddle Fell), Watson's Dodd, Clough Head, White Side, Raise, Great Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Catstye Cam, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Dollywaggon Pike, Bowscale Fell, Great Mell Fell

How Knott Rigg’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 Knott Rigg

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

Buttermere village (NT, paid) — 2.9 km from summit (straight line)
For Red Pike, High Stile, Robinson, Rannerdale Knotts.
Directions
🚺 Buttermere village (132m) — Accessible☕ Syke Farm Tea Room☕ Croft House Farm Café🍺 The Buttermere Court Hotel
Little Town, Newlands (paid, small) — 3.6 km from summit (straight line)
Newlands valley — Catbells, Maiden Moor, Hindscarth, Robinson.
Directions

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

On the Ard Crags & Knott Rigg route:

🛖 map (6 m)🚌 Police Station (W bound) (13 m)🚌 Police Station (E bound) (24 m)🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 1 (61 m)🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 2 (75 m)⛺ Keswick YHA (373 m)⛺ Hope Memorial Camp (459 m)

On the Honister to Keswick: over the Newlands fells route:

🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 1 (16 m)🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 2 (25 m)🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 3 (29 m)🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 4 (35 m)⛺ Honister Pass YHA (89 m)⛺ Keswick YHA (422 m)

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

Buses to Knott Rigg 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.

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

Don’t drink from Yewthwaite Gill

On the way up you cross Yewthwaite Gill, which runs below the old Yewthwaite lead mine. The Environment Agency records it carrying dissolved lead above the level that is safe to drink. This is not the usual hill-water risk: a squeeze or hollow-fibre filter (LifeStraw, Sawyer and the like) removes none of these dissolved metals, and boiling only concentrates them. Carry your own water for this walk and don’t refill from the beck. Coledale Beck and Newlands Beck on the same round is mine-polluted too, though below the level that would harm a person.

What’s actually in this beck — we mapped every mine-fed one →

Metal-mine water data © Environment Agency (Open Government Licence v3.0).

Navigating Knott Rigg in cloud

Straightforward

Walkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. 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 Knott Rigg 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 Knott Rigg

Maps & guidebooks for Knott Rigg

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