Eskdale
Getting there, parking, where to stay and the fells you can walk straight from Eskdale.
Summit forecast
Harter Fell (Eskdale) summit, verdict for 27 October: Save it for another day · Too windy for the tops
11°C at the summit, gusts 55 mph
Weather on the tops, not whether a route suits you. One summit, the highest within 5 km, not the valley · scored for 27 October by the site’s own scorer · all 214 ranked · Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)First light
The sun reaches the Boat How, Illgill Head & Whin Rigg start about 08:31 in October · sunrise 07:42
From the terrain around the start (Copernicus GLO-30), mid-month · how we work it outEskdale at a glance
Eskdale is the long green valley in the south-west of the Lake District that runs from the sea at Ravenglass inland to the foot of Hardknott Pass, with the River Esk down the middle of it and the granite fells of Harter Fell, Birker Fell and the Scafells rising at its head. Two small villages sit along it, Eskdale Green and Boot, and a narrow-gauge railway runs its lower half: the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, built in 1875 to carry iron ore and kept alive since 1960 as a much-loved line.
It is the quiet way into the highest ground in England. Nobody drives to Eskdale by accident, the road in from the coast is slow and the road out over Hardknott is the steepest in the district, so the valley keeps the feel of the Lakes fifty years ago: farms, stone bridges, a mill, three pubs and a lot of fell.
Quick facts
| Where | The south-west of the Lakes, from Ravenglass on the coast to Hardknott Pass; the valley road from Eskdale Green to Boot and on to the pass |
|---|---|
| The villages | Ravenglass at the mouth, Eskdale Green in the middle, Boot at the head of the railway |
| Getting there | The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway from Ravenglass, on the Cumbrian Coast line, to Dalegarth for Boot; no bus serves the valley; by car from the A595 at Holmrook or Muncaster, or over Hardknott from the east |
| Parking | Pay and display at Dalegarth station; National Trust at Wha House in the upper valley, free; the church car park at St Catherine's, below Boot; listed below with what they charge |
| The walking | Harter Fell, Slight Side and Scafell from the upper valley; Illgill Head and the Screes from Eskdale Green; Stanley Ghyll Force and the river from Boot |
| Weather | The upper valley sits under the Scafells and takes their rain; check the live fell conditions before the tops |
Getting there and parking
Without a car: The nearest stations as the crow flies are Ravenglass (10 km away) and Drigg (11 km away). The bus map has every stop we hold.
Eskdale is a Lakeland valley you can reach by train. The Cumbrian Coast line stops at Ravenglass, and from the same platform the narrow-gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway runs seven miles up the valley to Dalegarth for Boot, with stations at Muncaster Mill, Irton Road and Eskdale Green on the way. It is a heritage line with a seasonal timetable and a fare, not a bus, and it is the only public transport in the valley: as of this year no bus route serves Eskdale at all. The Wasdale Explorer leaves from the same station for the next valley north.
By car the valley is entered from the A595 coast road at Holmrook or by Muncaster, or from the east over Hardknott Pass, which is not a road for a first visit in the dark.
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking near Eskdale
Where is Eskdale?
Eskdale near Ravenglass, in the Lake District. Zoom and pan to explore.
Parking near Eskdale
Toilets, food and shops near these car parks
All the car parks around Eskdale on the parking map →
Straight-line distances from the centre of Eskdale. We publish whether a car park charges, and who runs it, but never the price — tariffs change and a stale one is worse than none, so check the sign or the operator’s own site on the day.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Can you stay overnight?
- Wha House, Eskdale (NT, free) — run by National Trust, which does not permit overnight parking. “We don't allow overnight parking due to the impact on nature and wildlife, staff resource and visitors.” (checked 2026-08-05)
These are the land managers’ and the council’s own published rules, quoted. Where a car park is not listed here we have found no published rule for it, which is not the same as permission.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
What to see
- The railway — La'al Ratty, the fifteen-inch line from Ravenglass to Dalegarth, steam-hauled for much of the year.
- Stanley Ghyll Force — the waterfall in the wooded gorge a mile from Dalegarth, the valley's short walk.
- Boot — the hamlet at the railway's end, with its packhorse bridge, its pubs and Eskdale Mill, a working corn mill on the beck above the village.
- Hardknott Pass and the Roman fort — the road at the head of the valley and the fort of Mediobogdum on its Eskdale side, built about AD 117 and free to walk round.
- Muncaster — the castle and its gardens at the mouth of the valley, above Ravenglass.
- Ravenglass — the only coastal village in the National Park, at the meeting of three rivers, with the Roman bath house behind it.
- Devoke Water — the largest tarn in the district, on the moor above Eskdale Green, ringed by small Birketts.
Where to stay
The valley has a handful of inns and a lot of camping. This is what is here, from the coast up:
| What it is | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| The Pennington | Hotel and inn | Ravenglass |
| King George IV | Village inn with rooms | Eskdale Green |
| Fisherground Farm | Campsite by the railway | Between Eskdale Green and Boot |
| Hollins Farm | Campsite | Boot |
| Brook House Inn | Inn with rooms | Boot |
| The Boot Inn | Village pub with rooms | Boot |
| The Woolpack Inn | Walkers' inn with a bar | Above Boot, on the Hardknott road |
| YHA Eskdale | Youth hostel | Above Boot, on the Hardknott road |
Each is a business named for the reader's convenience, not a recommendation; check its own site for what it costs and whether it has room.
Pubs and food
The Boot Inn and the Brook House Inn in the village, the Woolpack on the road above it and the King George IV at Eskdale Green are the valley's pubs, and the railway has a café at Dalegarth. There is a small shop at Eskdale Green. For anything more, it is the coast.
The walks
Eskdale's walks are the quiet approaches to famous ground. From the upper valley, Slight Side and Scafell Planned is the long southern way onto England's second mountain, and the Hardknott Round Planned takes Green Crag, Harter Fell and Hard Knott through some of the emptiest country in the Lakes. From Eskdale Green, Boat How and Great Bank Planned climbs to Illgill Head and the top of the Screes above Wast Water. On the moor, the Birketts around Devoke Water Planned and Great Whinscale and Green Crag Planned are half-days on Birker Fell with the coast in view. The full list is below, with the fells each one climbs.
Routes that start near Eskdale
| Route | Distance | Ascent | Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slight Side & Sca FellStart 2.5 km away (straight line) · not yet walked | 15.03 km | 948 m | ~4½–6¼ h |
| Boat How, Illgill Head & Whin RiggStart 0.2 km away (straight line) · not yet walked | 20.67 km | 1170 m | ~6–8¼ h |
Routes starting within about 2 km of Eskdale, or on its doorstep at one of its car parks. Each time is the whole route’s, from a fast to a steady pace, and takes no account of stops, conditions or daylight — a guide, not a schedule.
Fells & walks near Eskdale
Straight-line distances from the centre of Eskdale — the nearest summits with a full guide on this site.
Places nearby: Stanley Ghyll Force · Wast Water · Hardknott Pass · Wasdale
All walks from Eskdale → — the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km, ranked, with today’s conditions.
Frequently asked questions about Eskdale
Where is Eskdale?
How do I get to Eskdale without a car?
Where is Boot?
Where do I park in Eskdale?
Can you climb Scafell Pike from Eskdale?
Is the railway worth it?
Events across the Lake District
Planning a trip around a show or festival? See our Lake District events & festivals guide for what's on near Eskdale — traditional Lakeland sports, agricultural shows and seasonal events, month by month.