Maiden Moor
Maiden Moor at 576m (1,890ft) is the broad ridge south of Catbells on the Newlands Horseshoe, giving outstanding views of Derwent Water from its open summit plateau.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 575 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 9°C, gusts to 33 mph, 2.8 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 575 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
Maiden Moor at a glance
Maiden Moor
Routes up Maiden Moor
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Classifications & hill data
My hikes over Maiden Moor (Strava)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- Was supposed to be grim so did a tourist route. It wasn't. (opens in new tab) — 21.4 km · 866 m ascent · 4h 53m moving · 9 May 2026
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Parking & buses for Maiden Moor
Best parking to hike Maiden Moor
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
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 Maiden Moor by bus
The 77 stops at Hawes End, outside Cattle Grid, 80 m from the start of Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy — a route we rate Easy. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day, and it is not daily before then — a bus on 31 of the 56 days from 7 September. We don’t know when it returns. Confirmed with the operator, 29 August 2026. The last bus is 19:00 towards Keswick (77), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Hazards on Maiden Moor
Hazard & Incident Information for Maiden Moor
A broad grassy moor on the popular Catbells–High Spy ridge above Newlands, with no clearly defined summit — a gently sloping plateau that ends abruptly above the steep crags overlooking the Newlands Valley, chief among them Bull Crag. The ridge walking is easy, so the hazards are the craggy western edge and navigating a featureless top in cloud. Old mine workings lie in the combe below. Keswick Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.
- The craggy western edge (Bull Crag): The plateau ends dramatically above steep crags falling to Newlands — Bull Crag and the slopes above Yewthwaite Combe are too steep for walkers. Keep to the ridge and well back from the western edge, especially in cloud or wind where the gentle grass gives no warning.
- Featureless plateau, no clear summit (navigation): There's no obvious top and few features, so in mist it's easy to drift — toward the western crags or off the ridge. Keep to the crest and take a compass bearing between Catbells, Maiden Moor and High Spy.
- Old mine workings below (Yewthwaite): Disused mine workings lie in Yewthwaite Combe beneath the fell. If you leave the ridge on that side, keep clear of openings and spoil.
Most common causes: Walkers drifting toward the steep western crags (Bull Crag) in poor visibility · Navigation errors on the featureless plateau with no defined summit · Mishaps around the old Yewthwaite mine workings · Winter ice on the western edge
Local Mountain Rescue: Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026
Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Navigating Maiden Moor in cloud
Care neededWalkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. 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 Maiden Moor compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Little Town, Newlands (paid, small), about 1.3 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Maiden Moor (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.
Routes over Maiden Moor
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
On the hill: terrain and water on Maiden Moor
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
The view from Maiden Moor
The 360° skyline from Maiden Moor
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.
What you can see from Maiden Moor, by direction
- North: Skiddaw Lesser Man (10 km), Skiddaw Little Man (10 km), Skiddaw South Top (11 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (11 km), Skiddaw (11 km)
- North-east: Knowe Crags (12 km), Gategill Fell Top (12 km), Blencathra (13 km), Atkinson Pike (13 km)
- East: Watson's Dodd (10 km), White Side (10 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (10 km), Raise (11 km), Stybarrow Dodd (11 km), Great Dodd (11 km), Helvellyn (11 km), Nethermost Pike (11 km), Catstye Cam (11 km)
- South-east: High Raise (10 km), High Crag (12 km), Dollywaggon Pike (12 km), Cofa Pike (14 km), Fairfield (14 km), Great Rigg (14 km)
- South: Green Gable (8 km), Glaramara (8 km), Great Gable (8 km), Scafell Pike (11 km), Bowfell (12 km), Scafell (12 km), Wetherlam (18 km)
- South-west: High Stile (8 km)
- West: Wandope (5 km), Grasmoor (7 km)
- North-west: Sail (4 km), Crag Hill (5 km), Eel Crag (5 km), Grisedale Pike (6 km), Sand Hill (6 km), Hopegill Head (6 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Tinto (120 km, Scotland), Slieve Croob (183 km, Ireland), Green Lowther (100 km, Scotland), White Coomb (97 km, Scotland), Queensberry (85 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (90 km, Scotland), Culter Fell (112 km, Scotland), Cairn Table (118 km, Scotland).
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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.
Sunrise and sunset on Maiden Moor
Maiden Moor sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 March) first light is only 14 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.
| First light | Almanac sunrise | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 04:38 BST ±5.0 min | 04:37 | +1 min |
| Equinox | 06:23 GMT ±5.0 min | 06:16 | +7 min |
| Midwinter | 08:40 GMT ±5.0 min | 08:33 | +7 min |
A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.39°).
