Threlkeld
Ready for your day: the walks from Threlkeld, the tops above it, and the bus to the start.
Daylight on 27 October: sunrise 07:04, sunset 16:47
The tops Decent on High Rigg (Naddle Fell), the best of the 6 fells nearest Threlkeld: dry verdicts for 27 October
Choose from all 7 walksExplore the map
A walk can have more than one way to its start. Verdicts: the site’s scorer reading the weather on each top, not whether a walk suits you. Daylight: worked out for the centre of Threlkeld; a latest start assumes a steady pace and an hour in hand before dusk, a computed time, not a guarantee. How we check →
First light
The sun reaches the Threlkeld start about 08:04 in October · sunrise 07:41
From the terrain around the start (Copernicus GLO-30), mid-month · how we work it outThe last bus
From Threlkeld, by Village Hall:
Towards Keswick (X5): Tuesday to Saturday 22:02; Sunday 19:54.
As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November · checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September · the bus mapA day from Threlkeld
On the fells
Verdicts for 27 October, lowest fell first:
- High Rigg (Naddle Fell) 356 m Decent
- Mungrisdale Common 632 m Save it
- Bannerdale Crags 684 m Save it
- Lonscale Fell 715 m Save it
- Clough Head 726 m Save it
- Blencathra - Hallsfell Top 868 m Save it
Mountain forecast
Met Office mountain forecast for the Lake District (opens in new tab)
The forecasters’ own words for the tops.Explore Threlkeld
The walks from Threlkeld on one map, with the fells above them, the buses that reach their starts, and where to park. Choose a walk to see how you reach its start; everything on the map is in the lists below it.
An overview, not a navigation map: carry a map and compass on the fell. Lines are simplified from our GPX; distances to a stop or landing are on foot, the others in a straight line. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM; map style © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA).
The walks on the map
7 walks that start within 5 km of Threlkeld, as Walks from Threlkeld lists them, the ones you reach on foot first, then by bus, then by car; shortest first within each:
All 7 walks
Each filter reads the walk’s own card: how you reach the start is its lines below; effort is its band, the size of the day from the distance and the climb; length is its distance in the route pages’ length grades. One answer to each question; the map shows the same walks.
High Rigg
3.62 km · ~221 m up · ~1–1½ h
Easy effort Moderate: steepness
Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 21%.
Starts at Wanthwaite Bridge Car Park · Out and back
- On foot from the village 2.3 km to the start, from the bus stop near Threlkeld West End
- By bus 509, 2.3 km walk from Threlkeld West End (near)
- By car park at St John's in the Vale verge, High Rigg (free)
Blencathra by Sharp Edge
7 km · ~669 m up · ~2½–3½ h
Moderate effort Severe: steepness, terrain and exposure
Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 38%. Exposure and terrain: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet.
Starts at Scales
- On foot from the village 2.6 km to the start, from the bus stop opposite Blencathra Centre turn
- By bus X5, 2.6 km walk from Threlkeld, opposite Blencathra Centre turn
- By car park at The White Horse (free)
Threlkeld Knotts & Clough Head
11.2 km · ~803 m up · ~3½–5 h
Moderate effort Severe: steepness
Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 48%.
Starts at Wanthwaite Bridge Car Park
- On foot from the village 2.4 km to the start, from the bus stop near Threlkeld West End
- By bus 509, 2.4 km walk from Threlkeld West End (near)
- By car park at St John's in the Vale verge, High Rigg (free)
Blencathra via Blease Fell
11.88 km · ~816 m up · ~3½–5 h
Moderate effort Hard: steepness and navigation
Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained descent, about 33%. Navigation: our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet.
Starts at Threlkeld
- On foot from the village starts by the bus stop by Village Hall
- By bus X5 at the start
- By car park at Threlkeld village (no public car park, customers only)
Latrigg
2.48 km · ~106 m up · ~½–1 h
Easy effort Easy: distance, steepness and navigation
Measured from the GPX track: the distance; the steepest sustained climb, about 14%. Navigation: graded by Lee on the ground, on the stretches he walked.
Starts at Gale Road car park (Underscar), Keswick
- By bus X4, 2.6 km walk from Keswick, opposite The Pheasant
- By car park at Latrigg car park (free)
Up to Skiddaw Round Trip
12.01 km · ~849 m up · ~3¾–5¼ h
Moderate effort Hard: steepness
Measured from the GPX track: the steepest sustained climb, about 30%.
- By bus 509, 2.6 km walk from Keswick, at Latrigg Close
- By car park at Latrigg car park (free)
Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun!
19.25 km · ~1118 m up · ~5½–7¾ h
Hard effort Hard: distance, steepness and terrain
Measured from the GPX track: the distance; the steepest sustained descent, about 29%. Terrain: graded by Lee on the ground.
- By bus X4, 2.5 km walk from Keswick, opposite The Pheasant
- By car park at Latrigg car park (free)
The fells on the map
Verdicts for 27 October, lowest fell first:
- High Rigg (Naddle Fell) 356 m Decent
- Latrigg 369 m Decent
- Mungrisdale Common 632 m Save it
- Bannerdale Crags 684 m Save it
- Lonscale Fell 715 m Save it
- Clough Head 726 m Save it
- Blencathra - Hallsfell Top 868 m Save it
Buses and stops
The buses that call in Threlkeld:
Their stops on this map:
- Ashtree House, Keswick: the 509 · stop page
- Blencathra Centre turn, Threlkeld: the 509 · stop page
- Brentfield, Keswick: the 509 · stop page
- Bus Station (K), Keswick: the 509 · stop page
- Fieldside, Keswick: the 509 · stop page
- Fire Station, Keswick: the 509 · stop pages: one side of the road, the other side
- Greta Bank, Keswick: the 509 · stop page
- Horse & Farrier, Threlkeld: the 509 · stop pages: one side of the road, the other side
- Keswick Park Hotel: the 509 · stop page
- Latrigg Close, Keswick: the 509 · stop pages: one side of the road, the other side
- Penrith Road near Ash Tree House, Keswick: the 509 · stop page
- Turn for Blencathra centre, Threlkeld: the 509 · stop page
- Twa Dogs Inn, Keswick: the 509 · stop pages: one side of the road, the other side
- Village Hall, Threlkeld: the 509 · stop pages: one side of the road, the other side
- West End, Threlkeld: the 509 · stop pages: one side of the road, the other side
Where the buses stop, not when: the stop and route pages have the timetables.
