Home / Routes / Aira Force & Gowbarrow Fell

The open top of Gowbarrow Fell above Ullswater

Hard steepnessLoopWalked in part

Aira Force & Gowbarrow Fell

6.88 km

Distance

~1.5–2.5 h

Typical time

~341 m

Ascent

Summit

Photo: © Lee McCoy

Download GPX →Walked in part · km 3.2–5.2 from the map

Key facts

Distance 6.88 km

Ascent ~341 m

Descent ~341 m

Time ~1.5–2.5 h

Difficulty Hard overall — hardest: Steepness

Type Loop

Start Aira Force National Trust car park

Aira Force's dramatic 65-foot waterfall, climbed on to the open top of Gowbarrow Fell for one of the finest aerial views over Ullswater. Easy-moderate — a steady pull on good National Trust paths above the falls.

🥾 Walked in part — Lee walked this ground in August 2023; km 3.2–5.2 of this line is from the map. A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

Difficulty profile

LengthEasy6.88 km — a short outing.

SteepnessHardSteepest sustained pull about 31% around the 2.1 km mark.

TerrainModerateMostly good mountain path. desk assessment — not field-verified

NavigationModerateClear line, hard to stray. desk assessment — not field-verified

ExposureNot assessedExposure (drops, scrambling, how bad a slip would be) can’t be judged from gradient data alone, so we don’t guess. A rating appears once the route is editorially assessed or walked.

Five independent axes, not one score. “Desk” ratings come from maps and guidebooks, not yet walked — treat them as a guide, not a survey.

Conditions on this route

We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 1 of them. The worst summit governs the verdict — a route is only as kind as its roughest top.

Modelled guidance — not a substitute for the mountain forecast or your own judgement. See how every fell ranks today →

Daylight & turnaround

Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.

Why this matters: 78% of Mountain Rescue call-outs come after midday — the day runs out on the way home, not on the way up. See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.

The path beneath your boots

The gentle path around Gowbarrow didn’t happen by accident. Fix the Fells has repaired it since 2013 — around 570 ranger-days and £114,000 over five years, plus 233 volunteer-days and monthly drain-clearing — rebuilding boggy, widening sections as buried aggregate paths, with stone pitching on the steeper pulls, to protect fragile ground where Grass of Parnassus (Cumbria’s county flower) still grows.

Notice underfoot: the neat stone cross-drains that take water across the path, not down it — please don’t block them, and leave stray stones where they are; they belong in the path.

Fix the Fells built and maintains this path. How a fell path is made → · Give back (opens in new tab)

Path-repair data © Fix the Fells (National Trust / Lake District National Park). Source (opens in new tab).

OpenTopoMap

Elevation profile, shaded by steepness

1 Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit)

Easy 78%Moderate 15%Hard 7%Severe

~341 m

Total ascent

476 m

High point

164 m

Start height

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).

This walk covers about 6.88 km with around 341 m of ascent, taking in 1 summit. The map above shows the line; the elevation profile and stage notes are below.

Access & barriers

Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route? A quick read from the gates and stiles mapped along the way.

Dog

Gates only

Buggy

Not buggy-able

Knees

Steep in places

Dog: Gates and kissing gates only — a dog can do the whole route.
Buggy: Not a pushchair route.
Knees: A sustained ~21% descent around the 2.9 km mark — a little jarring on tired knees.

On the line: 5 gates

These are mapped barriers, from OpenStreetMap — coverage in the Lakes is good but not guaranteed complete. Spotted a stile or gate we’ve missed? Tell us (opens in new tab) and we’ll fix it. Barrier data as of 2026-07-09. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Pacing

Summit	Cumulative	Ascent	Time (fast–steady)
1Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit)	2.8 km	312 m	1:05–1:27
Finish	6.9 km	341 m	1:57–2:35

Naismith-based estimate — a fast/steady range. Your pace will vary. These use Naismith’s textbook constants (5 km/h, 600 m of ascent an hour). Measured against a pace fitted to 41 recorded Lakeland walks they run about 8% slow, and we have left them that way deliberately: a slow estimate strands nobody.

