Knott

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited September 2026

Home › Fells › Knott

710 mWainwright — Northern Fells+9 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

Knott at 710m (2,330ft) is the highest point of the Back o' Skiddaw plateau — a vast, remote moorland above Caldbeck and the Vale of Eden that Wainwright described as the loneliest corner of Lakeland.

Summit conditions on Knott

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 54 mph, 15.3 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 50 mph times our exposure factor of 1.21. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 54 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 (opens in new tab) 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

15.3 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 0 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 29 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 (opens in new tab)

Routes up Knott

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

Compared	Carrock Fell and Knott	Coomb Height, Knott and Great Calva	Birketts by Carrock Fell	Carrock Fell High Pike, Knott and Great Calva	Cockup at the White Hause and other Birketts
Starts from	Stone Ends	Tarn Crags Top (layby) (free)	Mosedale car park (donation)	Carrock Fell Foot	Orthwaite
Distance and climb	16.62 km, 751 m of climb	17.62 km, 658 m of climb	15.34 km, 699 m of climb	20.98 km, 877 m of climb	23.91 km, 1,316 m of climb
Time, fast to steady	~4½–6¼ h	~4½–6¼ h	~4–5¾ h	~5½–7¾ h	~6¾–9½ h
Scrambling	Not mentioned in the route’s notes	Not mentioned in the route’s notes	Not mentioned in the route’s notes	Not mentioned in the route’s notes	Not mentioned in the route’s notes
Exposure	Moderate	Moderate	Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed
Navigation	Moderate	Moderate	Hard	Hard	Moderate
Steepest stretch	Climb of about 42% at 0.7 km (Severe)	Descent of about 35% at 9.9 km (Hard)	Descent of about 31% at 11.7 km (Hard)	Climb of about 43% at 0.6 km (Severe)	Climb of about 27% at 17.6 km (Hard)
After the summit	No further tops	Over Great Calva	Over Coomb Height	Over Great Calva	Over Burn Tod, Little Calva, Cockup and Watches
Walked or planned	Walked in part; km 5.8–8.4, km 8.6–11.8 from the map	Walked in part; km 0.0–0.4, km 3.7–6.7 from the map	Walked in part; km 0.6–2.6, km 9.0–12.0 from the map	Walked by Lee, September 2026	Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the start	Roadside parking for Carrock Fell (free)	Tarn Crags Top (layby) (free)	Mosedale car park (donation)	Roadside parking for Carrock Fell (free)	Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) (free)
Bus to the start	Nearest stop 7 km on foot	Nearest stop 5.2 km on foot	Nearest stop 5.5 km on foot	Nearest stop 7 km on foot	X4, 2.5 km walk from Bassenthwaite, opposite High Side Farm

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 Knott?

The shortest way up we hold is Birketts by Carrock Fell — 15.34 km, 699 m of ascent, ~4–5¾ h. On our scale its hardest axes are distance, steepness, terrain and navigation — Hard.

All axes: length: Hard · steepness: Hard · terrain: Hard · navigation: Hard · exposure: Not assessed.

These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 710 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°

54 mph

15.3 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

8° / 5°

47 mph

4.7 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

8° / 6°

23 mph

0.2 mm (2%)

Fri 30 Oct

8° / 5°

21 mph

0.0 mm (11%)

Sat 31 Oct

10° / -2°

5 mph

0.0 mm (21%)

Sun 1 Nov

7° / -2°

8 mph

0.0 mm (12%)

Mon 2 Nov

6° / 0°

13 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 (opens in new tab)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Knott

Parking

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

Roadside parking for Carrock Fell (free) — at the start of Carrock Fell and Knott and Carrock Fell High Pike, Knott and Great Calva

1.2 km from Carrock Fell. Added from the 5 August 2026 OSM candidate review.

Open grassy ground beside the road below the crags of Carrock Fell Taken September 2026

Directions Something changed here?

