Rowling End
Rowling End at 433m (1,421ft) is the rocky spur below Causey Pike above the Newlands valley, its craggy top giving excellent views of Derwent Water and the Skiddaw massif. A Birkett fell on the lower Causey Pike ridge above Stoneycroft.
Summit conditions on Rowling End
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 13° to 6°C, gusts to 53 mph, 9.9 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 Rowling End
Both start from Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas); the last two rows give its parking and bus. Full maps further down.
| Compared | Stile End, Outerside, Causey Pike, Rowling End | Scar Crags, Causey Pike |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) | Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) |
| Distance and climb | 10.08 km, 692 m of climb | 12.16 km, 848 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~3–4¼ h | ~3¾–5¼ h |
| Scrambling | Hands for a few steps: Causey Pike's top, up and down (km 3.4–6.0). The terrain changes from squelchy peat to loose scree and shattered rock, ending in a short, hands-on scramble onto the rocky "bobble" of the summit. | Hands for a few steps: Causey Pike's top, up and down (km 5.9–8.2). From the summit of Causey Pike the route drops aggressively eastwards off the "bobble": steep, rocky, hands-on downclimbing over polished rock steps. |
| Exposure | Hard | Hard |
| Navigation | Moderate | Hard |
| Steepest stretch | Descent of about 42% at 6.4 km (Severe) | Descent of about 42% at 8.5 km (Severe) |
| After the summit | No further tops | No further tops |
| Walked or planned | Walked in part; km 0.3–2.2, km 5.0–9.7 from the map | Walked in part; km 2.9–3.4, km 4.4–5.2, km 7.2–11.8 from the map |
| Car park at the start | Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) | Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) |
| Bus to the start | 77 at the start | 77 at the start |
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 Rowling End?
The shortest way up we hold is Stile End, Outerside, Causey Pike, Rowling End — 10.08 km, 692 m of ascent, ~3–4¼ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · terrain: Hard · exposure: Hard · length: Moderate · navigation: Moderate.
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 433 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 Rowling End
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
3 more places to park near Rowling End
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 and X5 stop at Braithwaite, at Croft Terrace, a 10 m walk from the start of Scar Crags, Causey Pike — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (77): Tuesday to Sunday 17:37 to Keswick, 16:37 to Cockermouth. Towards Workington (X5): Tuesday to Thursday 22:27; Friday and Saturday 00:22 (after midnight); Sunday 20:17. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 24 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.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Hazards on Rowling End
Notes from the Scar Crags, Causey Pike route
- Leaving Causey Pike's summit is a short, steep downclimb over polished rock steps, slick in rain or ice. Take your time and face the rock if you need to.
- The grassy drop off Rowling End is very steep and a slip hazard when wet.
- The finish is along a narrow lane through the Newlands Valley, where cars can appear suddenly round blind, walled corners.
If you need to get off (the leg from Causey Pike): Before committing to the steep, hands-on downclimb off Causey Pike, your only bail is to turn back to Scar Crags. Do not drift south off the ridge into the steep bracken of Rigg Beck.
Quoted from the route page: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Rowling End.
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
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.
Birketts within 3 km of Rowling End
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Rowling End
Download GPX Walked in part, May 2026 · km 2.9–3.4, km 4.4–5.2, km 7.2–11.8 from the map
Download GPX Walked in part, May 2026 · km 0.3–2.2, km 5.0–9.7 from the map
Route guide: Stile End, Outerside, Causey Pike, Rowling End →
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 Rowling End
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Scar Crags, Causey Pike route:
On the Stile End, Outerside, Causey Pike, Rowling End route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Rowling End
Classifications & hill data
Is Rowling End a Wainwright?
Rowling End is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge 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
From Whinlatter: 10 places in Keswick