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672 m · Wainwright — Far Eastern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Loadpot Hill - a trig pillar ringed by a small pool on a broad grassy moor, distant fells lining the horizon under blue sky
Wainwright — Far Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Loadpot Hill

Loadpot Hill at 671m (2,201ft) is the northern summit of the High Street plateau above Ullswater, the site of a ruined Roman turret on the ancient road that runs along the ridge.

672 m
Height
~3–4 h
Typical time
+5
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Loadpot Hill

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

672 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 672 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 13°C, gusts to 33 mph, 3.4 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
15° / 13°
💨 33 mph
🌧 3.4 mm (98%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
16° / 12°
💨 33 mph
🌧 2.6 mm (98%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
15° / 6°
💨 28 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (63%)
Fri 31 Jul
☁️
15° / 2°
💨 25 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (82%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 2°
💨 11 mph
🌧 6.3 mm (31%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌤️
16° / 3°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (25%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 6°
💨 12 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (24%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 672 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

Loadpot Hill

Loadpot Hill - a trig pillar ringed by a small pool on a broad grassy moor, distant fells lining the horizon under blue sky
© Lee McCoy

Loadpot Hill at 671m (2,201ft) is the northern summit of the High Street plateau above Ullswater, the site of a ruined Roman turret on the ancient road that runs along the ridge. Wainwright found the historical associations of this stretch of road compelling — the idea of Roman legions marching across this high ground is vivid from the summit. The views north to Penrith and the Eden Valley are distinctive from this angle. Most naturally approached from Pooley Bridge or Howtown as the start of the long High Street traverse south to Windermere.

Routes up Loadpot Hill

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

Fusedale Circuit
14.7 km · ~4.4 hr
A quiet ~15 km circuit of the Far Eastern fells from Howtown on Ullswater — Hallin Fell, Steel Knotts, Wether Hill, Loadpot Hill, Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike — broad grassy tops with grandstand views over the lake. A fine Steamer-and-walk outing.
Swarth Fell and Loadpot Hill
9.7 km · ~2.9 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Far Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
672 m
Height
2,205 ft
In feet
NY 4563 1804
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Martindale, St Peter's church (free, limited), about 2.3 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Loadpot Hill (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.

1.5 km WSWBrownthwaite Crag444 m · Far Eastern
1.5 km NSwarth Fell (Ullswater)545 m · Far Eastern
1.8 km SWGowk Hill471 m · Far Eastern
2.4 km SELow Kop572 m · Far Eastern
3.0 km SRed Crag711 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Loadpot Hill

Fusedale CircuitRevised
14.68 km · ~856 m ascent · loop · ~4–6 h
Summits: Hallin FellBonscale PikeArthur's PikeLoadpot HillWether HillBrownthwaite CragSteel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts)

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: Steep crag edges above Ullswater: Bonscale Tower and the western drops off Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike are serious — keep well back, especially in cloud or wind.; Boggy, featureless plateau: the Loadpot Hill saddle is peat-hagged and wet, and the broad grassy tops give little to aim for in mist — a compass day if the cloud is down.; Summer bracken + a washed-out descent: the Brock Crag short-cut and the steep drop off Bonscale to Mellguards can be thick, navigation-sapping bracken, with one eroded section underfoot — walking poles help.; Easy-to-miss summits: Wether Hill and Loadpot Hill both have their true top just off the obvious path — step the few metres across to be sure you've actually bagged them.

Full route guide ↗

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

Swarth Fell and Loadpot HillPlanned
9.69 km · ~568 m ascent · loop · ~2.5–4 h
Summits: Swarth Fell (Ullswater)Loadpot HillBrownthwaite CragSteel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts)

⬇️ 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.