Last light — when the sun leaves Maiden Moor
Maiden Moor loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 August, when last light is 23 minutes before almanac sunset — 20:51 against 21:14. The sun goes down to the west-north-west from here (298.7°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.51°.
| Last light | Almanac sunset | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 21:37 BST ±5.0 min | 21:53 | -16 min |
| Equinox | 18:29 GMT ±5.0 min | 18:27 | +2 min |
| Midwinter | 15:30 GMT ±5.0 min | 15:49 | -19 min |
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 Maiden Moor. 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. 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 Maiden Moor
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.- Cross Fell North Pennines
- Solway Firth bay/estuary
All 58 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Cat Bells (Catbells), Hindscarth, Dale Head, Causey Pike, Ard Crags, Grange Fell (Brund Fell), Robinson, Scar Crags, Barrow, Knott Rigg, Sail, Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Crag Hill (Eel Crag), High Seat, Wandope, Bleaberry Fell, Walla Crag, Whiteless Pike, Grisedale Pike, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Hopegill Head, Grasmoor, Eagle Crag, Green Gable, Sergeant's Crag, Latrigg, High Rigg (Naddle Fell), Great Gable, Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), Barf, Lord's Seat, Dodd (Skiddaw), Broom Fell, Watson's Dodd, Skiddaw Little Man, Carl Side, White Side, Lonscale Fell, Long Side, Hen Comb, Raise, Clough Head, Ullock Pike, Stybarrow Dodd, Great Dodd, Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Scafell Pike, Nethermost Pike, Catstye Cam, Great Borne, Gavel Fell, Scafell, Dollywaggon Pike, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Mungrisdale Common, Binsey, Carrock Fell
How Maiden Moor’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.
Places to stay near this fell
From Hawes End: 6 places in Keswick
Frequently asked questions about Maiden Moor
Is Maiden Moor a hard walk?
No — it is the quiet middle of the Catbells ridge, and the walking on it is gentle. Our round from Hawes End over Catbells, Maiden Moor and High Spy is 13.8 km with 824 m of ascent, and we rate the day Easy. Almost all of the steep work is the pull onto Catbells at the start; by the time you reach Maiden Moor the ground has levelled into a broad grassy plateau.
The catch is the two things that make it easy. There is no clearly defined summit, so in cloud it is genuinely hard to know you have arrived, and the plateau ends abruptly above the crags falling into Newlands — Bull Crag chief among them. Keep left of the edge in poor visibility and it is a straightforward fell.
How high is Maiden Moor, and is it a mountain?
575 m. That puts it comfortably above the 610 m (2,000 ft) line people often use as a rough mountain threshold — so, no, not by that definition. It is a Wainwright, a Birkett and a Fellranger, and it is a proper fell whatever you call it: a long, broad whaleback along the Newlands ridge rather than a distinct peak, which is why it feels less like a summit than its neighbours.
Is Maiden Moor a Wainwright?
Yes — it is one of the North Western Fells in Wainwright's book. It is also a Birkett. Worth knowing if you are ticking the list, because Maiden Moor is easy to walk straight over without noticing: the top is a broad grassy plateau and the summit is not the obvious high point you meet first.
Can you walk from Catbells to Maiden Moor?
Yes, and it is by far the most popular way to do it. Maiden Moor is the next top along the Newlands ridge from Catbells, and the connecting walk is straightforward: a drop to Hause Gate then a steady pull up onto the plateau. Most people carry on to High Spy as well. Our walked round links all three over 13.8 km with 824 m of ascent — about 4 hours 5 at a steady pace. See the full route.
Does Maiden Moor have a trig point?
No. The summit is a modest cairn on a broad grassy plateau, and that is part of why people ask — there is no obvious marker to confirm you have arrived. If you want certainty in poor visibility, take a bearing rather than trusting the ground to tell you.
Where do you park for Maiden Moor?
Little Town in Newlands (paid, small) is the closest at about 1.3 km, and the natural start if you want Maiden Moor directly rather than via Catbells. Quay Foot Quarry in Borrowdale (NT, paid) is the other side. If you are doing the classic ridge from Catbells, most people start from the Skelgill Bank parking or come over on the Derwentwater launch. All are small and fill very early on fine days. Full details are in the parking panel on this page.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)
Other fells near Maiden Moor
- Ard Crags
- Barf
- Barrow
- Broom Fell
- Castle Crag
- Cat Bells (Catbells)
- Causey Pike
- Crag Hill (Eel Crag)
- Dale Head
- Grasmoor
- Graystones (Graystones North Top)
- Grisedale Pike
- High Spy
- Hindscarth
- Hopegill Head
- Knott Rigg
- Ling Fell
- Lord's Seat
- Outerside
- Rannerdale Knotts
- Robinson
- Sail
- Sale Fell
- Scar Crags
- Wandope
- Whinlatter (Brown How)
- Whiteless Pike
- Whiteside (Whiteside West Top)