Wetherlam
Wetherlam at 762m (2,500ft) is the eastern buttress of the Coniston Fells, a broad, craggy summit that Wainwright described as giving some of the best views of the Helvellyn range of any southern fell.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 763 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 37 mph, 3.8 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 763 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
Wetherlam
Routes up Wetherlam
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Three Shire Stone, Wrynose Pass (verge), about 1.8 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Wetherlam (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.
Routes over Wetherlam
✎️ Walked and described first-hand by Lee, Wetherlam-first — the full Coniston round over all the major tops, a long and serious mountain day. The trickiest navigation is the Grey Friar–Calf Cove–Levers Hawse traverse and the Lad Stones ground; carry OS Explorer OL6 and a compass for the clag.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
The View from Wetherlam
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.
What you can see from Wetherlam, by direction
- North: Helvellyn (15 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (15 km), Watson's Dodd (19 km), Little Dodd (20 km), Great Dodd (20 km), Knowe Crags (26 km), Gategill Fell Top (26 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (26 km), Blencathra (27 km), Skiddaw Little Man (27 km), Skiddaw South Top (28 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (28 km), Skiddaw (28 km), Skiddaw North Top (28 km)
- North-east: Dove Crag (13 km), Fairfield (13 km), Hart Crag (13 km), Dollywaggon Pike (13 km), High Crag (14 km), Nethermost Pike (14 km), High Street (18 km), Rampsgill Head (20 km), High Raise (20 km)
- South-west: Brim Fell (3 km), The Old Man of Coniston (4 km)
- North-west: Crinkle Crags South Top (5 km), Crinkle Crags (5 km), Crinkle Crags (6 km), Crinkle Crags (6 km), Shelter Crags (6 km), Bowfell (7 km), Ill Crag (9 km), Allen Crags (9 km), Scafell Pike (10 km), Broad Crag (10 km), Great End (10 km), Scafell (10 km), Crag Hill (22 km), Grasmoor (22 km), Grisedale Pike (23 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Aran Fawddwy (184 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (158 km, Wales), Arenig Fawr (170 km, Wales), Tinto (137 km, Scotland), Green Lowther (118 km, Scotland), Pendle Hill (79 km, England), Moel y Gamelin (155 km, Wales), Divis (191 km, Ireland).
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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.
What you can see from Wetherlam
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.- Ingleborough Yorkshire Dales
- Cross Fell North Pennines
- Whernside Yorkshire Dales
- Irish Sea open water
- Morecambe Bay bay/estuary
All 97 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Swirl How, Great Carrs, Holme Fell, Grey Friar, Brim Fell, Pike of Blisco, Cold Pike, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Black Fell, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Hard Knott, Loft Crag, Harrison Stickle, Pike of Stickle, Silver How, Pavey Ark, Bowfell, Thunacar Knott, Blea Rigg, Loughrigg Fell, Rossett Pike, Sergeant Man, Tarn Crag (Easedale), Slight Side, Allen Crags, Nab Scar, Helm Crag, Calf Crag, Gibson Knott, Scafell Pike, Great End, Scafell, Heron Pike (Rydal), Stone Arthur, Glaramara, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Low Pike, Ullscarf, Great Rigg, High Pike (Scandale), Seat Sandal, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Baystones (Wansfell), Illgill Head, Dove Crag, Fairfield, Hart Crag, Dollywaggon Pike, Red Screes, Grey Knotts, Middle Dodd, Whin Rigg (Wasdale), Sour Howes, Nethermost Pike, Helvellyn, Middle Fell, Sallows, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Yoke, High Spy, Ill Bell, Hartsop Dodd, Froswick, Thornthwaite Crag, Robinson, High Street, Mardale Ill Bell, The Knott (High Street), Harter Fell (Mardale), Kentmere Pike, Watson's Dodd, Rest Dodd, Shipman Knotts, Rampsgill Head, Kidsty Pike, Great Dodd, High Raise (High Street), Causey Pike, Wandope, Tarn Crag (Sleddale), Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell), Clough Head, Grasmoor, Grisedale Pike, Lonscale Fell, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Skiddaw Little Man, Carl Side, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Skiddaw, Bannerdale Crags, Great Calva, Knott, Binsey
How Wetherlam’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 Wetherlam
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.
Water & shelter on the way up
On the The Coniston Horseshoe route:
On the Coniston Old Man Round route:
💧 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 Wetherlam from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere
No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
My hikes over Wetherlam (Strava)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- Awesome trek up Wetherlam, Swirl How, Great Carrs, Grey Friars, Brim Fell, Dow Crag & Old Man of Coniston. (opens in new tab) — 19.2 km · 1417 m ascent · 5h 34m moving · 31 Aug 2024
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Hazard & Incident Information for Wetherlam
The most heavily mined mountain in Lakeland, riddled by centuries of copper and slate working on its Coniston and Tilberthwaite flanks. The walking is rough rather than technical, but the fell is dotted with open shafts, levels and unstable spoil, and its sprawling shape — with several ridges fanning out from the summit — makes it a genuine navigation puzzle in cloud. Coniston Mountain Rescue Team covers it and is regularly involved with incidents around the old workings.
