A small cairn on a broad grassy top, with a line of fells across the valley beyond

Maiden Moor

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited May 2026

Home › Fells › Maiden Moor

575 mWainwright — North Western Fells+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

Maiden Moor at 575m (1,886ft) is the broad ridge south of Cat Bells on the Newlands Horseshoe, giving outstanding views of Derwent Water from its open summit plateau. Derwent Water stays in view for much of the walk south from Cat Bells along the ridge.

Summit conditions on Maiden Moor

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 5°C, gusts to 67 mph, 10.7 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

63 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 56 mph times our exposure factor of 1.12. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 67 mph, before any exposure factor.

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.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

10.7 mm 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 checked cold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 33 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. 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

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

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 →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Routes up Maiden Moor

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.

Compared	Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy	Maiden Moor and High Spy
Starts from	Hawes End	Brackenburn layby, below Cat Bells
Distance and climb	12.59 km, 726 m of climb	10.16 km, 653 m of climb
Time, fast to steady	~3½–5 h	~3–4¼ h
Scrambling	Hands for a few steps: two rocky steps on Cat Bells (km 1.0–1.7). A few easy scrambly steps on Catbells — take care, especially when wet.	Not mentioned in the route’s notes
Exposure	Moderate	Not assessed
Navigation	Moderate	Moderate
Steepest stretch	Descent of about 29% at 9.8 km (Hard)	Descent of about 32% at 7.4 km (Hard)
After the summit	Over High Spy	Over High Spy
Walked or planned	Walked by Lee, May 2026	Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the start	Skelgill Bank, north car park	unnamed layby south-east of Cat Bells
Bus to the start	77 at the start. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.	77, 910 m walk from Brandelhow Park (outside)

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 →

Is Maiden Moor a hard walk?

No — it is the quiet middle of the Cat Bells ridge, and the walking on it is gentle. Our round from Hawes End over Catbells, Maiden Moor and High Spy is 12.6 km with 726 m of ascent, and we rate the day Hard overall for its steepness. Almost all of the steep work is the pull onto Cat Bells 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 well back from that western edge in poor visibility and it is a straightforward fell.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 575 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast

Tue 27 Oct

12° / 5°

67 mph

10.7 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

9° / 6°

49 mph

8.3 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

9° / 8°

25 mph

0.7 mm (26%)

Fri 30 Oct

9° / 6°

25 mph

0.0 mm (31%)

Sat 31 Oct

10° / 2°

8 mph

0.0 mm (25%)

Sun 1 Nov

8° / 1°

5 mph

0.0 mm (12%)

Mon 2 Nov

7° / 2°

17 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)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Maiden Moor

Parking

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 Cat Bells. Quay Foot Quarry in Borrowdale (NT, paid) is the other side. If you are doing the classic ridge from Cat Bells, 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.

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

Skelgill Bank, north car park — at the start of Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy

Walking base for Skelgill Bank, Cat Bells (Catbells), Maiden Moor and High Spy — the 'Catbells: the short way up' route starts 9 m away. Also serves 'Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy'. Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.

Directions Something changed here?

Cat Bells, south-east (layby) — at the start of Maiden Moor and High Spy

Nearest fells: Cat Bells (Catbells) (0.8 km), Skelgill Bank (1.4 km), Maiden Moor (1.6 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Little Town, Newlands (paid, small) — 1.3 km from summit (straight line)

Newlands valley — Catbells, Maiden Moor, Hindscarth, Robinson.

Directions Something changed here?

3 more places to park near Maiden Moor

Rowling End, south (layby) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Scope End, Red Knott, High Crags (Newlands) and Hindscarth — the 'Scope End, Hindscarth & Dale Head from Little Town' route starts 108 m away. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.

Directions Something changed here?

Littletown Glamping, Newlands (paid) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)

Newlands valley, at Littletown, for Catbells, Maiden Moor, Hindscarth and Robinson. A hand-painted sign by Littletown Glamping reads "£5 all day parking" (Lee's photo, 11 July 2026). About 380 m from the Little Town car park.

Farm track at Littletown in Newlands, with a hand-painted sign for all-day parking at five pounds beside Littletown Glamping Taken July 2026

Directions Something changed here?

Grange village car park (by the chapel) — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)

In Grange, beside the Methodist chapel near Grange Bridge. The 'Bowder Stone' route starts 677 m away. Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.

Directions 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 77 stops at Hawes End, outside Cattle Grid, an 80 m walk from the start of Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: steepness). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. It returns on 22 March 2027. Confirmed with the operator: its last day on 29 August 2026, its return on 16 October 2026. The last bus is 19:00 towards Keswick (77), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”

Keswick – Portinscale – Hawes End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)

Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)

Seasonal (Summer 2026 timetable: 23 March to 1 November 2026). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

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 Maiden Moor

Hazard & Incident Information for Maiden Moor

Checked by Lee McCoy, 14 June 2026. Draws on published material from Keswick Mountain Rescue Team. Editorial background, not a live callout feed.

