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723 m · Wainwright — Central Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Wainwright — Central FellsAlso a Birkett

Thunacar Knott

Thunacar Knott at 723m (2,372ft) is the broad, grassy summit between Harrison Stickle and High Raise, often crossed without recognition on the way between the Langdale Pikes and the High Raise plateau.

723 m
Height
~3–4 h
Typical time
+8
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Thunacar Knott

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

723 mWainwright — Central Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+8 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 723 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 12°C, gusts to 39 mph, 10.1 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
14° / 12°
💨 39 mph
🌧 10.1 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 10°
💨 28 mph
🌧 5.6 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 5°
💨 28 mph
🌧 1.3 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 1°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 3°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.6 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌫️
15° / 5°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 5°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.2 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 723 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

Thunacar Knott

Thunacar Knott, a Lake District fell
Photo: Mick Knapton at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Thunacar Knott at 723m (2,372ft) is the broad, grassy summit between Harrison Stickle and High Raise, often crossed without recognition on the way between the Langdale Pikes and the High Raise plateau. Wainwright noted it as a useful intermediate point on the Central Fells with good views south down Langdale. The summit area is wet and featureless, but the position between the dramatic Langdale Pikes and the open plateau gives it a satisfying context. Most naturally part of the full Central Fells circuit from Langdale via Harrison Stickle, High Raise and Sergeant Man.

Routes up Thunacar Knott

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

Langdale Pikes Round
12.3 km · ~3.9 hr · Moderate
A grand round of the Langdale Pikes and the fells behind them. From Great Langdale it climbs past Stickle Tarn to take in Pavey Ark (by the walkers' line, not Jack's Rake), Harrison Stickle, Pike of Stickle and Loft Crag, then loops over Thunacar Knott, High Raise and Sergeant Man before dropping back to the valley. It's a simpler line than my previous version, which added Blea Rigg — boggy on the approach from Sergeant Man. Handily, there are toilets at the car park at the end.
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Central
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
723 m
Height
2,372 ft
In feet
NY 2797 0799
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Stickle Ghyll / New Dungeon Ghyll (NT, paid), about 2.1 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Thunacar Knott (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.

0.9 km SThorn Crag644 m · Central
1.4 km NECodale Head732 m · Central
2.1 km NLow White Stones731 m · Central
2.4 km WBlack Crags (Mickleden)588 m · Southern
2.7 km WBuck Pike (Mickleden)606 m · Southern
2.7 km SWWhite Stones - The Band568 m · Southern
2.8 km ECastle How (Raw Pike)498 m · Central
2.9 km SSESide Pike362 m · Central

Routes over Thunacar Knott

Langdale Pikes RoundRevised
12.34 km · ~830 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h · Clockwise · Moderate
Summits: Sergeant ManHigh Raise (High White Stones)Thunacar KnottPavey ArkHarrison SticklePike of StickleLoft CragThorn Crag

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Any season in good conditions; the plateau behind the Pikes is featureless in cloud.

⚠️ Warnings: Avoid Jack's Rake on Pavey Ark unless you're a confident scrambler — the walkers' route reaches the same summit.; Boggy ground and confusing navigation on the High Raise and Sergeant Man plateau in mist.; Steep, rocky ground around the Pikes.

