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493 m · Birkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Tarbarrel Moss

Tarbarrel Moss at 493m (1,617ft) is a Birkett top on the broad moorland between Lord's Seat and the Whinlatter fells in the North Western Fells, its boggy summit giving views across the Lorton Vale and towards the Buttermere fells.

493 m
Height
+5
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Tarbarrel Moss

Written and walked by Lee McCoy

493 mBirkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 493 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 10°C, gusts to 27 mph, 3.0 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌧️
12° / 10°
💨 27 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
15° / 10°
💨 48 mph
🌧 21.5 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
☁️
13° / 7°
💨 15 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (74%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
15° / 7°
💨 32 mph
🌧 9.5 mm (96%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
13° / 9°
💨 32 mph
🌧 7.9 mm (100%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
11° / 9°
💨 33 mph
🌧 2.6 mm (96%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
11° / 9°
💨 37 mph
🌧 6.2 mm (98%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 493 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

Tarbarrel Moss at a glance

Tarbarrel Moss

Tarbarrel Moss at 493m (1,617ft) is a Birkett top on the broad moorland between Lord's Seat and the Whinlatter fells in the North Western Fells, its boggy summit giving views across the Lorton Vale and towards the Buttermere fells. Part of the broad ridge above the Whinlatter Pass. A gentle, open summit.

Routes up Tarbarrel Moss

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

Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How
7.3 km · ~1.9 hr · Easy
A sheltered forest loop above Whinlatter — England's highest mountain forest — climbing on good tracks through the plantation to a trio of low, easily-missed tops. Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill and rocky little Seat How give sudden, outsized views to Skiddaw, Grisedale Pike and the north-western fells for barely 250 m of climbing. A fine foul-weather or family day when the high tops are in cloud.

Classifications & hill data

Birkett
Synge
493 m
Height
1,617 ft
In feet
NY 2063 2534
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Tarbarrel Moss a Wainwright?

Tarbarrel Moss is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.

Where do you park for Tarbarrel Moss?

The nearest car park we hold is Tarbarrel Moss car park (paid), about 0.8 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Whinlatter Visitor Centre (paid), 0.9 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

How hard is Tarbarrel Moss?

The shortest way up we hold is Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How — 7.3 km, 243 m of ascent, about 1.9 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is navigation — Moderate.

All axes: navigation: Moderate · steepness: Moderate · terrain: Moderate · exposure: Easy · length: Easy.

My hikes over Tarbarrel Moss (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Parking & buses for Tarbarrel Moss

Best parking to hike Tarbarrel Moss

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

Tarbarrel Moss car park (paid) — 0.8 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Hobcarton End, Grisedale Pike, Hobcarton Crag (Hobcarton Head) and Sand Hill — the 'Birketts around Grisedale Pike' route starts 53 m away. Also serves 'Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How'. Paid parking (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Whinlatter Visitor Centre (paid) — 0.9 km from summit (straight line)
Forest centre — Lord's Seat, Barf, Whinlatter fells, Grisedale Pike's back route. Fees: First 20 min free; first hour £2.90; then £0.70 per 15 min; all-day max £14. ANPR pay-on-exit; blue badge holders not exempt; card at machine, cash at visitor centre, or Park with Ease online within 48h (Forestry England, checked Aug 2026). Open 08:30-20:30 (Forestry England, checked Aug 2026). Free for Forestry England members (checked Aug 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
🚺 Whinlatter Forest Park Centre (~52 m straight line) — Free☕ The Cottage in the Wood☕ Cafe Ambio
Whinlatter - Forestry England (paid) — 0.9 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Hobcarton End, Grisedale Pike, Hobcarton Crag (Hobcarton Head) and Sand Hill — the 'Birketts around Grisedale Pike' route starts 59 m away. Also serves 'Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How'. Paid parking (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Revelin Moss, Whinlatter (Forestry England, paid) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
The second Whinlatter car park, 300 m along the pass from the visitor centre - ANPR controlled, open 08:30-20:30. Fees: FE page: charges apply to Whinlatter and Revelin Moss car parks; tariff as Whinlatter main (first 20 min free; first hour £2.90; £0.70 per 15 min; max £14). ANPR pay-on-exit (Forestry England, checked Aug 2026). Free for Forestry England members (checked Aug 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Whinlatter Top (verge) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
0.4 km from Whinlatter Top. Gravel verge.
Directions 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 Tarbarrel Moss by bus

The 77 stops at Whinlatter, in Visitors Centre, 130 m from the start of Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How — a route we rate Easy. 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. The last bus is 17:56 towards Keswick (77A) and 16:45 towards Cockermouth (77), every day. 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 or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Tarbarrel Moss

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Tarbarrel Moss car park (paid), about 0.8 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Tarbarrel Moss (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 NNEUllister Hill525 m · North Western
0.7 km ENESeat How (Thornthwaite)495 m · North Western
1.0 km WSWWhinlatter Top525 m · North Western
2.2 km SSWHobcarton End634 m · North Western
2.4 km SSEKinn374 m · North Western

Routes over Tarbarrel Moss

Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat HowPlanned
7.32 km · ~243 m ascent · loop · ~1.5–2.5 h · Easy
Summits: Tarbarrel MossUllister HillSeat How (Thornthwaite)

✎️ A rare sheltered option in the Lakes: mostly under trees, on solid tracks, with big views appearing at the tops. It starts from the Whinlatter visitor centre (café, parking and facilities). The three summits are Outlying/Birkett tops rather than Wainwrights.