Car parks and toilets
- Threlkeld Car Park · in Parking near Threlkeld
- Threlkeld village (no public car park, customers only) · in Parking near Threlkeld
- Threlkeld Cricket Club (car park) · in Parking near Threlkeld
- Threlkeld Old Station (paid) · in Parking near Threlkeld
- Threlkeld (layby) 2 (free) · in Parking near Threlkeld
- Wescoe, east (layby) (free) · in Parking near Threlkeld
Toilets near those car parks:
- Threlkeld Village Hall (free, accessible), about 142 m from Threlkeld village (no public car park, customers only) in a straight line
Threlkeld at a glance
Threlkeld is the village at the foot of Blencathra, four miles east of Keswick on the old road under the A66. It is the closest a Lakeland village gets to sitting on a mountain: the Blease Fell path leaves the top of the village and the summit ridge is two hours above the pub. That is why most people come, and why the village car park is full by nine on a fine Saturday.
The draw is Blencathra; the bonus is that Threlkeld is also the quiet start for Clough Head and the Dodds across the valley, and that it sits on the Penrith to Keswick bus corridor, so a car-free day here works.
Quick facts
| Where | On the A66 between Penrith and Keswick, under Blencathra's southern face; the village is on the loop road off the trunk road |
|---|---|
| Getting there | The X4 and X5 (Penrith – Keswick – Workington) stop in the village; the 509 in season. No railway: Penrith is the station |
| Parking | The village car park (donation) at the top of the village, the lay-by on the loop road, the old station car park (paid) for the railway path |
| The walking | Blencathra by Blease Fell or Hall's Fell straight from the village; Clough Head and the Dodds across the valley; High Rigg and the railway path for a flat day |
| Weather | Blencathra's summit is 868 m and catches the wind; check the live fell conditions before a ridge day |
Getting there and parking
Without a car: The nearest stations as the crow flies are Penrith (North Lakes) (20 km away) and Aspatria (24 km away); the 509, X4 and X5 stop at by Village Hall, 0.1 km from here in a straight line. The bus map has every stop we hold.
The X4 and X5 between Penrith and Keswick call at the village hall and the Horse and Farrier, and the timetable's last buses each way are on the fell pages that use the stop, checked against the operator. From Keswick it is a ten-minute ride; from Penrith about twenty-five. The 509 adds a summer service. The old Keswick to Penrith railway is now the railway path for walkers and cyclists, which is the pleasant way to arrive from Keswick without a car. The River Greta bridge near Keswick is closed for replacement (the National Park expected up to eight weeks of work; check its notice for the reopening), so until then the path runs from Threlkeld to the Penrith Road ramp only; see the closures page.
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking near Threlkeld
The old station car park below the A66 is paid and serves the railway path more than the fell.
Parking near Threlkeld
Toilets, food and shops near these car parks
Cafes: Threlkeld Coffee Shop (opens in new tab)
Pubs: Horse & Farrier Inn (opens in new tab), Salutation Inn (opens in new tab)
All the car parks around Threlkeld on the parking map →
Straight-line distances from the centre of Threlkeld. 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?
- Threlkeld Old Station (paid) — not permitted. LDNPA’s own wording: “Overnight occupation of vehicles is not permitted.”
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
- Blencathra's southern face from the village: the five ridges (Blease, Gategill, Hall's, Doddick, Scales) are laid out above the rooftops, and the village is the place to read them before you choose one.
- The railway path to Keswick, with its bridges over the Greta, flat and sheltered (the Greta bridge near Keswick is closed for replacement; the National Park's notice, read 3 October 2026, expected the work to take up to eight weeks, so check it before you go; until it reopens the path runs from Threlkeld to the Penrith Road ramp only).
- The Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum, a mile east at the old granite quarry, with a narrow-gauge railway on running days.
- St Mary's church and the old village centre between the two pubs.
Pubs and food
The Horse and Farrier and the Salutation Inn are both in the village, a hundred yards apart; both serve food and both are the finish for a Blencathra day. Keswick, four miles west, has everything else.
The walks
The routes we have mapped and every fell within reach of the village are ranked nearest first, with live conditions, on this page's walks list once it is published. The ones that start at the door:
- Blencathra via Blease Fell Planned — the straightforward way up, from the village car park, 2.5 hours to the summit and the whole southern face beside you.
- Blencathra by Sharp Edge Planned — from Scales, two miles east; a scramble with real exposure, not a path.
- Threlkeld Knotts and Clough Head Planned — across the valley, quiet, and facing Blencathra.
- High Rigg Walked April 2026 — the small fell south of the village for a short day.
The walks from Threlkeld are in Explore Threlkeld above, on one map and in a list you can filter by how you reach the start.
Places nearby: Keswick · Portinscale · Derwentwater · Lodore Falls
Frequently asked questions about Threlkeld
Where do I park for Blencathra?
Can I get to Threlkeld by bus?
Is there a shop in Threlkeld?
How long is Blencathra from Threlkeld?
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 Threlkeld — traditional Lakeland sports, agricultural shows and seasonal events, month by month.