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

Lank Rigg, a Lake District fell
Wainwright — Western FellsAlso a Birkett

Lank Rigg

Lank Rigg at 541m (1,775ft) is an isolated, remote summit above the Calder valley in the far western Lake District, its open top giving wide views to the coast and across the remote western moorlands.

541 m
Height
~4.5–5.5 h
Typical time
+6
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Lank Rigg

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

541 mWainwright — Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 541 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 33 mph, 1.4 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
15° / 14°
💨 33 mph
🌧 1.4 mm (90%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 11°
💨 27 mph
🌧 10.9 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 7°
💨 28 mph
🌧 3.7 mm (75%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 4°
💨 21 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (76%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 7°
💨 14 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (73%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
15° / 8°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (27%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 7°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (22%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 541 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

Lank Rigg

Lank Rigg, a Lake District fell
© Lee McCoy

Lank Rigg at 541m (1,775ft) is an isolated, remote summit above the Calder valley in the far western Lake District, its open top giving wide views to the coast and across the remote western moorlands. Wainwright noted its genuine remoteness from the tourist paths. The ascent from Ennerdale Bridge or Calder Bridge is across open moorland. A fell for those who seek solitude in the quietest corner of Lakeland.

Routes up Lank Rigg

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

Grike, Crag Fell and Lank Rigg
13.1 km · ~3.6 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Western
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
HuMP
541 m
Height
1,775 ft
In feet
NY 0916 1196
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid), about 3.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Lank 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.

1.2 km NEWhoap511 m · Western
1.4 km WSWKinniside375 m · Western
1.8 km WSWLatter Barrow354 m · Western
2.3 km WNWBurn Edge320 m · Western
2.7 km NWBlakeley Raise389 m · Western
2.7 km WSwarth Fell (Kinniside)335 m · Western

Routes over Lank Rigg

Grike, Crag Fell and Lank RiggRevised
13.07 km · ~618 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h
Summits: GrikeCrag FellWhoapLank Rigg

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from Lank 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 Lank Rigg30 labelled tops shown (20 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell · 13 kmPillar · 8 kmBlencathra · 28 kmGrasmoor · 12 kmCrag Hill · 13 kmRed Pike · 8 kmHigh Stile · 8 kmSwirl How · 21 kmRed Pike · 8 kmHigh Crag · 9 kmWhiteside East Top · 13 kmBlack Combe · 27 kmBlake Fell · 8 kmWhitfell · 20 kmHerdus · 5 kmWhin Rigg · 10 kmGavel Fell · 7 kmCriffel · 52 km · clear daysHesk Fell · 19 kmBengairn · 53 km · clear daysMurton Fell · 7 kmBlakeley Raise · 3 kmBengray · 66 km · clear daysDent · 6 kmSwainson Knott · 4 kmSwarth Fell · 3 kmPonsonby Fell · 5 kmCold Fell · 4 kmBainloch Hill · 49 km · clear daysFlat Fell · 4 kmBlack Crag · 7 kmHaycock · 6 kmSeatallan · 6 kmStarling Dodd · 6 kmGreat Borne · 6 kmBuck Barrow · 22 kmCarling Knott · 9 kmCaw · 22 kmSharp Knott · 8 kmStickle Pike · 23 kmBanna Fell · 6 kmOwsen Fell · 9 kmIrton Fell · 11 kmWater Crag · 16 kmSnowdon · 165 km · a handful of days a yearSlieve Donard · 167 km · a handful of days a yearMerrick · 99 km · a rare clear dayAran Fawddwy · 191 km · a handful of days a yearBroad Law · 112 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 73 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 99 km · a rare clear daySlieve Croob · 168 km · a handful of days a yearYr Eifl · 182 km · a handful of days a yearGreen Lowther · 102 km · a rare clear dayDivis · 170 km · a handful of days a yearCulter Fell · 117 km · a rare clear dayCadair Berwyn · 180 km · a handful of days a yearBeneraird · 116 km · a rare clear dayRoan Fell · 89 km · a rare clear dayColt Hill · 96 km · a rare clear dayWinter Hill · 112 km · a rare clear dayLaw Kneis · 103 km · a rare clear dayCairnkinna Hill · 95 km · a rare clear dayPibble Hill · 74 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Lank Rigg, by direction
  • North: Blake Fell (8 km), Carling Knott (9 km)
  • North-east: Herdus (5 km), Great Borne (6 km), Starling Dodd (6 km), Little Dodd (7 km), Red Pike (8 km), Grasmoor (12 km), Wandope (12 km), Whiteside (13 km), Crag Hill (13 km), Whiteside East Top (13 km), Eel Crag (13 km), Gasgale Crags (13 km), Sail (14 km), Ladyside Pike (14 km), Knowe Crags (27 km), Gategill Fell Top (27 km), Blencathra (28 km), Atkinson Pike (28 km)
  • East: Little Gowder Crag (5 km), Haycock (6 km), Steeple (7 km), Black Crag (7 km), Red Pike (8 km), Pillar (8 km), High Stile (8 km), High Crag (9 km)
  • South-east: Seatallan (6 km), Whin Rigg (10 km), Scafell (13 km), Slight Side (14 km), Great Carrs (21 km), Swirl How (21 km)
  • South: Whitfell (20 km), Burn Moor (20 km), Kinmont Buck Barrow (22 km), Buck Barrow (22 km), Great Paddy Crag (22 km), Black Combe (27 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (165 km, Wales), Slieve Donard (167 km, Ireland), Carnedd Llewelyn (153 km, Wales), Merrick (99 km, Scotland), Aran Fawddwy (191 km, Wales), Broad Law (112 km, Scotland), Snaefell (73 km, Isle of Man), Moel Siabod (162 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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Lank Rigg

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
28Wainwrights in view+4 marginal
165 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

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

Far horizons
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 165 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 150 km clear
  • Merrick ScotlandNW · 100 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 74 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNNW · 53 km clear
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 42 km in view
  • Irish Sea open waterNW · 22 km in view
All 28 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Grike, Crag Fell, Caw Fell, Haycock, Great Borne, Seatallan, Starling Dodd, Steeple, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Gavel Fell, Red Pike (Wasdale), Red Pike (Buttermere), Pillar, Blake Fell, High Stile, Whin Rigg (Wasdale), Whiteless Pike, Grasmoor, Wandope, Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), Scafell, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Sail, Slight Side, Causey Pike, Great Carrs, Swirl How, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top

How Lank 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 Lank Rigg

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

Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid) — 3.9 km from summit (straight line)
Forestry England car park at the end of the Ennerdale valley road, on the lake's north shore (OS NY 110 154; parking charges apply since 2023) — Great Borne, Starling Dodd, and the long walk-ins to Pillar and Steeple.
Directions
Cold Fell road (verge) — 5.9 km from summit (straight line)
Verge parking on the Calder Bridge–Ennerdale road for Lank Rigg and Ponsonby Fell.
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.

Buses to Lank Rigg from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).

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

My hikes over Lank Rigg (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Navigating Lank Rigg in cloud

Care needed

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. 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 Lank 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 Lank Rigg

Maps & guidebooks for Lank Rigg

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