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Year-round, and one of the better bad-weather choices — the trees take the sting out of wind and rain. Tracks can be muddy, and forest operations occasionally divert paths, so check signage at the visitor centre.

⚠️ Warnings: Whinlatter is a working forest laced with forestry roads that branch and re-cross — follow the waymarks and carry a map; junctions look alike, especially in mist. Shared with mountain-bike trails in places (including the Altura trail) — stay alert and give way to riders where paths cross. Occasional path diversions or machinery during active forestry operations. Tracks get muddy and slippery after rain.

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

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

On the hill: terrain and water on Tarbarrel Moss

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How route:

💧 possible water source (2 m)🚌 Visitors Centre (93 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.

Access on Tarbarrel Moss

Access: summit and direct approach lie within mapped open-access land (CRoW). The usual access-land conditions apply.

Walls & fences: the approach crosses a fence. At the crossing a mapped gate stands about 7 m to the NNE of the direct line.

Local restrictions can close open-access areas temporarily — check the official open-access information before travelling.

How we worked this out

Summit and approach positions are tested against Natural England’s CRoW Act 2000 access layer; rights of way and wall or fence detail come from OpenStreetMap. Both are open datasets with known gaps — in our own survey only 4 of 23 wall and fence crossings had a stile or gate mapped within 150 m — so absence of a mapped feature never means absence of a real one. Nothing here is field-verified unless marked, and none of it is legal advice. How we checked 378 fells.

Places to stay near this fell

Croftlands Cottages guest house

about 1.9 km from the start, in a straight line

The best-answered page inside 2 km of the Whinlatter start, and the only one that solves the wet-boots-and-bikes problem explicitly: off-road parking beside the cottages, secure bike storage, and hosepipes for boots, bikes and paws. It also tells a driver something no sat nav will - that CA12 5SA covers the whole of Thornthwaite and will not find the cottage - and it puts the X5 bus stop outside the door, so a car-free party can reach the Grisedale Pike ground.

An osprey nest sits close enough that the birds can be watched from the cottage grounds between April and August, and the village bus shelter stands directly outside two of the three cottages.

  • Dogs “All three of our holiday cottages are dog friendly with Jasmine Cottage and Fox Howe being able to accommodate two each and Squirrel Cottage one.”
  • Family rooms “JASMINE COTTAGE (SLEEPS 4)”
  • Parking “Private off road parking beside the cottages”

Dancing Gate Cottage self-catering

about 4.2 km from the start, in a straight line

The only true drying room in the whole 3-mile radius, and it is paired with a tumble drier, a 3-bicycle stand and outdoor wash-off for bikes and dogs - the exact list a party coming off a wet Coledale round needs. It is also the only property here that states in its own words that it suits families as well as couples, and it sleeps seven across four bedrooms, so it takes a group that no B&B in the area can. Ranked above much closer properties on that basis; the 3-night minimum is the cost.

It is a former farmhouse still standing on a working farm, so guests share the yard with lambs, calves and horses depending on the season.

  • Drying room “There is a rear drying room for boots and coats and sportswear and a 3-bicycle stand for secure storage of bikes, plus a tumble drier.”
  • Dogs “Well-behaved dogs are very welcome and there are several pleasant walks in the nearby area.”
  • Family rooms “Double bedroom with king size bed and en-suite shower room - spacious electric shower, heated towel rail, washbasin with shaverlight and toilet. Twin-bedded room. Double bedded room. Single room.”
  • Children “The house is ideal for couples and families alike, sleeping up to 7 people - plenty of rooms but with a cosy atmosphere.”

High Swinside Holiday Cottages guest house

about 3.9 km from the start, in a straight line

The one property in the radius that can take a very large party - two of its three cottages connect through a lockable door to sleep eleven or twelve - and the only one with a stated EV charger, which matters for a group driving over Whinlatter Pass. It is on the Lorton side of the pass rather than the Braithwaite side, which is the quieter approach to Grisedale Pike's western Birketts, and the owner is close enough to call on.

The smallest of the three was built as a farm workers' cottage in the 1800s and still has its beamed ceilings; the Farmhouse next door can be linked to it through a lockable connecting door.

  • Dogs “Dog friendly”
  • Family rooms “Three Holiday Cottages sleeping 2, 5, or 9 (2 of the cottages can be connected to sleep 11-12)”

Braeside self-catering

about 4.5 km from the start, in a straight line

The most completely described interior in the radius, and it is described for people who come home wet: utility room with washing machine and tumble dryer, coat hooks, and dog towels put out for the end of a walk. Bike storage in the shed, parking for one car, pub 300 m and the owners' own tearoom directly downstairs - so an evening meal and a breakfast exist without moving the car. It states its dog charge and its 17:00 arrival up front.

The cottage sits directly above a tearoom the owners run themselves, and a full set of Wainwright guides is kept on the stairs for guests to borrow.

  • Dogs “2 dogs allowed. Dogs are charged at £20 each per full or part week”
  • Family rooms “3 bedrooms – 1 king-size, 1 double, 1 twin”
  • Evening meal “Even closer to hand (just downstairs!) is a tearoom . Run by us, this popular eatery allows you to treat yourself to breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea from a wide menu.”
  • Parking “Parking for one car in front of cottage, further free parking available on roadside subject to availbility”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap.

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