Watch Hill (Setmurthy Common)
Watch Hill (Setmurthy Common) is the higher, eastern top of the Watch Hill ridge at 255m (837ft), on the north-western edge of the Lake District above Cockermouth.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 255 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 18° to 16°C, gusts to 31 mph, 1.3 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 255 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
About the walk
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Dodd Wood (paid), about 8.6 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Watch Hill (Setmurthy Common) (within 3 km)
No bonus Birketts within 3 km — every Birkett near here is already a Wainwright summit, so just enjoy the walk.
Best parking to hike Watch Hill (Setmurthy Common)
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
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.
Buses to Watch Hill (Setmurthy Common) from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Other fells near Watch Hill (Setmurthy Common)
Maps & guidebooks for Watch Hill (Setmurthy Common)
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