Tarn Crags Top (layby) — 0.1 km from the start of Coomb Height, Knott and Great Calva (straight line)

Walking base for Coomb Height, Knott, Great Calva and Carrock Fell — the 'Coomb Height, Knott and Great Calva' route starts 100 m away. Also serves 'Birketts by Carrock Fell'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Gravel layby beside a drystone wall Taken September 2026

Directions Something changed here?

Mosedale car park (donation) — 0.1 km from the start of Birketts by Carrock Fell (straight line)

The Quaker Meeting House car park. A sign asks for a donation of about £3, paid by card through its payment link (Lee paid it on 29 September 2026). The sign says you are welcome to park here, but asks you to leave space on Sunday mornings for people coming to the Meeting House. Walking base for Carrock Fell, Round Knott, Miton Hill and Hare Stones — the 'Birketts by Carrock Fell' route starts 52 m away. Also serves 'Coomb Height, Knott and Great Calva'. Gravel surface (OSM-tagged).

Sign at Mosedale Quaker Meeting House car park asking for a donation of about £3 towards upkeep Taken September 2026

Directions Something changed here?

5 more places to park near Knott

Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) — at the start of Cockup at the White Hause and other Birketts

Dash Falls track — Bakestall, Great Calva, Skiddaw the quiet way.

Directions Something changed here?

Round Knott (verge) — 3.0 km from summit (straight line)

Directions Something changed here?

Round Knott (layby) — 3.1 km from summit (straight line)

Directions Something changed here?

Roadside parking for Round Knott (free) — 3.4 km from summit (straight line)

Directions Something changed here?

Mosedale / Bowscale (verge, west) — 3.8 km from summit (straight line)

Not suitable for ordinary cars: the Caldew valley road west of the Mosedale / Bowscale verge has very large potholes (seen 29 September 2026). In a 4x4, expect deep potholes and drive slowly. Verge parking on the Caldew valley road, 1.2 km west of the other Mosedale / Bowscale verge - for Carrock Fell, Round Knott and the back o' Skiddaw fells. Fee and capacity are unknown: this is a location Lee supplied, not a survey.

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 553, 554 and X4 stop at Bassenthwaite, opposite High Side Farm. From there it is 2.5 km and 142 m of ascent to the start of Cockup at the White Hause and other Birketts — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: distance) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 28.9 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Carlisle (553): Saturday and Sunday 18:24 only. Towards Wigton (554): Tuesday to Friday 18:13; Saturday 20:43; Sunday 16:23. Towards Workington (X4): Tuesday to Saturday 20:28 only. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach X4 / X5

Penrith – Rheged – Threlkeld – Keswick – Braithwaite – Cockermouth – Workington

Catch it from: Penrith

Year-round, every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday between Penrith and Keswick and hourly on Sundays, from outside Penrith station. One ticket from any station on the West Coast Main Line to Keswick includes this bus: search for ‘Keswick Bus (KWK)’ when you book the train. 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.

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

Hazards on Knott

Notes from the Carrock Fell High Pike, Knott and Great Calva route

If you need to get off (the leg from Miller Moss): Go back east the way you came. Dropping west or south off Knott commits you to remote, trackless valleys, and we have not checked a line down them.

Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Knott.

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

Care needed

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of near-level ground around the summit. Take care in poor visibility — 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 Knott 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 (opens in new tab) (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 Knott

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

0.9 km WNWFrozen Fell625 m · Northern

1.2 km NEMiller Moss (Little Lingy Hill)610 m · Northern

1.3 km WBurn Tod595 m · Northern

1.4 km NNWLittle Sca Fell633 m · Northern

1.5 km ECoomb Height627 m · Northern

1.7 km NEGreat Lingy Hill616 m · Northern

2.0 km SWLittle Calva642 m · Northern

2.4 km NEHare Stones627 m · Northern

2.5 km NWLowthwaite Fell509 m · Northern

Routes over Knott

Birketts by Carrock Fell

Summits: Carrock Fell Round Knott Miton Hill Hare Stones Great Lingy Hill Miller Moss (Little Lingy Hill)KnottCoomb Height

Download GPX Walked in part, September 2026 · km 0.6–2.6, km 9.0–12.0 from the map

Route guide: Birketts by Carrock Fell →

Carrock Fell and Knott

Summits: Carrock Fell Miton Hill High Pike (Caldbeck)Hare StonesKnott

Download GPX Walked in part, September 2026 · km 5.8–8.4, km 8.6–11.8 from the map

Picked for its light in: January, November A winter pick assumes the tops are clear of snow and ice on the day, or that you carry winter kit and know how to use it.

