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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 →

Home › Fells › Tarbarrel Moss

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

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 (Tue 28 Jul): 16° to 14°C, gusts to 34 mph, 3.1 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
16° / 14°
💨 34 mph
🌧 3.1 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
16° / 12°
💨 29 mph
🌧 12.0 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌧️
14° / 5°
💨 30 mph
🌧 2.3 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 3°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 1.5 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌤️
16° / 3°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 7°
💨 16 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 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

About the walk

Key information

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

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Whinlatter Visitor Centre (paid), about 1.0 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.

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).

Whinlatter Visitor Centre (paid) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)
Forest centre — Lord's Seat, Barf, Whinlatter fells, Grisedale Pike's back route.
Directions
🚺 Whinlatter Forest Park Centre (120m) — Free☕ The Cottage in the Wood☕ Cafe Ambio
Braithwaite village (roadside/small areas) — 2.8 km from summit (straight line)
Start of the Coledale Horseshoe: Grisedale Pike, Causey Pike round.
Directions
🚺 Braithwaite, Keswick (229m) — Free☕ Middle Ruddings☕ Ivy House☕ Jasper's🍺 Royal Oak🍺 Coledale 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 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.

Buses to Tarbarrel Moss 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.
Stagecoach X4 / X5
Penrith – Rheged – Threlkeld – Keswick – Braithwaite – Cockermouth – Workington
Catch it from: Penrith
Year-round, frequent. From Penrith this is your way into Keswick and the Northern fells — Threlkeld/Scales stops serve Blencathra directly, Braithwaite serves the Coledale fells.

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

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.

Other fells near Tarbarrel Moss

Maps & guidebooks for Tarbarrel Moss

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