hikes.guideLake District

Shivery Knott

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491 mBirkett — Central (not a Wainwright summit)+9 bonus Birketts within 3 km

At 491 m (1,611 ft), Shivery Knott is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells) in the Central Fells.

Summit conditions on Shivery Knott

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 55 mph, 14.2 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

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 Shivery Knott

All three start from Dob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on foot; the last two rows give its parking and bus. Full maps further down.

ComparedStanding Crag, High Tove, ArmbothBrown Rigg & Blea TarnBirketts West of Thirlmere
Starts fromDob Gill, ThirlmereDob Gill, ThirlmereDob Gill, Thirlmere
Distance and climb14.26 km, 601 m of climb13.49 km, 509 m of climb23.11 km, 1,241 m of climb
Time, fast to steady~3¾–5¼ h~3½–4¾ h~6½–9 h
ScramblingNot mentioned in the route’s notesNot mentioned in the route’s notesNot mentioned in the route’s notes
ExposureModerateNot assessedNot assessed
NavigationHardHardModerate
Steepest stretchDescent of about 24% at 9.5 km (Moderate)Descent of about 25% at 8.9 km (Moderate)Climb of about 29% at 0.8 km (Hard)
After the summitOver Middle Crag, High Tove, Armboth Fell (Birkett) and Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)Over Middle Crag and High ToveOver Middle Crag, High Tove and Fisher Crag
Walked or plannedNot yet personally walkedPlanned: drawn, not yet walkedPlanned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the startDob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on footDob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on footDob Gill, Thirlmere (closed); nearest: Steel End, Thirlmere (paid), about 1.3 km on foot
Bus to the start555, 1.7 km walk from Thirlmere, at Armboth turn555, 1.8 km walk from Thirlmere, at Armboth turn555, 1.8 km walk from Thirlmere, at Armboth turn

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 Shivery Knott?

The shortest way up we hold is Brown Rigg & Blea Tarn — 13.49 km, 509 m of ascent, ~3½–4¾ h. On our scale its hardest axes are terrain and navigation — Hard.

All axes: terrain: Hard · navigation: Hard · length: Moderate · steepness: Moderate · 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 491 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
12° / 6°
55 mph
14.2 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
10° / 7°
36 mph
11.9 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
10° / 8°
28 mph
0.1 mm (33%)
Fri 30 Oct
10° / 7°
29 mph
0.0 mm (23%)
Sat 31 Oct
11° / 0°
8 mph
0.3 mm (18%)
Sun 1 Nov
9° / 0°
8 mph
0.0 mm (10%)
Mon 2 Nov
8° / 1°
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)

Parking & buses for Shivery Knott

Parking

Ranked by straight-line distance to the summit, which is not the same thing as the start of a way up. Choose the ascent first: Routes up Shivery Knott gives each route’s own car park and bus.

Watendlath (NT, paid) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)
End of the narrow Watendlath road — Grange Fell, Great Crag, Armboth fells. Fees: pay and display (LDNP directory, checked August 2026). £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Fisher Crag (layby, north) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
0.6 km from Fisher Crag.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Fisher Crag (layby, south) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
0.7 km from Fisher Crag.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
2 more places to park near Shivery Knott
Fisher Crag (verge) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
0.4 km from Fisher Crag.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Armboth, Thirlmere (United Utilities, paid) — 2.5 km from summit (straight line)
West shore of Thirlmere - Armboth Fell and High Tove. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026). Pay and display (visitlakedistrict.com, which names United Utilities as operator) (United Utilities, checked August 2026). Toilets beside the car park, including disabled; seasonal (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, read 12 September 2026).
Directions (opens in new tab)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 555 stops at Thirlmere, at Armboth turn. From there it is 1.8 km and 54 m of ascent to the start of Brown Rigg & Blea Tarn — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: terrain and navigation) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 17.0 km in all, with the walk. Last bus: Monday to Friday 20:55 towards Keswick (555); Saturday 20:55 towards Keswick (555); Sunday 18:46 towards Keswick (555). 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 555
Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.

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 Shivery Knott

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Birketts West of Thirlmere

If you need to get off (the leg from Watendlath Fell): Bailing east towards Thirlmere from here involves dropping into complex, steep forestry. No way down to Watendlath from here has been checked for this guide.

Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Shivery 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.

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 Shivery Knott

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

0.5 km NNWMiddle Crag484 m · Central
0.5 km SWatendlath Fell (Long Moss)515 m · Central
1.0 km NEArmboth Fell (Birkett)479 m · Central
1.8 km ESEBrown Rigg462 m · Central
1.9 km ENEFisher Crag421 m · Central
2.1 km SLow Saddle656 m · Central
2.2 km SSEStanding Crag611 m · Central
2.4 km SColdbarrow Fell - High Saddle675 m · Central

Routes over Shivery Knott

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: Access: The summit of Fisher Crag lies outside mapped CRoW open-access land. That layer records no CRoW right of access; public rights of way were not checked — it is not a statement that access is forbidden, and permissive access is not recorded in that layer. This line is computed rather than walked, so treat the access on it as unchecked — how we work this out.

Route guide: Birketts West of Thirlmere →

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 Shivery Knott

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Birketts West of Thirlmere route:

toilets (opens in new tab) (29 m off the line)

On the Brown Rigg & Blea Tarn route:

toilets (opens in new tab) (52 m off the line)

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

About Shivery Knott

Its nearest tops are Middle Crag (0.5 km N); Watendlath Fell (Long Moss) (0.5 km S); Armboth Fell (Birkett) (1.0 km NE). It's a worthwhile objective for anyone working through the Birkett list.

Classifications & hill data

Is Shivery Knott a Wainwright?

Shivery Knott is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list.

Selected lists

491 m
Height
1,611 ft
In feet
NY 2889 1535
Grid ref

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

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).

Other fells near Shivery Knott