From the hazard notes for Carrock Fell, each with its sources.

Route guide: Carrock Fell and Knott →

Carrock Fell High Pike, Knott and Great Calva

Summits: Carrock Fell Round Knott Miton Hill High Pike (Caldbeck)Hare Stones Great Lingy Hill Miller Moss (Little Lingy Hill)KnottGreat Calva

Download GPX Walked by Lee, September 2026

Warnings: Carrock Fell: The crags are bypassed by a steep grassy rake (Rake Trod) that is hard to find, hidden among bracken and scree, on loose volcanic rock. Take care to locate and stay on the line; the loose rock, thistles and heather make for a tortuous, slippery climb. Miller Moss to Knott (stage 8): Very boggy and dangerous from west of Little Lingy Hill, past Thief Gill, up to about 640 m on Knott: hidden streams have cut deep channels you cannot see, and the crossing of Thief Gill is a jump followed by a steep, muddy climb. Avoid it unless you are a very experienced fell walker with at least one other person; a satellite SOS device is essential. A likely better line from High Pike, which Lee has walked as our Carrock Fell and Knott route: follow the Cumbria Way to the foot of Coomb Height, then head south-west towards Rigg and climb Knott from the east.

From the hazard notes for Carrock Fell, each with its sources.

Route guide: Carrock Fell High Pike, Knott and Great Calva →

Cockup at the White Hause and other Birketts

Summits: Little Cockup Great Cockup Great Sca FellKnottBurn Tod Little Calva Cockup Watches

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: The Cockup–White Hause–Little Cockup ground is pathless rough grazing and heather edge — expect fences and gates to dictate the line low down, and no trail underfoot higher up.

Route guide: Cockup at the White Hause and other Birketts →

Coomb Height, Knott and Great Calva

Summits: Coomb HeightKnottGreat Calva

Download GPX Walked in part, September 2026 · km 0.0–0.4, km 3.7–6.7 from the map

Route guide: Coomb Height, Knott and Great Calva →

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.

About Knott

The summit gives wide views north to Scotland and east to the Pennines. The approach from Caldbeck is across open moorland — a completely different experience from the tourist paths to Skiddaw. The combination with Great Calva and other Back o' Skiddaw fells makes for an excellent day's walking.

My Strava hikes over Knott

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Carrock Fell, Hugh Pike, Knott & Great Calva to finish off the Northern Fells (opens in new tab) — 20.9 km · 1087 m ascent · 5h 21m moving · 29 September 2026

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Knott a Wainwright?

Knott is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list, the Fellranger list, the Marilyn list and the Hewitt list.