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from Thunacar Knott

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 Thunacar Knott36 labelled tops shown (6 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 6 kmHelvellyn · 10 kmSkiddaw · 21 kmGreat End · 5 kmGreat Gable · 7 kmHigh Crag · 8 kmRaise · 11 kmFairfield · 9 kmCrinkle Crags · 4 kmGreat Dodd · 14 kmGrasmoor · 16 kmSt Sunday Crag · 10 kmHigh Street · 16 kmRed Pike · 12 kmHart Crag · 9 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 10 kmGrisedale Pike · 17 kmGlaramara · 4 kmRed Screes · 12 kmGrey Friar · 8 kmWetherlam · 7 kmHigh Raise · 2 kmLittle Stand · 6 kmCombe Head · 4 kmYoke · 16 kmCold Pike · 5 kmGreat Borne · 18 kmBowfell · 4 kmLord's Seat · 20 kmHarrison Stickle · 1 kmPavey Ark · 0 kmIngleborough · 57 km · clear daysWhernside · 53 km · clear daysWard's Stone · 58 km · clear daysThe Calf · 40 km · clear daysCat Bells · 12 kmScafell · 7 kmBroad Crag · 6 kmHelvellyn Lower Man · 10 kmDollywaggon Pike · 8 kmStybarrow Dodd · 13 kmScoat Fell · 12 kmCrag Hill · 15 kmShelter Crags · 4 kmGreen Gable · 7 kmDove Crag · 10 kmThornthwaite Crag · 15 kmLooking Steads · 4 kmGreat Rigg · 8 kmIll Bell · 16 kmBlack Sails · 7 kmLong Side · 21 kmGreat Knott · 4 kmCausey Pike · 14 kmCrinkle Crags South Top · 4 kmGreat Carrs · 7 kmAllen Crags · 4 kmRosthwaite Fell · 4 kmBlack Crags · 2 kmBaystones · 13 kmWansfell Pike · 12 kmBinsey · 28 kmnameless · 22 kmKing's How · 9 kmFair Snape Fell · 68 km · clear daysBlack Fell · 9 kmHigh Knott · 19 kmReston Scar · 20 kmWhite Hill · 63 km · clear daysOrrest Head · 16 kmHampsfell · 31 km · clear daysBrant Fell · 18 kmSnowdon · 168 km · a handful of days a yearTinto · 130 km · a handful of days a yearGreen Lowther · 111 km · a rare clear dayGreat Whernside · 80 km · a rare clear dayWinter Hill · 100 km · a rare clear dayKirkland Hill · 121 km · a handful of days a year
What you can see from Thunacar Knott, by direction
  • North: Skiddaw Lesser Man (20 km), Skiddaw Little Man (20 km), Skiddaw South Top (21 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (21 km), Skiddaw (21 km), Skiddaw North Top (21 km)
  • North-east: Dollywaggon Pike (8 km), High Crag (8 km), Fairfield (9 km), Nethermost Pike (9 km), Cofa Pike (9 km), Helvellyn (10 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (10 km), White Side (10 km), St Sunday Crag (10 km), Raise (11 km), Stybarrow Dodd (13 km), Great Dodd (14 km)
  • East: Hart Crag (9 km), Dove Crag (10 km), High Street (16 km)
  • South: Swirl How (8 km), The Old Man of Coniston (10 km)
  • South-west: Shelter Crags (4 km), Crinkle Crags (4 km), Crinkle Crags (4 km)
  • West: Esk Pike (4 km), Great End (5 km), Ill Crag (6 km), Broad Crag (6 km), Scafell Pike (6 km), Great Gable (7 km), Scafell (7 km), Kirk Fell (9 km), Pillar (12 km), Red Pike (12 km), Scoat Fell (12 km)
  • North-west: Green Gable (7 km), Crag Hill (15 km), Grasmoor (16 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (168 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (156 km, Wales), Tinto (130 km, Scotland), Green Lowther (111 km, Scotland), Queensberry (96 km, Scotland), Culter Fell (123 km, Scotland), Great Whernside (80 km, England), Manod Mawr (172 km, Wales).

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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Thunacar Knott

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
83Wainwrights in view+11 marginal
168 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction
1Sea in viewSolway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.