The View from Loadpot Hill

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 Loadpot Hill36 labelled tops shown (9 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 12 kmSkiddaw · 22 kmHigh Crag · 12 kmRaise · 11 kmFairfield · 12 kmBlencathra · 16 kmGreat Dodd · 12 kmStybarrow Dodd · 11 kmHigh Street · 7 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 27 kmRed Screes · 11 kmStony Cove Pike · 9 kmLow Raise · 4 kmThe Knott · 6 kmClough Head · 13 kmBranstree · 8 kmKnott · 22 kmBranstree NE Top · 8 kmTarn Crags Top · 17 kmCarrock Fell · 19 kmCross Fell · 28 kmIngleborough · 52 km · clear daysHartsop Above How · 10 kmThe Calf · 30 kmHigh Wether Howe · 9 kmWild Boar Fell · 36 km · clear daysBrown Howe · 7 kmLittle Mell Fell · 7 kmBampton Fell · 4 kmSighty Crag · 64 km · clear daysMickle Fell · 36 km · clear daysBuckden Pike · 64 km · clear daysHoove · 56 km · clear daysCold Fell · 40 km · clear daysNine Standards Rigg · 39 km · clear daysDufton Pike · 26 kmHelvellyn Lower Man · 12 kmWhite Side · 12 kmDollywaggon Pike · 12 kmSt Sunday Crag · 10 kmDove Crag · 11 kmWatson's Dodd · 12 kmCaudale Moor · 9 kmRanderside · 11 kmHigh Pike · 22 kmLow Pike · 13 kmDodd · 23 kmSheffield Pike · 9 kmHartsop Dodd · 8 kmLow Kop · 2 kmAngletarn Pikes · 5 kmGreat Saddle Crag · 12 kmFewling Stones · 8 kmBeda Fell · 3 kmNaddle Farm Top · 6 kmScalebarrow Knott · 7 kmGrange Fell · 67 km · clear daysBroad Law · 110 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 127 km · a handful of days a yearGreen Lowther · 109 km · a rare clear dayGreat Whernside · 70 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 82 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 83 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 115 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 83 km · a rare clear dayBlackwood Hill · 78 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Loadpot Hill, by direction
  • South: Low Raise (4 km), High Raise (5 km), Rampsgill Head (5 km), The Knott (6 km), High Street (7 km)
  • South-west: Stony Cove Pike (9 km), Caudale Moor (9 km), Gavel Pike (10 km), St Sunday Crag (10 km), Red Screes (11 km), Hart Crag (11 km), Dove Crag (11 km), Cofa Pike (12 km), Fairfield (12 km), Dollywaggon Pike (12 km), Seat Sandal (13 km), Brim Fell (27 km), The Old Man of Coniston (27 km)
  • West: Hart Side (10 km), Catstye Cam (11 km), Raise (11 km), Stybarrow Dodd (11 km), Great Dodd (12 km), Helvellyn (12 km), Nethermost Pike (12 km), White Side (12 km), High Crag (12 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (12 km), Watson's Dodd (12 km)
  • North-west: Blencathra (16 km), Gategill Fell Top (17 km), Atkinson Pike (17 km), Knowe Crags (17 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (21 km), Skiddaw Little Man (21 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (22 km), Skiddaw South Top (22 km), Skiddaw (22 km), Skiddaw North Top (22 km), Broad End (23 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Broad Law (110 km, Scotland), Tinto (127 km, Scotland), Green Lowther (109 km, Scotland), White Coomb (101 km, Scotland), Queensberry (94 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (93 km, Scotland), Cairn Table (129 km, Scotland), Great Whernside (70 km, England).

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 Loadpot Hill

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
48Wainwrights in view+12 marginal
53 kmFurthest sightlineIngleborough
—Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSSE · 53 km clear
  • Whernside Yorkshire DalesSE · 46 km clear
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 29 km clear
  • Cross Fell North PenninesNE · 28 km clear
All 48 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Beda Fell (Beda Head), The Nab, High Raise (High Street), Rest Dodd, Place Fell, Rampsgill Head, Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), The Knott (High Street), Brock Crags (Wainwright), Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Little Mell Fell, Gray Crag, Arnison Crag, High Street, Hartsop Dodd, Birks, Sheffield Pike, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Great Mell Fell, Birkhouse Moor, Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How), High Hartsop Dodd, St Sunday Crag, Hart Side, Middle Dodd, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Red Screes, Catstye Cam, Hart Crag, Dove Crag, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Fairfield, Great Dodd, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, White Side, Dollywaggon Pike, Watson's Dodd, High Pike (Scandale), Seat Sandal, Low Pike, Souther Fell, Carrock Fell, High Pike (Caldbeck), Dodd (Skiddaw), Brim Fell, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)

How Loadpot Hill’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 Loadpot Hill

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

Martindale, St Peter's church (free, limited) — 2.3 km from summit (straight line)
Quiet side of Ullswater — Hallin Fell, Steel Knotts, Beda Fell, Pikeawassa.
Directions
Aira Force (NT, paid) — 6.3 km from summit (straight line)
For Gowbarrow Fell and the path toward Great Dodd via Dockray.
Directions
🚺 Aira Force Car Park (130m) — Free · Accessible☕ Aira Force Tearooms

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 Fusedale Circuit route:

💧 possible water source (99 m)🛖 map (89 m)🚺 map (95 m)🚺 map (99 m)🚌 Hause Farm (166 m)

On the Swarth Fell and Loadpot Hill route:

🚌 Hause Farm (183 m)

💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.

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

Buses to Loadpot Hill from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

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

My hikes over Loadpot Hill (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Navigating Loadpot Hill in cloud

Severe

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

Maps & guidebooks for Loadpot Hill

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