Red Knott
Red Knott at 452m (1,483ft) is a Birkett top in the North Western Fells on the ridge that climbs from Scope End (0.5 km to the north-east) over High Crags (0.6 km to the south-west) to Hindscarth, above the Newlands valley.
Summit conditions on Red Knott
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 67 mph, 10.7 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Routes up Red Knott
Both start from Little Town, Newlands (paid, small); the last two rows give its parking and bus. Full maps further down.
| Compared | Little Dale Horseshoe | Scope End, Hindscarth & Dale Head from Little Town |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Chapel Bridge Car Park | Chapel Bridge Car Park |
| Distance and climb | 10.77 km, 793 m of climb | 12.08 km, 757 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~3¼–4¾ h | ~3½–5 h |
| Scrambling | Hands for a few steps: short awkward scrambles on the Scope End ridge (km 6.6–7.7). | Hands for a few steps: short awkward scrambles on the lower Scope End ridge (km 3.6–4.7). Hindscarth: The lower ridge is craggy with short awkward scrambles, and higher up the path runs along a narrow, airy terrace close to the steep western edge above High Crags. |
| Exposure | Not assessed | Not assessed |
| Navigation | Hard | Moderate |
| Steepest stretch | Descent of about 34% at 7.1 km (Hard) | Descent of about 37% at 6.8 km (Severe) |
| After the summit | Over Scope End | Over High Crags (Newlands), Hindscarth and Dale Head |
| Walked or planned | Planned: drawn, not yet walked | Planned: drawn, not yet walked |
| Car park at the start | Little Town, Newlands (paid, small) | Little Town, Newlands (paid, small) |
| Bus to the start | 77, 2.7 km walk from Manesty, outside Cocklety How. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. | 77, 2.7 km walk from Manesty, outside Cocklety How. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. |
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 →
How hard is Red Knott?
The shortest way up we hold is Little Dale Horseshoe — 10.77 km, 793 m of ascent, ~3¼–4¾ h. On our scale its hardest axes are steepness and navigation — Hard.
All axes: steepness: Hard · navigation: Hard · length: Moderate · 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 452 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
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 Red Knott
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Red Knott
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 Manesty, outside Cocklety How. From there it is 2.7 km and 301 m of ascent to the start of Little Dale Horseshoe — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: steepness and navigation) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 16.1 km in all, with the walk. 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 18:54 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.
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 Red Knott
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Little Dale Horseshoe
- The descent off Hindscarth is steep: about 34% sustained near 7.1 km, and about 43% over 250 m near 6.9 km.
- Crags are mapped close beside the path on the climb to Robinson: Blea Crags about 10 m from it near 2.4 km and Robinson Crags about 15 m near 3.5 km. Keep to the path, especially in cloud.
- The first 1.15 km or so, from Chapel Bridge, and the last 0.3 km are on lanes open to traffic; OpenStreetMap records no pavement.
- About 6.5 km of the line follows paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way: High Snab Bank and the climb to Robinson (about 1.5 to 3.6 km), and from the low point before Hindscarth over Hindscarth and down the Scope End ridge (about 5.6 to 9.5 km); the track past Low Snab is not recorded either. The path up from the lane and the path over Robinson to the low point are 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.
If you need to get off (the leg from High Crags): The line on is the way off: about 2.5 km to the car park.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Red Knott.
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.
A note on Newlands Beck
Newlands Beck runs below the old Goldscope mine and carries mine-derived zinc — enough to matter for river life. In Environment Agency samples taken near our route Scope End, Hindscarth & Dale Head from Little Town between 2010 and 2011, the typical lead level was below the drinking limit, but individual samples were above it. That is a record of past sampling, not a test of the water today. Treat any hill water before drinking (an ordinary hiking filter won’t remove dissolved metals); don’t single this beck out as a clean fill-up.
What’s actually in this beck — we mapped every mine-fed one →
Metal-mine water data © Environment Agency (Open Government Licence v3.0).
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
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.
Birketts within 3 km of Red Knott
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Red Knott
The start is Chapel Bridge Car Park at Little Town. Scope End, Hindscarth & Dale Head from Little Town starts there too and goes up the same Scope End ridge that this walk comes down.
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Little Town sits right under Cat Bells, so Newlands catches the overspill from the honeypot next door — but almost everyone stops at Cat Bells. Start up Scope End instead and the crowds thin out within ten minutes. Roadside parking in Newlands is very limited, so arrive early or you'll end up driving back out.
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Route guide: Scope End, Hindscarth & Dale Head from Little Town →
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 Red Knott
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Little Dale Horseshoe route:
On the Scope End, Hindscarth & Dale Head from Little Town route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Red Knott
Classifications & hill data
Is Red Knott a Wainwright?
Red Knott is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list.
Selected lists
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
- Braeside (opens in new tab) self-cateringabout 4.5 km
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).