Far horizons
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 168 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 152 km distant
  • Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSE · 58 km clear
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 57 km in view
  • Whernside Yorkshire DalesESE · 53 km clear
All 83 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Pavey Ark, Harrison Stickle, Pike of Stickle, Loft Crag, Sergeant Man, High Raise (High White Stones), Tarn Crag (Easedale), Rossett Pike, Bowfell, Pike of Blisco, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Glaramara, Allen Crags, Esk Pike, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Cold Pike, Silver How, Helm Crag, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Great End, Scafell Pike, Wetherlam, Stone Arthur, Green Gable, Great Carrs, Great Gable, Loughrigg Fell, Scafell, Seat Sandal, Swirl How, Heron Pike (Rydal), Nab Scar, Grey Friar, Great Rigg, Dollywaggon Pike, Grange Fell (Brund Fell), Fairfield, Kirk Fell, Black Fell, Nethermost Pike, Dale Head, Hart Crag, High Spy, Low Pike, Helvellyn, High Pike (Scandale), Dove Crag, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Dow Crag, White Side, St Sunday Crag, Raise, Pillar, Red Pike (Wasdale), Red Screes, Cat Bells (Catbells), Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Baystones (Wansfell), Ard Crags, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Causey Pike, Scar Crags, Sail, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Thornthwaite Crag, Sour Howes, Ill Bell, Yoke, Grasmoor, Sallows, High Street, Great Borne, Kentmere Pike, Dodd (Skiddaw), Skiddaw Little Man, Barf, Lord's Seat, Carl Side, Long Side, Broom Fell, Ullock Pike, Skiddaw, Binsey

How Thunacar Knott’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.

Best parking to hike Thunacar Knott

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

Stickle Ghyll / New Dungeon Ghyll (NT, paid) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
Direct start up Stickle Ghyll for the Langdale Pikes.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (640m) — Free🚺 Public toilets (770m) — Free
Old Dungeon Ghyll (NT, paid) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
Head of Great Langdale — Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Pike o' Blisco, the Langdale Pikes.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (510m) — Free🚺 Public toilets (649m) — Free🍺 Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel🍺 Sticklebarn

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 Langdale Pikes Round route:

💧 possible water source (7 m)🛖 map (6 m)🚌 New Dungeon Ghyll (110 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 Thunacar Knott from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 516 “Langdale Rambler”
Ambleside – Skelwith Bridge – Elterwater – New Dungeon Ghyll – Old Dungeon Ghyll
Catch it from: Ambleside · Windermere (change at Ambleside)
The Langdale bus — Pikes, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Pike o' Blisco all walkable from the Dungeon Ghyll stops. Seasonal frequency varies; check before relying on the last bus back.

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

My hikes over Thunacar Knott (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Hazard & Incident Information for Thunacar Knott

Hazard: Moderate

A low rise on the boggy plateau behind the Langdale Pikes, gentle and unremarkable in itself but sitting amid genuinely dangerous neighbours. The real risk is navigation: the flat, tarn-dotted, boggy top is featureless in cloud, and drifting off it the wrong way leads to the sheer crag edges of Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle. Grassy tufts also hide jagged rocks and holes. Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Featureless plateau navigation toward the Pikes' crags: The boggy plateau has few landmarks, and the sheer drops of Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle lie close by. In mist a wrong bearing off Thunacar Knott can take you to a cliff edge. Navigate carefully by compass and know where the crag edges are before you move.
  • Hidden rocks & holes in the grass: Grassy tufts on the plateau conceal jagged rocks and holes — easy to turn an ankle or trip, especially with tired legs or in poor light. Watch your footing across the rough, tufty ground.
  • Boggy ground & exposure: The plateau is boggy, particularly toward High Raise and Harrison Stickle, and offers no shelter. Pick careful lines and dress for exposed, changeable conditions.
Who should attempt this fell: Thunacar Knott is a harmless little top on its own, but it sits on a featureless plateau ringed by the sheer edges of the Langdale Pikes — so navigate deliberately by compass in cloud and always know where the Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle crags are. Watch your footing on the rock-and-hole-strewn grass, and treat it as serious navigation ground in winter.

Most common causes: Navigation errors off the featureless plateau toward the Pavey Ark / Harrison Stickle crags · Trips and ankle injuries on rocks and holes hidden in the grass · Floundering in bog toward High Raise · Disorientation in cloud on benign-looking but trackless ground

Local Mountain Rescue: Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026

Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Report incorrect information

Navigating Thunacar Knott in cloud

Severe

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

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 Thunacar Knott compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near Thunacar Knott

Maps & guidebooks for Thunacar Knott

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