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576 m · Wainwright — Far Eastern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

The Nab, a Lake District fell
Wainwright — Far Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

The Nab

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.

576 m
Height
~5–6 h
Typical time
+4
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →
576 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 576 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 9°C, gusts to 24 mph, 2.4 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
12° / 9°
💨 24 mph
🌧 2.4 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 9°
💨 47 mph
🌧 19.3 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
13° / 8°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (62%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌦️
15° / 6°
💨 29 mph
🌧 4.6 mm (100%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
14° / 8°
💨 33 mph
🌧 0.8 mm (89%)
Wed 16 Sep
☁️
12° / 8°
💨 27 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 34 mph
🌧 0.6 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 576 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

The Nab at a glance

The Nab

The Nab, a Lake District fell
© Lee McCoy

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. The ascent is from Martindale or over the ridge from Rampsgill Head. A quiet, remote summit with a genuine sense of seclusion. The red deer herds make any visit to the Martindale area memorable.

Field notes

This fell was one like Mungrisedale 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.

Routes up The Nab

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

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Far Eastern
Birkett
Synge
576 m
Height
1,890 ft
In feet
NY 4342 1519
Grid ref

The short answers

Is The Nab a Wainwright?

The Nab is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list and the Synge list.

Where do you park for The Nab?

The nearest car park we hold is Gowk Hill (layby), about 1.1 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Beda Fell (layby), 1.4 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 The Nab?

The shortest way up we hold is Angletarn Pikes and the Martindale round — 22.2 km, 1349 m of ascent, about 6.7 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is length — Severe.

All axes: length: Severe · navigation: Hard · terrain: Hard · steepness: Hard · exposure: Easy.

My hikes over The Nab (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 The Nab

Best parking to hike The Nab

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

Gowk Hill (layby) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Gowk Hill (0.8 km), The Nab (1.1 km), Brownthwaite Crag (1.2 km). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Beda Fell (layby) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Beda Fell (Beda Head) (0.8 km), Gowk Hill (1.1 km), Brownthwaite Crag (1.2 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Grass surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Steel Knotts (layby) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts) (0.7 km), Sleet Fell (1.2 km), Beda Fell (Beda Head) (1.3 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Hartsop village (free, donation) — 3.3 km from summit (straight line)
For Hartsop Dodd, Gray Crag, High Street via Hayeswater, Brock Crags.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
If it is full: Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) (0.9 km)
Arnison Crag (layby) — 3.5 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Arnison Crag (0.7 km), Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top) (1.4 km), Angletarn Pikes South Top (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
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 The Nab by bus

The 508 stops at Hartsop, in road end, 20 m from the start of Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells. 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. 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.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on The Nab

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.

Navigating The Nab in cloud

Straightforward

A rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

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: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Gowk Hill (layby), about 1.1 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near The Nab (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.

1.6 km ERed Crag711 m · Far Eastern
1.8 km NEGowk Hill471 m · Far Eastern
2.3 km NNEBrownthwaite Crag444 m · Far Eastern
2.6 km ESELow Raise754 m · Far Eastern

Routes over The Nab

22.23 km · ~1349 m ascent · loop · ~6.5–9 h · Hard

✎️ This is the antidote to Helvellyn on an August Saturday. The Nab is one of the least-visited Wainwrights precisely because of the deer forest, 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 GPX

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.

⚠️ Warnings: The Nab sits in the Martindale deer forest — England’s oldest deer herd. Access is by a permissive route only; keep to it, keep dogs on a lead, and do not wander. During the autumn rut the estate asks walkers to stay away entirely. Check before you go. 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, remote and thinly walked. You will not meet many people, which is the joy of it and also the point — carry what you need to get yourself out.

Full route guide ↗

🥾 Walked in part — Lee walked this ground in August 2026; km 0.2–1.4, km 15.9–18.0 of this line are from the map.

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

22.5 km · ~1279 m ascent · linear · ~6.5–9 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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 The Nab

Water & shelter on the way up

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

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
Computed 360-degree skyline from The Nab28 labelled tops shown (7 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 23 kmHelvellyn · 9 kmSkiddaw · 22 kmNethermost Pike · 9 kmRaise · 9 kmBlencathra · 17 kmGreat Dodd · 11 kmStybarrow Dodd · 10 kmHart Crag · 8 kmHigh Raise · 2 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 24 kmRampsgill Head · 2 kmDove Crag · 8 kmRed Screes · 8 kmThe Knott · 2 kmBirkhouse Moor · 7 kmRed Crag · 2 kmBowscale Fell · 18 kmRest Dodd · 2 kmLoadpot Hill · 4 kmWether Hill · 3 kmCarrock Fell · 21 kmGreat Mell Fell · 11 kmLittle Mell Fell · 9 kmAngletarn Pikes South Top · 2 kmSwarth Fell · 5 kmSighty Crag · 68 km · clear daysHallin Fell · 5 kmHelvellyn Lower Man · 10 kmHigh Crag · 9 kmFairfield · 8 kmKnowe Crags · 17 kmBirkett Fell · 8 kmKnott · 22 kmTarn Crags Top · 18 kmHartsop Dodd · 4 kmLow Pike · 10 kmGale Crag · 5 kmBeda Fell · 2 kmGowk Hill · 2 kmGreen Hill · 6 kmBroad Law · 112 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 128 km · a handful of days a yearWisp Hill · 84 km · a rare clear dayRoan Fell · 78 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 118 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 87 km · a rare clear dayBlackwood Hill · 82 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from The Nab, 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).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on The Nab

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°.

30°40°50°60°04:46
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 lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer04:46 BST ±5.0 min04:36+10 min
Equinox06:47 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+32 min
Midwinter09:32 GMT ±5.0 min08:32+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 lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:45 BST ±5.0 min21:52-7 min
Equinox18:09 GMT ±5.0 min18:25-16 min
Midwinter15:39 GMT ±5.0 min15:48-9 min

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. 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.
45Wainwrights in view+6 marginal
Sea in viewnone from here
All 45 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

How The Nab’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), 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.

Places to stay near this fell

Greenbank Farm Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest house

about 1.8 km from the start, in a straight line

Ranked first despite being the eighth-nearest candidate because it answers more of the 6pm questions than anything else in the radius, and it answers them in its own sentences with prices attached: drying facilities, evening meals from £14.00, packed lunches at £6.00, and the only stated room composition on an independent B&B here. Its family room is a room for three, not four — which is exactly the fact a family of four needs before booking, and the reason a bare family_rooms=yes would have been a worse row than this one.

The farmhouse sits below Arnison Crag and looks across at Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes — the two fells this start's routes climb.

  • Drying room “We also have drying facilities and a large patio and garden to enjoy the view.”
  • Family rooms “Family: Room for three with a double and one single bed.”
  • Evening meal “We offer hearty home-cooked breakfasts and evening meals as well as packed lunches if required.”
  • Packed lunch “Packed Lunches £6.00”

Worth knowing before you book

These places state on their own site that they do not take children.

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 (opens in new tab).

Other fells near The Nab