Hardknott Pass
Getting there, parking, where to stay and the fells you can walk straight from Hardknott Pass.
Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle) today: Marginal · Summit likely clagged in
10°C at the summit, gusts 32 mph
Scored for 11 September by the site’s own scorer · all 214 todayThe sun reaches the Hardknott Pass start about 08:27 in September · sunrise 06:46
From the terrain around the start (Copernicus GLO-30), mid-month · how we work it outHardknott Pass at a glance
Hardknott is the road over the fells between Eskdale and the Duddon valley: a single-track lane that leaves the valley floor below Brotherilkeld farm, climbs through two sets of hairpins to a summit just short of 400 m, and drops to Cockley Beck, where Wrynose Pass carries straight on east to Little Langdale. The two are usually driven as one day, and between them they are the hardest stretch of public road in the district. It is signed at one in three, it is closed whenever there is ice, and nothing crosses it but cars, bikes and the occasional lost motorhome.
Halfway up the Eskdale side, on a shelf above the hairpins, sits the Roman fort of Mediobogdum — Hardknott Roman Fort — which is why the road is here at all: the Romans built it about AD 110 to link the coast at Ravenglass with Ambleside. For a walker the summit is the start for Hard Knott directly above it, Border End beside it and Harter Fell across the road, with the Scafells filling the view up Eskdale.
Quick facts
| Where | Between Eskdale (below Brotherilkeld) and Cockley Beck in the Duddon valley; the summit is 393 m on the map |
| The road | Single track with hairpins on both sides; about one in ten on average and one in five over the steepest 200 m, either side; signed at one in three |
| Parking | Roadside pull-ins at the summit, a small car park just below it on the Duddon side, and the fort's own space; National Trust car park at Wha House near the Eskdale foot |
| The bus | None. The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway reaches Dalegarth, about 4 km down the valley from the foot of the pass |
| Is it open? | Not in ice. It is one of the first roads in the district to close and among the last to reopen; there is no live feed, so check before a winter drive |
| The walking | Hard Knott, Border End and Harter Fell from the summit; the Hardknott Round from the Eskdale foot; Cold Pike and Pike of Blisco from the top of Wrynose |
Where is Hardknott Pass?
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Hardknott Pass near Boot, in the Lake District. Zoom and pan to explore.
The road
From the Eskdale foot below Brotherilkeld the road climbs 316 m in 1.9 miles to the summit, an average of one in ten, with the steepest stretch high up: one in five (22%) over 200 m, about 2.4 km above the foot, on the upper hairpins below the summit. More than half of the Eskdale side is steeper than one in ten and over a quarter of it steeper than one in seven. The Duddon side is shorter and just as steep: 178 m in 1.1 miles from Cockley Beck, one in ten on average and one in five (19%) over 200 m just below the top.
Those figures are measured from the terrain model along the mapped road, over 200 m windows, so they describe the road a driver feels rather than a sign. The signs say one in three, and they are not wrong about the tightest corners: a hairpin steeper than the model can resolve over 200 m sits on each side. Drive it in first or second gear both ways, expect to reverse to a passing place, and expect cyclists coming down faster than you are going up.
Is Hardknott Pass open?
In summer, almost always. In winter it is the road in the district most likely to be shut: ice on the hairpins makes it impassable and it is not a gritting priority, so a clear forecast in the valley is not the same as an open road at 390 m. There is no open data feed that says whether the pass is open right now, and this page does not pretend to have one. Planned closures for roadworks and events appear on the council's roadworks and road closures map; for snow and ice, the honest answer is to ask at the pub or the campsite in the valley the morning you go.
Parking at the top
There is no car park at the summit, only a handful of roadside pull-ins, and they double as passing places: park in one and you have blocked the road for the next driver. A small car park sits just below the summit on the Duddon side, the usual start for Hard Knott and Border End; whether it is charged is not published anywhere we can cite, so read the sign. The Roman fort has its own space beside the road on the Eskdale side, which English Heritage describes simply as "space for parking near the fort".
At the Eskdale foot the National Trust car park at Wha House is free and serves Harter Fell and the Scafell approaches; the lay-bys at Goat Crag, a little further down the valley, are the start of the Hardknott Round. The car parks nearest the summit are listed below with what we know about each.
Fells & walks near Hardknott Pass
- Hard Knott
- Harter Fell (Eskdale)
- Grey Friar
- Cold Pike
- Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle)
- Great Carrs
Straight-line distances from the centre of Hardknott Pass — the nearest summits with a full guide on this site.
All walks from Hardknott Pass → — every route and fell within about 5 km, ranked, with today’s conditions.
Parking near Hardknott Pass
All the car parks around Hardknott Pass on the parking map →
Straight-line distances from the centre of Hardknott Pass. 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.
How long from Hardknott Pass?
| Route | Distance | Ascent | Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative Hardknott Round (Green Crag, Harter Fell & Hard Knott) | 14.7 km | 957 m | 4.5 hrs |
Routes starting within about 2 km of Hardknott Pass, or on its doorstep at one of the car parks above. Estimates are moving time for a steady walker and take no account of stops, conditions or daylight — they are a guide, not a schedule.
The Roman fort
Hardknott Roman Fort — Mediobogdum to the people who built it — stands on a spur above the Eskdale hairpins, founded in Hadrian's reign and, in English Heritage's words, remote and dramatically sited. The walls of the fort, the commandant's house, the granaries and the bath house are all traceable, and the parade ground is on the flat shelf above. It is free, open any reasonable time in daylight, and a few minutes' walk from the road. The view down Eskdale to the sea is the reason the Romans chose it, and it has not changed.
Getting there without a car
Without a car: The nearest stations as the crow flies are Ravenglass (15 km away) and Foxfield (16 km away). The bus map has every stop we hold.
No bus crosses Hardknott or Wrynose. The nearest public transport is the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, the narrow-gauge line from Ravenglass on the Cumbrian Coast railway to Dalegarth for Boot, which puts you about 4 km down the valley road from the foot of the pass. From there Harter Fell and the Hardknott Round are a long day on foot; the summit of the pass itself is a road walk of some 7 km with all the climbing. In practice the passes are a place you drive to, or cycle over.
The walks from the top
Starting at 393 m changes the arithmetic. From the summit and the car park just below it:
- Hard Knott — 549 m, a short, steep pull straight up from the pass to a rocky top with the fort directly below you and the Scafells across Eskdale. The best half hour's climb for its view on this side of the district.
- Border End — 522 m, the Birkett beside Hard Knott, taken in on the same short round.
- Harter Fell — 653 m across the road to the south, the shapely one, with the panorama up Eskdale that Wainwright rated among the finest in the south of the district.
- The Hardknott Round — from the Eskdale foot rather than the top: Green Crag, Harter Fell and Hard Knott, 14.7 km and 957 m through some of the emptiest country in the Lakes.
- Over Wrynose — from the Three Shire Stone at the top of the next pass, Stonesty Pike, Great Knott and Wrynose Fell, and the direct starts for Cold Pike and Pike of Blisco.
The box below lists the fells nearest the summit with a line about each.
Frequently asked questions about Hardknott Pass
Is Hardknott Pass open today?
How steep is Hardknott Pass?
Where do I park for Hardknott Pass?
Is Hardknott Pass dangerous?
Is Hardknott Pass the steepest road in England?
Can you cycle Hardknott Pass?
Where is the Roman fort?
Events across the Lake District
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Planning a trip around a show or festival? See our Lake District events & festivals guide for what's on near Hardknott Pass — traditional Lakeland sports, agricultural shows and seasonal events, month by month.