Selected lists

710 m

Height

2,330 ft

In feet

NY 2961 3298

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 Knott

The 360° skyline from Knott

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

The skyline as a list, by direction

South-east: Atkinson Pike (6 km), Blencathra (6 km), High Raise (25 km), Rampsgill Head (25 km), Kidsty Pike (25 km), Harter Fell (29 km)
South: Gategill Fell Top (6 km), Knowe Crags (6 km), Glaramara (23 km), Looking Steads (23 km), Green Gable (24 km), Great Gable (24 km), Allen Crags (25 km), Great End (26 km), Esk Pike (26 km), Lingmell (26 km), Broad Crag (27 km), Ill Crag (27 km), Scafell Pike (27 km), Bowfell (27 km), Scafell (28 km), Shelter Crags (28 km), Crinkle Crags (28 km), Crinkle Crags (28 km), Crinkle Crags (28 km), Crinkle Crags (28 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (29 km), Great Carrs (32 km), Swirl How (32 km), Grey Friar (33 km), Great How (33 km), The Old Man of Coniston (35 km), Dow Crag (35 km)
South-west: Broad End (5 km), Skiddaw North Top (5 km), Skiddaw (5 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (6 km), Skiddaw South Top (6 km), Skiddaw Little Man (6 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (6 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (192 km, Ireland), Merrick (102 km, Scotland), Snaefell (100 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (96 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (107 km, England), Cairnsmore of Fleet (86 km, Scotland), Corserine (96 km, Scotland), Windlestraw Law (110 km, Scotland).

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Knott

Knott sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (at the September equinox) first light is only 1 minute after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

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 light	Almanac sunrise	Difference
Midsummer	04:30 BST ±5.0 min	04:36	-6 min
Equinox	06:15 GMT ±5.0 min	06:15	—
Midwinter	08:31 GMT ±5.0 min	08:34	-3 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.44°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Knott

Knott loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when last light is 25 minutes before almanac sunset — 15:23 against 15:48. The sun goes down to the south-west from here (223.1°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.3°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
	Last light	Almanac sunset	Difference
Midsummer	21:58 BST ±5.0 min	21:54	+4 min
Equinox	18:32 GMT ±5.0 min	18:26	+6 min
Midwinter	15:23 GMT ±5.0 min	15:48	-25 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 Knott

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.

55Wainwrights in view+8 marginal

197 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction

2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

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

Far horizons

Slieve Binnian Northern IrelandWSW · 197 km clear
Slieve Donard Northern IrelandWSW · 192 km clear
Merrick ScotlandWNW · 102 km clear
Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 101 km clear
Criffel ScotlandNW · 45 km clear
Great Dun Fell North PenninesE · 41 km distant
Cross Fell North PenninesE · 39 km clear
Irish Sea open waterW · 37 km in view
Solway Firth bay/estuaryNW · 33 km in view

All 55 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Great Calva, High Pike (Caldbeck), Bakestall, Bowscale Fell, Carrock Fell, Skiddaw, Bannerdale Crags, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Little Man, Binsey, Sale Fell, Broom Fell, Ling Fell, Bleaberry Fell, Graystones (Graystones North Top), Raven Crag, High Seat, Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top), Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Bonscale Pike, Arthur's Pike, Beda Fell (Beda Head), Ullscarf, Eagle Crag, Sergeant's Crag, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), The Nab, Base Brown, Wether Hill, Glaramara, High Raise (High White Stones), Green Gable, Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), Sergeant Man, Great Gable, High Raise (High Street), Rampsgill Head, Allen Crags, Kidsty Pike, Great End, Pike of Stickle, Esk Pike, Lingmell, Scafell Pike, Bowfell, Scafell, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Pike of Blisco, Cold Pike, Wetherlam, Great Carrs, Swirl How, Grey Friar, Dow Crag

How the view from Knott 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 Knott. 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

Other places nearby

Bassenfell Manor Christian Centre (opens in new tab) hostelabout 3.1 km
Puddleduck Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.9 km

Other places nearby

Mosedale End Farm B&B (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 0.3 km

Also nearby, but not independent

Great Lingy Hut (opens in new tab) hutabout 4.7 km

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 (opens in new tab).

Knott

Summit conditions on Knott

Wind on the top

Rain, and the becks

Routes up Knott

How hard is Knott?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Knott

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Knott

Notes from the Carrock Fell High Pike, Knott and Great Calva route

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Knott

Routes over Knott

About Knott

My Strava hikes over Knott

Classifications & hill data

Is Knott a Wainwright?

Selected lists

The view from Knott

The 360° skyline from Knott

Sunrise and sunset on Knott

Last light — when the sun leaves Knott

What you can see from Knott

Places to stay near this fell

Other fells near Knott