Whinlatter Top
Whinlatter Top at 525m (1,722ft) is a Birkett top on the Whinlatter ridge above the Whinlatter Pass in the North Western Fells, giving views across the Lorton Vale and towards the Buttermere and Coledale fells. Part of the Whinlatter Forest area.
- On a walked route
- Whinlatter Loop, walked by Lee in May 2025
- Tops in order on it
- Graystones → Graystones (Graystones North Top) → Broom Fell → Lord's Seat → Barf → Whinlatter Top → Whinlatter
- Watch for
- “This route goes straight through dense forest where there isn't much sunlight, leaving the ground persistently boggy. Under heavy tree cover a GPS position can be less reliable, so keep track of the junctions.” The route’s note for the leg from Barf.
Summit conditions on Whinlatter Top
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 7°C, gusts to 60 mph, 6.7 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 Whinlatter Top
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
A north-western round above Whinlatter that opens with a brutal climb onto Graystones, about 56% over its steepest 250 m.
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 Whinlatter Top?
The shortest way up we hold is Whinlatter Loop — 13.56 km, 712 m of ascent, ~3¾–5¼ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · length: Moderate · terrain: Moderate · navigation: Moderate · exposure: Easy.
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 525 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Whinlatter Top
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
3 more places to park near Whinlatter Top
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 77 stops at Lorton Winder Hall (near). From there it is 2.5 km and 150 m of ascent to the start of Whinlatter Loop — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 18.5 km in all, with the walk. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. It returns on 22 March 2027. Confirmed with the operator: its last day on 29 August 2026, its return on 16 October 2026. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (77): Tuesday to Sunday 17:56. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 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 Whinlatter Top
Notes from the Whinlatter Loop route
- Forestry England posts felling areas and path diversions at Whinlatter on its Whinlatter updates page (last read 7 Oct 2026). Check it before you go, and follow the signs on the day.
If you need to get off (the leg from Barf): The main gravel forest roads lead down either to the Whinlatter Visitor Centre or towards Darling How; they end in different places, so check which you are on against the map, and follow any diversion signs.
Quoted from the route page: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Whinlatter Top.
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 Whinlatter Top
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Whinlatter Top
Forestry England says (updated 1 Oct 2026) that the Lord's Seat and Barf trails are diverted: follow the diversion signs. This route's GPX has not been checked against the diversion. Forestry England: Whinlatter updates (read 7 Oct 2026)
Download GPX Walked by Lee, May 2025
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.
About Whinlatter Top
My Strava hikes over Whinlatter Top
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- A bit wet and windy doing the Whinlater loop (opens in new tab) — 13.3 km · 776 m ascent · 3h 12m moving · 31 May 2025
Data from Strava.
The summit, from the hill database
What the database records, not an account of the walk.
- Summit feature
- Cairn
- Grid reference
- NY 19698 24903
- Drop
- 58 m, to a col at 467 m (NY204249)
- Parent Marilyn
- Lord's Seat
Source: Database of British and Irish Hills (opens in new tab) v18.6 (CC BY 4.0), hill 3563, entry revised June 2008.
Classifications & hill data
Is Whinlatter Top a Wainwright?
Whinlatter Top 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
- Croftlands Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 4.7 km
- Embleton Spa Hotel (opens in new tab) hotelabout 4.8 km
- High Swinside Holiday Cottages (opens in new tab)about 1.4 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).