hikes.guideLake District

Lothwaite

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

Lothwaite is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells), a Northern top. It also features on the Synge list.

Summit conditions on Lothwaite

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 14° to 8°C, gusts to 51 mph, 5.5 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

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 Lothwaite

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

Rivings and Lothwaite Planned, not yet walked
4.38 km · ~273 m ascent · ~1¼–2 h · loop · 3 summits
Easy effort Hard: steepness
Park: unnamed layby north-east of Ling Fell · Bus: X5, 2.7 km walk from Embleton Close Barn (near)

A short, steep little round above Wythop — Rivings, Lothwaite and Sale Fell in 4.4 km, but with 273 m of climbing packed into it and a stage averaging 12%. Easy for length; about 1¼–2 hours.

Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →

How hard is Lothwaite?

The shortest way up we hold is Rivings and Lothwaite — 4.38 km, 273 m of ascent, ~1¼–2 h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Hard.

All axes: steepness: Hard · navigation: Moderate · length: Easy · terrain: Not assessed · 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 345 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
14° / 8°
51 mph
5.5 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
11° / 8°
40 mph
3.7 mm (98%)
Thu 29 Oct
11° / 9°
20 mph
0.1 mm (0%)
Fri 30 Oct
11° / 4°
20 mph
0.3 mm (13%)
Sat 31 Oct
12° / 2°
4 mph
0.0 mm (24%)
Sun 1 Nov
9° / 2°
10 mph
0.0 mm (16%)
Mon 2 Nov
9° / 3°
12 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)

Parking & buses for Lothwaite

Parking

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

Ling Fell, north-east (layby) — 0.1 km from the start of Rivings and Lothwaite (straight line)
Walking base for Ling Fell, Sale Fell, Rivings and Lothwaite — the 'Ling Fell & Sale Fell' route starts 80 m away. Also serves 'Rivings and Lothwaite'. Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
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 (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Dubwath, 0.6 km SE (layby) — 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 (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
3 more places to park near Lothwaite
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 (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Dubwath, 0.5 km SE (layby) — 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 (opens in new tab)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 August 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions (opens in new tab)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 X4 and X5 stop 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 route we rate Hard overall (hardest: steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 9.8 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (X5): Tuesday to Thursday 21:35; Friday and Saturday 23:50; Sunday 17:55. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 24 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 Lothwaite

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Rivings and Lothwaite

If you need to get off (the leg from Rivings): The map shows no shorter way to a road between Rivings and Lothwaite than back or on, so the way off is back or on, up to about 1.5 km to the lane; not walked for this guide.

Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Lothwaite.

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.

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 Lothwaite

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

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

Routes over Lothwaite

4.38 km · ~273 m ascent · loop · ~1¼–2 h
Easy effort Hard: steepness
Summits: RivingsLothwaiteSale Fell

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide: Rivings and Lothwaite →

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 Lothwaite

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.

Classifications & hill data

Is Lothwaite a Wainwright?

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

Selected lists

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

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

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 →

Places to stay near this fell

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).

Other fells near Lothwaite