Best parking to hike Starling Dodd
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
Forestry England car park at the end of the Ennerdale valley road, on the lake's north shore (OS NY 110 154; parking charges apply since 2023) — Great Borne, Starling Dodd, and the long walk-ins to Pillar and Steeple. Fees: £2 for 1 hour; £3.50 for 2 hours; £5 for 4 hours; £8 all day (Forestry England charges, per notice on NT Ennerdale page) (NT, checked Aug 2026).
Directions ↗ (opens in new tab)Something changed here?Buttermere village LDNP car park (east) (paid) — 3.3 km from summit (straight line)
The 'Buttermere lake circuit' route starts 49 m away. Also serves 'Crummock Water shore circuit'. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged). Toilets on site. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37311 (LDNPA, checked Aug 2026).
Directions ↗ (opens in new tab)Something changed here?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.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Getting to Starling Dodd by bus
The 77 stops at Buttermere, outside Court Hotel, 100 m from the start of Great Borne & Starling Dodd. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day, and it is not daily before then — a bus on 31 of the 56 days from 7 September. We don’t know when it returns. Confirmed with the operator, 29 August 2026. Last bus: Monday to Friday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Saturday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Sunday 18:20 towards Keswick (77). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
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 (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.