Hazard: Moderate

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 Comb 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 Comb beneath the fell. If you leave the ridge on that side, keep clear of openings and spoil.

Who should attempt this fell: Maiden Moor is gentle, popular ridge walking, but its western side drops in serious crags above Newlands — keep to the crest and back from the edge, and navigate the featureless top by compass in cloud so you don't drift toward the drops. Keep clear of the old mine workings below, and take care near the western edge in winter.

What to watch for: 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)

Safety: 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.

Report incorrect information (opens in new tab)

Navigating in cloud

Care needed

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of walkable ground near the summit that lies close to steep ground or crag. 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 (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.

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 Maiden Moor

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

1.3 km WScope End412 m · North Western

1.6 km WRed Knott452 m · North Western

2.0 km WSWHigh Crags (Newlands)529 m · North Western

2.5 km NNESkelgill Bank338 m · North Western

2.6 km NNWRowling End433 m · North Western

2.6 km SEKing's How - Grange Fell392 m · Central

Routes over Maiden Moor

Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy

Summits: Skelgill Bank Cat Bells (Catbells)Maiden MoorHigh Spy

Download GPX Walked by Lee, May 2026

Best season: A good year-round walk; the steep little steps on Cat Bells are slippery when wet, and the ridge is exposed to wind.

Warnings: A few easy scrambly steps on Catbells — take care, especially when wet. The ridge is narrow in places with steep ground either side; fine for most, but keep children close. High Spy is defended by steep crags on both sides: Eel Crags above Newlands to the west, and Blea Crag above Borrowdale to the east. Keep to the crest and well back from both edges, especially in wind or cloud — the gentle grass gives little warning before the drop.

Route guide: Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy →

Maiden Moor and High Spy

Summits: Maiden MoorHigh Spy

The start is a small free layby on the lane below Cat Bells, near Brackenburn. The line passes bus stops at Manesty, about 0.8 km from the start, near the end of the walk.

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: The first 0.6 km and the last 1.7 km or so are on the narrow lanes below Cat Bells and past Manesty, which OpenStreetMap maps as minor roads and records no pavement for. The way down from the ridge is steep: about 37% over 250 m near 6.2 km, past points OpenStreetMap maps as fords near 6.45 and 6.5 km and the crag of Nitting Haws, mapped about 7 m from the path near 6.9 km. Apart from the lanes, about 0.9 km of the line, in pieces, the longest a permissive path between about 0.6 and 1.0 km, follows paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way; the rest is public bridleways and public footpaths. That is a map-data note, not a ruling on access: check the access land and rights of way maps before relying on this stretch.

Route guide: Maiden Moor and High Spy →

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.

On the hill: terrain and water on Maiden Moor

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Catbells, Maiden Moor & High Spy route:

Hawes (Cattlegrid) (36 m from the start, straight line) YHA Hawse End Cottage (364 m from the start, straight line)

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

About Maiden Moor

Most naturally part of the classic Newlands Horseshoe or as an extension of the Cat Bells ridge walk from Hawes End.

My Strava hikes over Maiden Moor

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

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Selected lists

575 m

Height

1,886 ft

In feet

NY 2367 1819

Grid ref

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 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.

drag to pan · arrow keys

The skyline as a list, 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 Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (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.

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	04:38 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°.

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	21:37 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

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.

58Wainwrights in view+17 marginal

48 kmFurthest sightlineCross Fell

1Sea in viewSolway Firth

Far horizons

Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 48 km distant
Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 46 km in view

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 the view from Maiden Moor 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 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.

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.

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? Answered above.

How high is Maiden Moor, and is it a mountain?

575 m. That puts it 35 m below 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 Cat Bells 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 Cat Bells, 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 12.6 km with 726 m of ascent — about 3½–5 hours. 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? Answered above: Parking for Maiden Moor.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Maiden Moor

Summit conditions on Maiden Moor

Wind on the top

Rain, and the becks

Routes up Maiden Moor

Is Maiden Moor a hard walk?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Maiden Moor

Parking

Where do you park for Maiden Moor?

Buses

Hazards on Maiden Moor

Hazard & Incident Information for Maiden Moor

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Maiden Moor

Routes over Maiden Moor

On the hill: terrain and water on Maiden Moor

Water & shelter on the way up

About Maiden Moor

My Strava hikes over Maiden Moor

Classifications & hill data

Selected lists

The view from Maiden Moor

The 360° skyline from Maiden Moor

Sunrise and sunset on Maiden Moor

Last light — when the sun leaves Maiden Moor

What you can see from Maiden Moor

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Maiden Moor

Other fells near Maiden Moor