- Disused mine shafts, levels and spoil: Open and partly hidden shafts, adits and quarry holes are scattered across the fell, especially on the Tilberthwaite and Coppermines flanks. Some are deep, unfenced and concealed by grass or heather. Never enter a level or approach the lip of a shaft, keep children and dogs close, and don't wander off-path among the workings — particularly in mist or fading light.
- Complex ridge navigation in cloud: Several ridges (Wetherlam Edge, Steel Edge, Lad Stones and the link toward Swirl How) radiate from the broad summit. In cloud it is easy to start down the wrong arm and end up cliffed out or in the wrong valley. Take and trust a compass bearing off the top.
- Steep, rough flanks and Tilberthwaite Gill: The flanks are steep, rocky and broken, with crags above the Greenburn and Tilberthwaite sides. Tilberthwaite Gill is dramatic and slippery. Loose ground near old quarry edges can give way — keep back from edges.
Most common causes: Falls into or near disused mine shafts and quarry holes · Wrong-ridge descents off the sprawling summit in poor visibility · Slips on steep, loose or rocky flanks and around old workings · People exploring flooded quarries and mine levels coming to grief
Local Mountain Rescue: Coniston Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · Reviewed 13 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.
A note on Church Beck (with Red Dell Beck & Levers Water)
Church Beck (with Red Dell Beck & Levers Water) runs below the old Coniston copper mines and carries mine-derived copper and zinc — enough to matter for river life, though the lead and cadmium that would harm a person stay below the drinking limit here. Treat any hill water before drinking (a filter won’t remove dissolved metals); don’t single this beck out as a clean fill-up.
What’s actually in this beck — we mapped every mine-fed one →
Metal-mine water data © Environment Agency (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Navigating Wetherlam in cloud
StraightforwardWalkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.
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 Wetherlam compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Frequently asked questions about Wetherlam
Is Wetherlam hard to climb?
Wetherlam (763 m / 2,503 ft) is a rough, sprawling Coniston fell that's not too strenuous by its gentlest route, but it isn't a casual stroll either — there's quickly-gained height, rough rocky ground, and some steeper rocky steps on the Tilberthwaite 'Edges'.
The real challenges are navigation off its broad, complex top, and the old mine workings on its flanks rather than any difficult climbing.
What is the easiest route up Wetherlam?
The gentlest line is the Lad Stones ridge from Coniston (via the Coppermines Valley) — fairly well-defined paths and little rock, climbing steadily to the summit. The Tilberthwaite approach over Steel Edge and Wetherlam Edge is shorter but steeper and rockier.
It's also a fine part of the bigger Coniston round over Swirl How and the Old Man.
How long does it take to climb Wetherlam?
Allow around 4–5 hours for a round from Coniston or Tilberthwaite (roughly 7.5–12 km depending on route). As part of the full Coniston horseshoe over Swirl How and the Old Man, it's a longer 6–7 hour mountain day.
Are the old mines on Wetherlam dangerous?
Yes — Wetherlam is the most heavily mined mountain in Lakeland, and its flanks (especially toward Tilberthwaite and the Coppermines Valley) are dotted with disused copper levels, slate quarries, open shafts and unstable spoil, some deep and unfenced.
Stay on the paths, never enter a mine level or approach the lip of a shaft, keep clear of quarry edges and spoil, and keep children and dogs close — particularly in mist or fading light.
Is it easy to get lost on Wetherlam?
It can be — the summit is broad and several ridges (Wetherlam Edge, Steel Edge, Lad Stones, and the link to Swirl How) fan out from it, so in cloud it's easy to start down the wrong one and end up in the wrong valley or above steep ground.
Take a compass bearing off the top before you descend, and don't rely on following a vague trod. The flanks are steep and rocky in places.
Is Wetherlam suitable for beginners?
A fit beginner can manage Wetherlam by the Lad Stones ridge in good conditions — it's rough but not technical. The things to watch are the old mine workings on the flanks and the navigation off the sprawling summit.
Pick a clear day, keep to the paths and away from the mines, carry a map and compass, and choose your descent ridge carefully. Save the steeper Tilberthwaite Edges for when you're surer of rocky ground.
What should I wear and take up Wetherlam?
Wear proper walking boots for the rough, rocky, sometimes boggy ground, and carry warm and waterproof layers — the summit is exposed. Take a map and compass (essential for choosing the right ridge off the broad top), water, food and a charged phone, and check the mountain forecast.
Keep clear of the old mine workings, and treat the rocky ground and Edges as full winter terrain when there's snow or ice.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-06-14 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)
Other fells near Wetherlam
- Allen Crags
- Black Fell
- Bowfell
- Brim Fell
- Cold Pike
- Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle)
- Dow Crag
- Esk Pike
- Glaramara
- Great Carrs
- Great End
- Green Crag
- Grey Friar
- Hard Knott
- Harter Fell (Eskdale)
- Holme Fell
- Illgill Head
- Lingmell
- Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
- Pike of Blisco
- Rossett Pike
- Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot
- Scafell
- Scafell Pike
- Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit)
- Slight Side
- Swirl How
- The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)
- Whin Rigg (Wasdale)
Maps & guidebooks for Wetherlam
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