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841 m · Wainwright — Western Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Wainwright — Western FellsAlso a Birkett

Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

Scoat Fell at 841m (2,759ft) is the broad, high ridge connecting Pillar to Red Pike (Wasdale) and Haycock, a summit of wide views but modest individual character.

841 m
Height
~6–7.5 h
Typical time
+6
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

841 mWainwright — Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 841 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 13° to 12°C, gusts to 36 mph, 3.5 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
13° / 12°
💨 36 mph
🌧 3.5 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
12° / 9°
💨 30 mph
🌧 12.1 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
11° / 4°
💨 29 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
12° / 0°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
12° / 3°
💨 15 mph
🌧 4.5 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
14° / 5°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 841 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

About the walk

Key information

Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), a Lake District fell
Photo: Michael Graham, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Scoat Fell at 841m (2,759ft) is the broad, high ridge connecting Pillar to Red Pike (Wasdale) and Haycock, a summit of wide views but modest individual character. Wainwright noted its commanding position on the main Ennerdale-Wasdale ridge, the highest of the fells between Pillar and Haycock. The views south to the Scafells and east to Great Gable are excellent. Most naturally reached from Wasdale via Black Sail or from Ennerdale, combined with Steeple and Haycock for a rewarding circuit of the western ridge.

Routes up Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

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

Extended Mosedale Horseshoe
16.6 km · ~5.5 hr
Very Long Day Out
26.8 km · ~8.3 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Western
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
841 m
Height
2,759 ft
In feet
NY 1593 1139
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Gatesgarth Farm, Buttermere (paid), about 5.0 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) (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.

0.7 km ENEBlack Crag828 m · Western
1.6 km NEPillar Rock780 m · Western
2.0 km WSWLittle Gowder Crag734 m · Western
2.5 km NWLingmell (Ennerdale)427 m · Western
2.7 km ELooking Stead (Pillar)628 m · Western
2.7 km SEYewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)617 m · Western

Routes over Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

Extended Mosedale HorseshoeLive
16.55 km · ~1303 m ascent · loop · ~5.5–7.5 h
Summits: PillarBlack CragScoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)SteepleRed Pike (Wasdale)Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)Yewbarrow

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

Very Long Day OutLive
26.76 km · ~1743 m ascent · loop · ~8–11 h
Summits: YewbarrowYewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)Red Pike (Wasdale)Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)SteepleHaycockLittle Gowder CragCaw FellMiddle FellSeatallanGlade HowBuckbarrow

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

The View from Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

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
Computed 360-degree skyline from Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)36 labelled tops shown (24 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 7 kmScafell · 7 kmHelvellyn · 19 kmSkiddaw · 20 kmGreat End · 7 kmGreat Gable · 5 kmPillar · 1 kmRaise · 19 kmFairfield · 20 kmBlencathra · 23 kmGrasmoor · 9 kmCrag Hill · 10 kmRed Screes · 24 kmDow Crag · 17 kmJenkin Hill · 20 kmHarrison Stickle · 13 kmWhite Maiden · 18 kmBlack Combe · 26 kmSteeple · 0 kmHaycock · 2 kmRed Pike · 4 kmLittle Gowder Crag · 2 kmCriffel · 54 km · clear daysSeatallan · 4 kmIllgill Head · 6 kmLittle Dodd · 4 kmMiddle Fell · 4 kmHerdus · 6 kmLank Rigg · 7 kmCaw · 18 kmCrag Fell · 7 kmGale Fell · 6 kmMellbreak · 7 kmGreen Crag · 14 kmGrike · 8 kmBuckbarrow · 6 kmBroad Crag · 7 kmNethermost Pike · 19 kmEsk Pike · 9 kmDollywaggon Pike · 19 kmStybarrow Dodd · 20 kmHigh Stile · 4 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 18 kmDove Crag · 22 kmSail · 10 kmLonscale Fell · 20 kmBowscale Fell · 26 kmBrown Pike · 18 kmHigh Stile · 4 kmCaw Fell · 3 kmHarter Fell · 13 kmWhitfell · 18 kmBlake Fell · 10 kmKnott Rigg · 8 kmWatendlath Fell · 13 kmHesk Fell · 17 kmGreat Worm Crag · 15 kmFox Haw · 19 kmGreat Knoutberry Hill · 67 km · clear daysDent · 12 kmBowness Knott · 6 kmBrown How · 6 kmSeat How · 14 kmClints Crags · 24 kmWatch Hill · 20 kmMuncaster Fell · 14 kmSnowdon · 166 km · a handful of days a yearSlieve Donard · 174 km · a handful of days a yearMerrick · 104 km · a rare clear dayAran Fawddwy · 191 km · a handful of days a yearBroad Law · 112 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 80 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 103 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Fleet · 86 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 125 km · a handful of days a yearSlieve Croob · 174 km · a handful of days a yearYr Eifl · 185 km · a handful of days a yearMoel y Gamelin · 165 km · a handful of days a yearDivis · 176 km · a handful of days a yearWhite Coomb · 104 km · a rare clear dayCairn Table · 121 km · a handful of days a yearBeneraird · 122 km · a handful of days a yearAgnew's Hill · 174 km · a handful of days a yearColt Hill · 99 km · a rare clear dayShining Tor · 161 km · a handful of days a yearDodd Fell Hill · 73 km · a rare clear dayTurner Cleuch Law · 110 km · a rare clear dayEllson Fell · 91 km · a rare clear dayBillinge Hill · 116 km · a rare clear dayMull Hill · 106 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), by direction
  • North: High Stile (4 km), Grasmoor (9 km), Crag Hill (10 km), Eel Crag (10 km)
  • North-east: Pillar (1 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (20 km), Skiddaw Little Man (20 km), Skiddaw South Top (20 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (20 km), Skiddaw (20 km), Skiddaw North Top (20 km), Broad End (21 km), Knowe Crags (22 km), Gategill Fell Top (22 km), Blencathra (23 km), Atkinson Pike (24 km)
  • East: Great Gable (5 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (18 km), High Crag (18 km), Nethermost Pike (19 km), White Side (19 km), Helvellyn (19 km), Dollywaggon Pike (19 km), Raise (19 km), Stybarrow Dodd (20 km), Fairfield (20 km), Cofa Pike (20 km), Green Side (21 km), Hart Crag (21 km), St Sunday Crag (21 km), High Street (28 km), Rampsgill Head (28 km), High Raise (29 km)
  • South-east: Scafell (7 km), Scafell Pike (7 km), Broad Crag (7 km), Great End (7 km), Ill Crag (8 km), Esk Pike (9 km), The Old Man of Coniston (18 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (166 km, Wales), Slieve Donard (174 km, Ireland), Carnedd Llewelyn (154 km, Wales), Merrick (104 km, Scotland), Aran Fawddwy (191 km, Wales), Broad Law (112 km, Scotland), Snaefell (80 km, Isle of Man), Moel Siabod (163 km, Wales).

