Thornythwaite Fell
Thornythwaite Fell at 574m (1,883ft) is a Birkett top on the broad fell above the Borrowdale valley between the Castle Crag gorge and the Allen Crags ridge, giving views down Borrowdale and across to the surrounding fell ridges. Part of the fell country above Seatoller.
Summit conditions on Thornythwaite Fell
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 60 mph, 8.6 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 Thornythwaite Fell
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
A wild, little-trodden round of the rough Borrowdale fells above Rosthwaite and Stonethwaite — Bessyboot, Dovenest Top and Thornythwaite Fell — a maze of rocky knolls, hidden tarns and peat hags with huge views to the Scafells.
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 Thornythwaite Fell?
The shortest way up we hold is The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round) — 13.23 km, 850 m of ascent, ~4–5½ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · terrain: Hard · navigation: Hard · length: Moderate · exposure: Moderate.
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 574 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Thornythwaite Fell
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
3 more places to park near Thornythwaite Fell
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 78 stop at Rosthwaite General Store (near), a 220 m walk from the start of The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round) — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). The 77 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (78): Tuesday to Sunday 20:05. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 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 Thornythwaite Fell
Notes from a planned route, not walked: The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round)
- Paths are faint or absent for much of this round, through a confusing maze of knolls, hags and hollows. Only attempt it in good visibility — in cloud or mist the navigation here is genuinely hard and it’s easy to get lost. Carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them.
- Boggy, tussocky and rough underfoot — slow going, and much worse after rain. Save it for a dry spell.
- A committing round with little quick escape — start early and allow more time than the distance suggests.
- Livestock on the lower fields; keep dogs under close control.
If you need to get off (the leg from Dovenest Top): Retreat: No escape from this stage has been checked for this guide.
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 Thornythwaite Fell.
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 Thornythwaite Fell
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Thornythwaite Fell
Pathless, boggy and easy to lose your way. A round for a clear, dry day with the map out, not a wet or misty one.
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
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 Thornythwaite Fell
Water & shelter on the way up
On the The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round) 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.
About Thornythwaite Fell
Classifications & hill data
Is Thornythwaite Fell a Wainwright?
Thornythwaite Fell 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
- Seatoller House B&B (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.6 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).