470 mWainwright — Southern Fells+7 bonus Birketts within 3 km
Lingmoor Fell at 470m (1,542ft) is a heathery ridge between Great Langdale and Little Langdale, its summit giving one of the finest aerial views of Great Langdale available from any low fell. The Langdale Pikes rise dramatically across the valley from the summit.
Summit conditions on Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 58 mph, 9.7 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
51mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour
The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 48 mph times our exposure factor of 1.05. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 58 mph, before any exposure factor.
under 25
25–35
35–45
45–55
55+
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.
Cloud on the top
Past the line
18out of 100, the clear-top reading
Averaged over the daylight hours, from the forecast’s humidity and low cloud.
The line Our line: a clear-top reading under 20 out of 100, where our scorer says “summit likely clagged in”. There is no outside threshold to cite; it is our estimate. What cloud does to finding the way: navigating in cloud.
Not an observation: cloud lifts and drops within the hour.
Rain, and the becks
Past the line
9.7mm 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 checkedcold: feels like 3 °C, no ice or snow forecast. 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
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 →
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.
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 Lingmoor Fell?
A moderate half-day fell — 470 m (1,542 ft) at Brown How, its summit. The paths are good and there's no scrambling on the ordinary routes, but it's a proper little hill with some steady climbing whichever way you come.
Its position is the reward: mid-Langdale, with the Langdale Pikes filling the view across the valley — many reckon it the best grandstand for them.
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
Elterwater (NT, paid) — at the start of Lingmoor Fell from Elterwater
For Lingmoor Fell, Silver How and lower Langdale. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026). Free for NT members (checked August 2026).
Typically full before 11:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 9 August 2026.
If it is full: Elterwater, Mill Row (verge) (0.3 km)a few spaces only; Elterwater, east (free) (0.4 km)a few spaces only; Elterwater Common (free) (0.5 km)a few spaces only; Silverthwaite (Lowther Estates, paid) (1.8 km, 69 m up)
Blea Tarn (NT, paid) — at the start of Side Pike and Brown How from Blea Tarn
Between the Langdales — Lingmoor, Pike o' Blisco, Blake Rigg side. On Side Gates Road, the Blea Tarn road, about 170 m from the tarn's shore; the 'Blea Tarn (Little Langdale)' route starts here. Fees: pay and display; coins only (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, read September 2026). Free for NT members (checked August 2026).
Lingmoor Fell (layby) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)
A lay-by on Side Gates Road, the Blea Tarn road, 0.6 km south-south-east of the Blea Tarn car park in a straight line, on the Little Langdale side. The 'Blea Tarn (Little Langdale)' route starts at that car park, 0.7 km on foot and about 80 m up. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
3 more places to park near Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
Lingmoor Fell Brown How (verge) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
A verge on Side Gates Road, the Blea Tarn road, 0.7 km south-south-east of the Blea Tarn car park in a straight line, on the Little Langdale side. The 'Blea Tarn (Little Langdale)' route starts at that car park, 0.7 km on foot and about 80 m up.
Lingmoor Fell car park (free) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
A car park on Side Gates Road, the Blea Tarn road, 0.9 km south-south-east of the Blea Tarn car park in a straight line, on the Little Langdale side. The 'Blea Tarn (Little Langdale)' route starts at that car park. Free (OSM-tagged). Compacted surface (OSM-tagged).
Side Pike (layby) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
A lay-by on Side Gates Road, the Blea Tarn road, below Side Pike, 1.0 km north-west of the Blea Tarn car park in a straight line. The Great Langdale routes start at the Old Dungeon Ghyll, 1.2 km on foot; the 'Blea Tarn (Little Langdale)' route starts at the Blea Tarn car park, 1.3 km on foot. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
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 516 stops at Elterwater, opposite The Britannia Inn, a 70 m walk from the start of Lingmoor Fell from Elterwater — a route we rate Moderate overall (hardest: distance, steepness, terrain, navigation and exposure). We haven’t published last buses, Sunday or winter service yet, so check the timetable before you rely on getting back.
Stagecoach 516 “Langdale Rambler”
Ambleside – Skelwith Bridge – Elterwater – New Dungeon Ghyll – Old Dungeon Ghyll
Catch it from: Ambleside · Windermere (change at Ambleside)
The Langdale bus — Pikes, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Pike o' Blisco all walkable from the Dungeon Ghyll stops. Seasonal frequency varies; check before relying on the last bus back.