The walk, stage by stage

1
Aira Force National Trust car park → Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit) (2.8 km, 312 m)
Climb of about 312 m over 2.8 km (around 11% average).
Leave the National Trust car park and follow the well-engineered woodland trails climbing alongside Aira Beck, taking in the spectacular cascades of Aira Force. Cross the stone bridges near the top of the falls and continue ascending until you clear the tree line. Go through the gate onto the open moorland and follow the grassy, ascending path north-east up the steady slope to the rocky outcrop of Airy Crag, the true summit of Gowbarrow Fell
Waypoints
Aira Force NT car park, Aira Force waterfalls, Aira Beck stone bridges, moorland boundary gate, Airy Crag (Gowbarrow Fell summit trig point)
Decision point
The woodland section is heavily signposted by the National Trust. Once on the open fell, the path is wide and obvious, leading directly to the trig point perched on the highest rock
Easy to get wrong
The 11% climb is largely front-loaded in the woods. The stone steps around the waterfalls are heavily trafficked but can be exceptionally slick from the spray and constant tree canopy shade. Once on the open fell, the gradient eases into a moderate slog, but the grassy ground can become muddy and braided after rain
If you need to get off
Turn around at any point during the ascent and use the secure, well-maintained woodland paths to return quickly to the car park
Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit) → Finish (4.1 km, 29 m)
Descent of about 312 m over 4.1 km.
From Airy Crag, head east and then south to pick up the famous terrace path that contours around the southern flank of the fell. Walk along this stunning, elevated balcony path high above Ullswater, passing Yew Crag and the memorial seat. The path eventually slopes downward, dropping back into the woodland and joining the lower trail network that leads directly back to the car park
Waypoints
Airy Crag, eastern descent, southern terrace path, Yew Crag, Memorial Seat, Aira Force lower woodlands, car park finish
Decision point
The terrace path is an unmistakable, continuous highway hugging the side of the fell. As you near the end of the terrace, distinct waymarker arrows guide you seamlessly back into the National Trust woodland
Easy to get wrong
A highly enjoyable, rolling descent. The terrace path is stony and narrow in places, with steep, bracken-covered slopes dropping sharply away to the right. While mechanically easy on the legs, care is needed on the loose stones—especially as it is very easy to get distracted by the magnificent, uninterrupted views of the lake
If you need to get off
You are on the main, safest, and most popular descent route. Simply continue following the terrace path back to the woods
© Lee McCoy · 2 photographs

Summits bagged (1)

1Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit)481 mEastern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge

Getting there & parking

Aira Force, High Cascades (NT, paid) — 0.0 km from the start (straight line)

Second National Trust car park at Aira Force, above the main one. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked Aug 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Aira Force (NT, paid) (0.8 km, 78 m up); Green Hill Gowbarrow Park (verge, west) (1.0 km, 55 m up) a few spaces only; Green Hill Gowbarrow Park (verge, middle) (1.0 km, 55 m up) a few spaces only; Green Hill Gowbarrow Park (verge, east) (1.5 km, 71 m up) a few spaces only

Round How (layby) — 0.5 km from the start (straight line)

Walking base for Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit) and Little Mell Fell — the 'Gowbarrow Fell and Little Mell Fell' route starts 394 m away. Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Aira Force (NT, paid) — 0.6 km from the start (straight line)

For Gowbarrow Fell and the path toward Great Dodd via Dockray. Fees: pay and display (LDNP directory, checked Aug 2026). Open Toilets open 10am-3pm; accessible toilet 24hrs (LDNP directory, checked Aug 2026).

🕑 Typically full before 09:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 2026-08-09.

Directions Something changed here?

🚺 Aira Force Car Park (~606 m straight line) — Free · Accessible☕ Aira Force Tearooms

Park Brow (NT, paid) — 0.7 km from the start (straight line)

Walking base for Low How, High Brow, Randerside and Great Dodd — the 'Birketts above Ullswater' route starts 455 m away. Also serves 'Gowbarrow Fell and Little Mell Fell'. Fees: £6 for 2 hours; £8 for 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for National Trust members. 508/509 bus stop nearby. Free for NT members (checked Aug 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

Green Hill Gowbarrow Park (verge, west) — 0.7 km from the start (straight line)

0.8 km from Green Hill Gowbarrow Park.

Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

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.

