Threlkeld Knotts
Threlkeld Knotts at 514m (1,686ft) is a Birkett top above the Threlkeld valley between Blencathra and the Helvellyn range, giving views along St John's in the Vale and towards Blencathra's dramatic southern ridges. Part of the fell country between Thirlmere and the Threlkeld valley.
Summit conditions on Threlkeld Knotts
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 57 mph, 17.3 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 Threlkeld Knotts
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Clough Head is the northern full stop of the Dodds, and this takes it with Threlkeld Knotts and Calfhow Pike.
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 Threlkeld Knotts?
The shortest way up we hold is Threlkeld Knotts & Clough Head — 11.2 km, 803 m of ascent, ~3½–5 h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · length: Moderate · navigation: Moderate · terrain: Not assessed · exposure: 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 514 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 Threlkeld Knotts
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Threlkeld Knotts
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 509, X4 and X5 stop at Threlkeld West End (near). From there it is 2.4 km and 58 m of ascent to the start of Threlkeld Knotts & Clough Head — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 15.9 km in all, with the walk. Last bus: Monday to Friday 22:05 towards Penrith (X5) and 17:02 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:37 towards Hartsop (509); Saturday 22:05 towards Penrith (X5) and 17:02 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:37 towards Hartsop (509); Sunday 18:31 towards Penrith (X5) and 17:02 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:37 towards Hartsop (509). 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.
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 Threlkeld Knotts
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Threlkeld Knotts & Clough Head
If you need to get off (the leg from Wanthwaite Bridge Car Park): Turn around and retrace the grassy paths directly back down to the intake walls and the Wanthwaite parking area. It is a straightforward retreat.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Threlkeld Knotts.
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 Threlkeld Knotts
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Threlkeld Knotts
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 Threlkeld Knotts
Terrain & access
A near-path top (about 514 m): a mapped path comes within about 136 m of the summit. We have not checked a way from it to the top: the figures here are measured along a straight line on a terrain model, not a route. That line climbs about 32 m. Parts of it are steeper than 30°. The summit is on CRoW open access land.
Computed from open data, not walked — pathless ground needs confident navigation, and mapped paths, barriers and access boundaries can be incomplete. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass); Natural England CRoW Access Land; DoBIH v18.4 (CC BY 4.0); Copernicus GLO-30. CRoW access layer: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. See the terrain & access report for how this is worked out across all 144 fells.
About Threlkeld Knotts
Classifications & hill data
Is Threlkeld Knotts a Wainwright?
Threlkeld Knotts 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
From Wanthwaite Bridge: 4 places in Keswick