hikes.guideLake District

345 m · Birkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Lothwaite

Lothwaite is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells), a quiet Northern top reached by few walkers.

345 m
Height
+2
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Lothwaite

345 mBirkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)+2 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 345 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 14° to 10°C, gusts to 22 mph, 0.8 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
14° / 10°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.8 mm (84%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
17° / 10°
💨 43 mph
🌧 21.8 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
☁️
14° / 8°
💨 13 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (44%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
16° / 8°
💨 32 mph
🌧 9.5 mm (88%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
14° / 10°
💨 32 mph
🌧 7.9 mm (72%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
12° / 10°
💨 33 mph
🌧 2.6 mm (63%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
12° / 10°
💨 37 mph
🌧 6.2 mm (82%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 345 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

Lothwaite at a glance

Lothwaite

Lothwaite is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells), a quiet Northern top reached by few walkers. It rises the Bassenthwaite valley. The name is not securely explained, though it is likely Old Norse or Old English in origin, like most fells hereabouts. It also features on the Synge list. Its nearest tops are Rivings (0.6 km SW); Sale Fell (0.9 km W); Burthwaite Heights (2.0 km SW) — it's usually taken in on a round of these neighbours. It's a worthwhile objective for anyone working through the Birkett list, or as a short extension to a bigger day on the higher neighbouring fells.

Routes up Lothwaite

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

Rivings and Lothwaite
4.4 km · ~1.3 hr
A short, steep little round above Wythop — Rivings, Lothwaite and Sale Fell in 4.4 km, but with 271 m of climbing packed into it and a stage averaging 12%. Easy for length and exposure; a little over an hour.

Classifications & hill data

Birkett
Synge
345 m
Height
1,132 ft
In feet
NY 2030 2966
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Lothwaite a Wainwright?

Lothwaite is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.

Where do you park for Lothwaite?

The nearest car park we hold is Lothwaite, north (layby), about 0.8 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Lothwaite, north (layby 5), 1.1 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

How hard is Lothwaite?

The shortest way up we hold is Rivings and Lothwaite — 4.4 km, 271 m of ascent, about 1.3 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Hard.

All axes: steepness: Hard · navigation: Moderate · terrain: Moderate · exposure: Easy · length: Easy.

Parking & buses for Lothwaite

Best parking to hike Lothwaite

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

Lothwaite, north (layby) — 0.8 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Lothwaite (0.8 km), Sale Fell (1.0 km), Rivings (1.1 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Lothwaite, north (layby 5) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Lothwaite (1.1 km), Sale Fell (1.2 km), Rivings (1.3 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions Something changed here?
Peel Wyke harbour — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Lothwaite (1.1 km), Sale Fell (1.4 km), Rivings (1.4 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions Something changed here?
Lothwaite, north (layby 4) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Lothwaite (1.1 km), Sale Fell (1.2 km), Rivings (1.3 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions Something changed here?
Roadside parking for Sale Fell (free) — 1.3 km from summit (straight line)
0.6 km from Sale Fell. Added from the 5 Aug 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions Something changed here?

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.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Lothwaite by bus

The X4 stops at Embleton Close Barn (near). From there it is 2.7 km and 151 m of ascent to the start of Rivings and Lothwaite — a walk in before the walk. Last bus: Monday to Friday 21:35 towards Keswick (X5); Saturday 23:50 towards Keswick (X5); Sunday 17:55 towards Keswick (X5). 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 or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Lothwaite

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Lothwaite, north (layby), about 0.8 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Lothwaite (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.

0.6 km WSWRivings335 m · North Western
2.0 km SWBurthwaite Heights318 m · North Western

Routes over Lothwaite

Rivings and LothwaitePlanned
4.38 km · ~271 m ascent · loop · ~1–1.5 h
Summits: RivingsLothwaiteSale Fell

⬇️ 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. How to use this guide.

Places to stay near this fell

Embleton Spa Hotel hotel

about 1.6 km from the start, in a straight line

The nearest property to the start by a clear margin, and the only one in the ring that answers a walking family's whole evening in one place: a family ensuite bedroom plus four self-contained family apartments, breakfast included in the room rate, and its own bar and evening menu so nobody gets back in the car. It is also the one property here that a car-free party can reach.

An 18th-century Lakeland farmhouse that now runs a pool and gym its guests use free, and it sits on the Penrith-Keswick-Workington bus route with the stop 50 yards from the door.

  • Family rooms “We offer four Ensuite Double Bedrooms and one Family Ensuite Bedroom, located on the first and second floors of the hotel.”
  • Evening meal “Bar/restaurant with breakfast, drop-in lunch menu and evening menu.”

Bassenfell Manor Christian Centre hostel

about 4.7 km from the start, in a straight line

It holds the only drying room within three miles of this start, and the only ground-floor bedroom with an en-suite described as suitable for restricted mobility. For a party that comes off Sale Fell soaked, or one carrying a bad knee, nothing else in the ring answers either question at all. Ranked sixth rather than higher only because its calendar is dominated by group hire and named holiday weeks, so a passing family's availability is not established.

A charity-run manor whose dining room seats 75 under a panorama of Bassenthwaite Lake, and which runs its own September walking week with a slower 'Strollers' option alongside the high ridges.

  • Drying room “Drying Room and Laundry Space to dry wet coats and shoes.”
  • Family rooms “68 Bed spaces in 19 Bedrooms on 3 floors. Rooms range from twin/double up to 6 people each with en-suite or a private bathroom.”
  • Evening meal “Friendly relaxed atmosphere, comfy accommodation, great food, and quality leadership are the hallmarks of our holiday weeks.”
  • Parking “Parking Car park space for up to 21 cars.”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap.

Other fells near Lothwaite