576 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud
The Nab at 576m (1,890ft) stands above the head of Martindale, its slopes forming part of the Martindale deer forest — one of the few remaining red deer forests in England. Wainwright described the views across Rampsgill and Bannerdale to Ullswater as very fine.
Summit conditions on The Nab
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 55 mph, 11.1 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.
Wind on the top
Past the line
50mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour
The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 45 mph times our exposure factor of 1.12. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 55 mph, before any exposure factor.
under 25
25–35
35–45
45–55
55+
The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS (opens in new tab) describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.
Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.
Rain, and the becks
Past the line
11.1mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight
The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.
The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.
Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.
Also checkedcold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 32 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.
Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.
Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data
Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Choose the way up before the car park: these two routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.
Hands for a few steps: the highest rock of Angletarn Pikes' North Top (about km 11.4).
Exposure
Easy
Not assessed
Navigation
Hard
Hard
Steepest stretch
Climb of about 30% at 1.2 km (Hard)
Descent of about 31% at 4.0 km (Hard)
After the summit
Over Brock Crags (Wainwright), Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Beda Fell (Beda Head) and Place Fell
Over Brock Crags (Wainwright), Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Beda Fell (Beda Head) and Place Fell
Walked or planned
Walked in part; km 0.3–1.7, km 19.4–22.1 from the map
Walked by Lee, August 2026
Car park at the start
Hartsop village (donation)
Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid)
Bus to the start
508, 560 m walk from Hartsop, adjacent to road end
508 at the start
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 The Nab?
The shortest way up we hold is Angletarn Pikes and the Martindale round — 22.23 km, 1402 m of ascent, ~6¾–9¼ h. On our scale its hardest axis is distance — Severe.
All axes: length: Severe · steepness: Hard · terrain: Hard · navigation: Hard · exposure: Easy.
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 576 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
Hartsop village (donation) — at the start of Angletarn Pikes and the Martindale round
For Hartsop Dodd, Gray Crag, High Street via Hayeswater, Brock Crags. It asks an optional donation, not a charge (Lee, who walked past it on 14 August 2026). People also use the Cow Bridge car park, 0.9 km away, if they would rather not drive down the lane.
If it is full: Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) (0.9 km, 32 m up)
Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) — 0.3 km from the start of Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells (straight line)
Paid car park by Brothers Water — Hartsop above How, Dovedale, Caudale Moor. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37323 (LDNPA, checked August 2026).
Bridgend (layby) — 3.5 km from summit (straight line)
On the A592 at Bridgend, between Patterdale and Hartsop, beside a bus stop. The nearest route starts are the two at Cow Bridge, 1.2 km south on foot, and the two in Patterdale, 1.7 km north on foot ('St Sunday Crag', which climbs Arnison Crag, and 'Place Fell and The Knight'). Free (OSM-tagged).
Of the pay-and-display machine tickets sold at Cow Bridge from 17 August 2024 to 31 March 2026, 34% were bought before 10am (our count of FOI/2026.500 ticket data). Contains public sector information provided by the Lake District National Park Authority and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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 508 and 509 stop at Hartsop, in road end, a 20 m walk from the start of Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: distance). The last bus is 17:44 towards Penrith (508) and 15:50 towards Keswick (509), every day. 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 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.
Notes from the Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells route
The Nab is in the Martindale deer forest, owned by the Dalemain Estate. The estate says the area may be closed between September and February for deer management, and at other times as needed, and asks walkers to check before they visit. It asks everyone to keep away from the deer, especially at calving time. The top of The Nab is open access land. On open access land, dogs must be on a lead of no more than 2 m from 1 March to 31 July, and near livestock at any time (GOV.UK: use your right to roam).
If you need to get off (the leg from Rest Dodd): You must retrace your steps to Rest Dodd. Dropping off The Nab directly into the Martindale valleys is steep, trackless, and heavily discouraged to protect the deer herds.
Quoted from the route page: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches The Nab.
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.
Navigating in cloud
Care needed∗
A rounded, grassy top reached over a boggy, hag-cut ridge from Rest Dodd; the high ground is short of landmarks in mist. Take care in poor visibility — carry map and compass, and know how to use them.
In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.
How The Nab compares with all 214: the Clag Index (experimental).
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.
This is the antidote to Helvellyn on an August Saturday. The Nab is one of the least-visited Wainwrights, and the reward for the boggy trudge out to it is a summit almost nobody stands on. Angletarn Pikes and its tarn are the prettiest thing in the Far Eastern fells.
Download GPXWalked in part, August 2026 · km 0.3–1.7, km 19.4–22.1 from the map
Best season: Late spring to autumn. The ground between Rest Dodd and The Nab is notoriously boggy and the navigation is committing in cloud — save this one for a clear day with dry ground underfoot. The Dalemain Estate says the deer forest may be closed between September and February, so check with the estate before an autumn or winter walk.
