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.
Summit conditions on Tarbarrel Moss
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 13° to 6°C, gusts to 60 mph, 6.7 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 Tarbarrel Moss
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
A sheltered forest loop above Whinlatter, climbing on good tracks through the plantation to a trio of low, easily-missed tops.
Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →
How hard is Tarbarrel Moss?
The shortest way up we hold is Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How — 7.32 km, 261 m of ascent, ~1¾–2¾ h. On our scale its hardest axis is navigation — Moderate.
All axes: navigation: Moderate · length: Easy · steepness: Easy · exposure: Easy · terrain: 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 493 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 Tarbarrel Moss
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Tarbarrel Moss
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 77A stop at Whinlatter, in Visitors Centre, a 130 m walk from the start of Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How — a route we rate Moderate overall (hardest: navigation). The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. It returns on 22 March 2027. Confirmed with the operator: its last day on 29 August 2026, its return on 16 October 2026. The last bus is 17:56 towards Keswick (77A) and 16:45 towards Cockermouth (77), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 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 Tarbarrel Moss
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How
- 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.
- Forestry England posts felling areas and path diversions at Whinlatter on its Whinlatter updates page (last read 7 Oct 2026). Check it before you go, and follow the signs on the day.
If you need to get off (the leg from Whinlatter - Forestry Commission Car Park): Retreat: Simply turn around and follow the wide, descending gravel tracks directly back to the visitor centre.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Tarbarrel Moss.
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 Tarbarrel Moss
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Tarbarrel Moss
Forestry England says (updated 1 Oct 2026) that the Seat How Summit (white) walking trail is diverted: follow the diversion signs. This route's GPX has not been checked against the diversion. Forestry England: Whinlatter updates (read 8 Oct 2026)
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 Planned route · not yet walked
Route guide: Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How →
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 Tarbarrel Moss
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Whinlatter Forest: Tarbarrel Moss, Ullister Hill & Seat How route:
Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is not proof the water is drinkable, so carry your own or use a supply you know is safe. Never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock upstream and leave you seriously ill. Use a treatment method suited to what might be in the water, and follow the device’s own instructions. Boiling and ordinary filters do not make water with dissolved metals or chemicals safe: where that is possible, choose another source.
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 (opens in new tab) before travelling.
How we worked out the access
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 26 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 377 fells.
Access land: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
About Tarbarrel Moss
My Strava hikes over Tarbarrel Moss
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- A bit wet and windy doing the Whinlater loop (opens in new tab) — 13.3 km · 776 m ascent · 3h 12m moving · 31 May 2025
Data from Strava.
Classifications & hill data
Is Tarbarrel Moss a Wainwright?
Tarbarrel Moss 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
- Croftlands Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.9 km
- Dancing Gate Cottage (opens in new tab) self-cateringabout 4.2 km
- High Swinside Holiday Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 3.9 km
- Braeside (opens in new tab) self-cateringabout 4.5 km
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).