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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
78Wainwrights in view+16 marginal
166 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction
3Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth, Morecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Far horizons
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 166 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 151 km clear
  • Merrick ScotlandNW · 105 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 80 km clear
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 59 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNNW · 55 km clear
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 44 km in view
  • Morecambe Bay bay/estuarySSE · 43 km in view
  • Irish Sea open waterWNW · 27 km in view
All 78 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Steeple, Red Pike (Wasdale), Pillar, Haycock, Caw Fell, High Crag (Buttermere), High Stile, Seatallan, Kirk Fell, Red Pike (Buttermere), Middle Fell, Starling Dodd, Great Gable, Brandreth, Green Gable, Buckbarrow, Lingmell, Grey Knotts, Great Borne, Base Brown, Scafell, Lank Rigg, Robinson, Crag Fell, Scafell Pike, Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), Great End, Whin Rigg (Wasdale), Grike, Slight Side, Allen Crags, Knott Rigg, Esk Pike, Glaramara, Wandope, Grasmoor, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Ard Crags, Blake Fell, Sail, Scar Crags, Causey Pike, Low Fell, High Raise (High White Stones), Thunacar Knott, Harrison Stickle, Harter Fell (Eskdale), Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Ullscarf, Green Crag, Dow Crag, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Latrigg, Seat Sandal, Nethermost Pike, White Side, Helvellyn, Dollywaggon Pike, Carl Side, Raise, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Skiddaw Little Man, Great Rigg, Fairfield, Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw, Dove Crag, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Red Screes, Bowscale Fell, Thornthwaite Crag, The Knott (High Street), Ill Bell, Rampsgill Head, Kidsty Pike, Carrock Fell, High Raise (High Street)

How Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)’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.

Best parking to hike Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Gatesgarth Farm, Buttermere (paid) — 5.0 km from summit (straight line)
Farm car park at the foot of Haystacks, Fleetwith Pike and the High Stile ridge.
Directions
Wasdale Head (NT car park) — 5.2 km from summit (straight line)
National Trust, pay & display (free for members). The classic base for Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Yewbarrow. Fills very early.
Directions
🍺 Wasdale Head Inn

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.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Extended Mosedale Horseshoe route:

💧 possible water source (3 m)🛖 map (15 m)🚌 Wasdale Head Green (12 m)⛺ Wasdale Head Campsite (163 m)

💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.

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

Buses to Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse 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 (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazard & Incident Information for Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

Hazard: Moderate

A remote, boulder-strewn fell at the head of the Mosedale Horseshoe, with its back to Ennerdale and dramatic crags ringing its northern coves. The walking is rough rather than technical, but the summit area is awkward boulder ground with pathless sections that demand good navigation, the drops on the north side are serious, and the narrow link out to Steeple is exposed. It is deep, committing country a long way from help — Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team's ground.

  • Northern crags above the Ennerdale coves: The summit slopes gently to the south but breaks into impressive crags on its northern side, above the Ennerdale coves. In cloud or wind keep well back from the northern edge — the easy boulder top gives little warning before the drop.
  • The narrow link to Steeple: The short ridge out to Steeple is narrow and exposed, with a steep drop, and becomes serious when banked with snow or iced. Cross it carefully and avoid it in fierce wind; it is the spot most likely to catch you out here.
  • Boulder summit, pathless ground & remoteness: The top is awkward boulder terrain with faint or absent paths, easy to misread in mist. It is also a long way from any road in every direction. Navigate by compass, carry full kit and a means of calling for help, and allow plenty of time and daylight.
Who should attempt this fell: Scoat Fell is rough, remote and quietly serious. Keep well back from the northern crags, treat the Steeple ridge with real respect (and avoid it in wind or winter unless competent and equipped), and be confident with map and compass for the bouldery, pathless top. Plan for the remoteness above all — carry what you need, leave time to spare, and turn back if conditions close in.

Most common causes: Walkers straying toward the northern crags in poor visibility · Slips on the narrow, exposed ridge to Steeple, especially in snow or ice · Navigation errors over the boulder summit and pathless sections in cloud · Difficulties compounded by remoteness and a long walk-out

Local Mountain Rescue: Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team · 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.

Report incorrect information

Navigating Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) in cloud

Severe

A rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

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 Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

Maps & guidebooks for Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)

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