Warnings:The Nab is in the Martindale deer forest, owned by the Dalemain Estate. The estate says the area may be closed between September and February for deer management, and at other times as needed, and asks walkers to check before they visit. It asks everyone to keep away from the deer, especially at calving time. This route reaches The Nab along the ridge from Rest Dodd and comes back the same way. It does not go down into Rampsgill or Bannerdale. The top of The Nab is open access land. On open access land, dogs must be on a lead of no more than 2 m from 1 March to 31 July, and near livestock at any time (GOV.UK: use your right to roam). The ground either side of The Nab is genuinely boggy — peat hags and wet channels that swallow the path. Expect wet feet and slow going, and do not judge your timings by the distance alone. A big day: over 22 km and 1,350 m of ascent, with navigation graded hard. The high ground is broad, rolling and short of landmarks — in cloud this is a compass-and-pacing exercise. Long and remote: carry what you need to get yourself out.
Warnings:The Nab is in the Martindale deer forest, owned by the Dalemain Estate. The estate says the area may be closed between September and February for deer management, and at other times as needed, and asks walkers to check before they visit. It asks everyone to keep away from the deer, especially at calving time. The top of The Nab is open access land. On open access land, dogs must be on a lead of no more than 2 m from 1 March to 31 July, and near livestock at any time (GOV.UK: use your right to roam).
Both our routes reach it along the ridge from Rest Dodd and come back the same way. It is in the Martindale deer forest, owned by the Dalemain Estate, which says the area may be closed between September and February and asks walkers to check before they visit. The red deer herds make any visit to the Martindale area memorable.
Field notes
This fell was one like Mungrisdale Common that I just wanted to do after a dry period as it is notoriously challenging in wet conditions. The route over from Rest Dodd didn't meet the challenging conditions folklore had it - but that was more to do with the exceptionally dry summer we've had in 2026. There were two peat hags that were deep and I could see a limited way around. These can easily fill and be an extreme nuisance in your bagging adventures. There were a couple of smaller, less difficult hags to navigate. And is the effort really worth it? I have my doubts. The round, grassy dome topped by a dozen or so rocks isn't a feature worth the trudge. The view on the day I went wasn't much better. I've bagged it, I highly doubt I'll make the effort to return.
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
The summit is also a Birkett.
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 →
The view from The Nab
The 360° skyline from The Nab
A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.
drag to pan · arrow keys
The skyline as a list, by direction
East: Red Crag (2 km)
South-east: High Raise (2 km)
South: Rest Dodd (2 km), Rampsgill Head (2 km), The Knott (2 km)
South-west: Red Screes (8 km), Dove Crag (8 km), Hart Crag (8 km), Fairfield (8 km), The Old Man of Coniston (24 km)
West: Gavel Pike (6 km), St Sunday Crag (7 km), Birkhouse Moor (7 km), Catstye Cam (9 km), Nethermost Pike (9 km), Helvellyn (9 km), High Crag (9 km), Raise (9 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (10 km), White Side (10 km), Stybarrow Dodd (10 km), Ill Crag (22 km), Broad Crag (23 km), Scafell Pike (23 km)
North-west: Birkett Fell (8 km), Green Side (9 km), Great Dodd (11 km), Blencathra (17 km), Gategill Fell Top (17 km), Knowe Crags (17 km), Bannerdale Crags (17 km), Atkinson Pike (17 km), Bowscale Fell (18 km), Skiddaw Little Man (21 km), Skiddaw South Top (22 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (22 km), Skiddaw (22 km), Skiddaw North Top (22 km), Knott (22 km), Broad End (23 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Broad Law (112 km, Scotland), Tinto (128 km, Scotland), White Coomb (104 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (95 km, Scotland), Wisp Hill (84 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (78 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (86 km, Scotland), Dun Rig (118 km, Scotland).
The Nab waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 January, when the sun is up for 61 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:35 against an almanac sunrise of 08:34. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (143.5°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 5.58°.
Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.
Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
First light
Almanac sunrise
Difference
Midsummer
04:46 BST ±5.0 min
04:36
+10 min
Equinox
06:47 GMT ±5.0 min
06:15
+32 min
Midwinter
09:32 GMT ±5.0 min
08:32
+60 min
A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.06°).
Last light — when the sun leaves The Nab
The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 March) last light is only 17 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on The Nab.
The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last light
Almanac sunset
Difference
Midsummer
21:45 BST ±5.0 min
21:52
-7 min
Equinox
18:09 GMT ±5.0 min
18:25
-16 min
Midwinter
15:39 GMT ±5.0 min
15:48
-9 min
These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.
What you can see from The Nab
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
How the view from The Nab compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.
How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed
Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from The Nab. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes.
Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. Corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.
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).
