Walna Scar
Walna Scar at 621m (2,037ft) is an Outlying Fell above the Duddon valley near Seathwaite in the South Lakeland group, standing just south of the ancient Walna Scar Road, which passes about 140 m north of the top, with views across the head of Dunnerdale and towards Coniston Old Man.
Summit conditions on Walna Scar
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 4°C, gusts to 55 mph, 4.5 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 Walna Scar
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.
| Compared | Dow Crag without the Old Man | Birketts by Dunnerdale Fells |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Walna Scar Road car park | Seathwaite (Duddon Valley) |
| Distance and climb | 11.88 km, 630 m of climb | 19.95 km, 1,110 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~3¼–4¾ h | ~5¾–8 h |
| Scrambling | Hands for a few steps: the last steps to Dow Crag from Goat's Hawse (km 4.6–5.2). | Not mentioned in the route’s notes |
| Exposure | Not assessed | Not assessed |
| Navigation | Hard | Moderate |
| Steepest stretch | Climb of about 27% at 3.7 km (Hard) | Descent of about 34% at 9.7 km (Hard) |
| After the summit | Over White Maiden | Over White Maiden, White Pike (Seathwaite), Pikes, Caw, Brock Barrow, Fox Haw and Raven's Crag (Stickle Pike) |
| Walked or planned | Planned: drawn, not yet walked | Planned: drawn, not yet walked |
| Car park at the start | Walna Scar Road, Coniston (paid, rough track) | Walna Scar Road, above Seathwaite (layby) (free) |
| Bus to the start | 505, 1.8 km walk from Coniston, outside The Ruskin Centre | Nearest stop 7.9 km on foot |
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 Walna Scar?
The shortest way up we hold is Dow Crag without the Old Man — 11.88 km, 630 m of ascent, ~3¼–4¾ h. On our scale its hardest axes are steepness and navigation — Hard.
All axes: steepness: Hard · navigation: Hard · length: 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 621 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 Walna Scar
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Walna Scar
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 505 stops at Coniston, outside The Ruskin Centre. From there it is 1.8 km and 179 m of ascent to the start of Dow Crag without the Old Man — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: steepness and navigation) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 15.4 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Kendal (505): Tuesday to Sunday 20:24. 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 Walna Scar
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Birketts by Dunnerdale Fells
If you need to get off (the leg from the start): Simply retrace your steps back down the Walna Scar track, which offers a wide and easy-to-follow retreat all the way to the valley floor.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Walna Scar.
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 Walna Scar
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Walna Scar
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
The start is the Walna Scar Road car park above Coniston. The climb past Goat's Water and the ridge from Dow Crag to Brown Pike are the same ground as The Coniston Horseshoe; this walk leaves out the Old Man of Coniston.
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 Walna Scar
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Birketts by Dunnerdale Fells route:
On the Dow Crag without the Old Man route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Walna Scar
Classifications & hill data
Is Walna Scar a Wainwright?
Walna Scar is one of Wainwright's Outlying Fells, not one of the 214 in the Pictorial Guides. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list and the Fellranger list.
Selected lists
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 →
Places to stay near this fell
- Wallabarrow (High Wallabarrow Farm self-catering cottage, camping barn and bunkhouse) (opens in new tab)about 1.5 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).