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Lingmoor Fell from Elterwater
Fat Man's Agony. The path round the south side of Side Pike squeezes through a narrow gap between the crag and a large boulder. It is short but tight, and awkward with a big pack.
Old quarry workings on the Elterwater side. Keep to the path.
If you need to get off (the leg from Elterwater Village): Retreat: Carefully reverse your steps back down the eastern ridge through the quarries to Elterwater.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Lingmoor Fell (Brown How).
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
Not graded by the model
Our terrain model finds nothing to grade on this summit, so it gives no cloud grade here — that is not a sign of easy navigation. Read this fell’s hazard notes and the route pages before a day in cloud. 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 Lingmoor Fell (Brown How) 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.
Warnings:Fat Man's Agony. The path round the south side of Side Pike squeezes through a narrow gap between the crag and a large boulder. It is short but tight, and awkward with a big pack. Old quarry workings on the Elterwater side. Keep to the path.
The traverse from Chapel Stile to Great Langdale is a classic low-level walk. Wainwright included it in his Southern Fells, noting the excellent Langdale views throughout.
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 Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
The 360° skyline from Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
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
North: Codale Head (5 km), Ullscarf (8 km), Helvellyn (11 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (12 km), Watson's Dodd (15 km), Clough Head (18 km), Gategill Fell Top (23 km), Blencathra (23 km), Doddick Fell (23 km)
North-east: Great Rigg (8 km), Seat Sandal (8 km), Fairfield (9 km), Hart Crag (9 km), Dove Crag (9 km), Dollywaggon Pike (10 km), High Crag (10 km), Red Screes (10 km), Nethermost Pike (10 km), Caudale Moor (12 km), Kidsty Pike (16 km)
East: Ill Bell (14 km), Froswick (14 km), Harter Fell (16 km), Kentmere Pike (17 km)
South-west: Wetherlam (4 km), Black Sails (4 km), Swirl How (5 km), Grey Friar (6 km)
North-west: Thunacar Knott (4 km), Esk Pike (7 km), Allen Crags (8 km), Red Beck Top (8 km), Great End (8 km), Green Gable (11 km), Great Gable (11 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Moel y Gamelin (159 km, Wales), Great Whernside (76 km, England), Moel Famau (143 km, Wales), Winter Hill (96 km, England), Cyrn-y-Brain (156 km, Wales), Billinge Hill (106 km, England), Foel Fenlli (145 km, Wales).
Lingmoor Fell (Brown How) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when the sun is up for 20 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 04:57 against an almanac sunrise of 04:37. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the north-east from here (49.3°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 1.82°.
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
04:57 BST ±5.0 min
04:37
+20 min
Equinox
06:16 GMT ±5.0 min
06:15
+1 min
Midwinter
08:28 GMT ±5.0 min
08:32
-4 min
The northern horizon stands at about 2.19° from here.
Last light — when the sun leaves Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
Lingmoor Fell (Brown How) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 January, when last light is 38 minutes before almanac sunset — 15:21 against 15:59. The sun goes down to the south-west from here (221.8°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.58°.
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
21:36 BST ±5.0 min
21:52
-16 min
Equinox
18:02 GMT ±5.0 min
18:26
-24 min
Midwinter
15:13 GMT ±5.0 min
15:49
-36 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 Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
How the view from Lingmoor Fell (Brown How) 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 Lingmoor Fell (Brown How). 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.
"The squeeze" is a famous narrow gap between the crag and a fallen block on the path traversing Side Pike, at the fell's north-western end — walkers (and daypacks) shuffle through sideways. It's a novelty rather than a climb, but large rucksacks have to come off.
You don't have to go through it: the col between Side Pike and Lingmoor can be reached without the traverse, so the squeeze is an option, not an obstacle.
Where do you start a Lingmoor Fell walk?
Four good starts: Blea Tarn (NT car park — shortest, and takes in Side Pike), Little Langdale, Chapel Stile and Elterwater. Our mapped circuit runs from Elterwater over the summit ridge — about 11.5 km taking in the quarries and the ridge wall.
Is Lingmoor Fell a Wainwright, and is it dog friendly?
Yes — a Wainwright in the Southern Fells, summit Brown How, 470 m. For dogs it's mostly gates: OpenStreetMap maps 19 gates and a kissing gate on our route, but also a step-over stile and a few of unmapped type, so a dog may need lifting once or twice. Sheep graze the whole fell — leads on.