Every option near this start, on the parking map →

Water, shelter & getting away

💧 possible water source (1 m)💧 possible water source (19 m)🚌 Aira Force - Park Brow Foot (124 m)🚌 Park Brow Foot - Aira Force (127 m)

💧 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 — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.

Buses

The 508 stops at Matterdale, opposite Aira Force, 150 m from this start. The last bus is 18:02 towards Penrith (508) and 17:15 towards Martindale (UB1) and 15:15 towards Lowther (UB2), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

The 508 passes this route at 0.0 km (Matterdale, opposite Aira Force, 120 m off the line). It passes again at 5.0 km.

Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”

Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)

Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)

The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.

If the parking is full

There is a fallback here, but it is a weak one. Some of the 3 below tend to fill for the same reasons at the same time. Treat the list as one-and-a-bit options rather than 3.

High Cascades (NT, paid)
Green Hill Gowbarrow Park (verge, east)
Round How (layby)

Worked out from the parking we hold within walking reach of this route and the other walks each place serves — two places that serve the same walks fill for the same reasons. We are not saying whether anywhere has spaces today, and we never will: this is what exists, not what is free.

When the sun reaches the tops

Not sunrise — the moment the sun clears the skyline from that summit, which on a fell with high ground to its east can be a good deal later. The two equinoxes are shown because they fall in the walking season, and late December too wherever a top keeps you waiting then; the clock gap between the equinoxes is British Summer Time, not the hill. Rounded to the nearest quarter hour and meant as a general idea, not a schedule.

Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit) — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00. It waits longest in late December — about a quarter of an hour after sunrise.

Modelled from a 30 m elevation model against each summit’s own skyline — the same figures the fell pages carry, never observed. Cloud is not in it.

Safety & conditions

Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.

Download

Download GPX

GPX track for your GPS or phone.

Places to stay near this start

Lowthwaite Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest house

about 3.9 km from the start, in a straight line

The only property in the cluster that answers the whole arrival sequence for a family: a drying room in the all-rooms facilities list, a cot and a high chair, children of all ages accepted, and an honest note that its ground-floor room is still reached by steps. It is also the only page in the radius that describes this exact walk from its own door - Gowbarrow Fell to Aira Force and back through Matterdale - and Little Mell Fell, the second summit of one of the routes this start serves, is the fell behind the house.

Most of the furniture in the rooms was made by hand in Tanzania, where the owners used to run a business organising Kilimanjaro climbs.

Drying room “The following are available for all rooms: Television,DVD player, Hairdryer, Tea/Coffee making facilities, Use of garden and patio, Use of guidebooks and other books, Maps (for planning and laminated for walks), Drying room, and Fridge (in the Dining Room).”
Family rooms “We have a cot, high chair(s) and special cutlery for small children.”
Parking “Another alternative is to use what3words where our car park is primed.lavished.amounting”
Children “Children Welcome We are very happy to welcome children of all ages.”

Low Gale (opens in new tab) self-catering

about 4.4 km from the start, in a straight line

The best answer in the cluster for a party with a dog, a small child and tired knees at once: single storey, sleeps seven, cot available, off-road parking, drying facilities and a coin laundry, with hot food available from the hotel kitchen so nobody has to drive at seven in the evening. The price of all that is a three-night minimum with fixed Friday and Monday changeover, which is why the minimum-stay line matters more here than anywhere else in this list.

The Ullswater Steamer jetty at Howtown is reached from the cottage by footpath, so the lake boat can be walked to rather than driven to.

Drying room “Ample storage and drying facilites Very spacious, comfortable lounge Fully fitted dining kitchen”
Dogs “Low Gale Ullswater is an elevated single storey, dog friendly holiday cottage located just beside Fusedale Beck and can easily accomodate 7 people.”
Family rooms “Cot available Dishwasher *Washing Machine 2 bathrooms 1 double bedroom 2 twin rooms 1 single room”
Evening meal “visitors can cook local fayre or alternatively take advantage of the dine at home meals available from the Hotel kitchen.”
Parking “Facilities Free Superfast Broadband Dog friendly Off road parking Smoke-free Garden / Patios Cot available Dishwasher *Washing Machine”

Worth knowing before you book

These places state on their own site that they do not take children.

YHA Helvellyn (opens in new tab) “Under 12s are not permitted in dorm rooms. Children under 3 can stay with us for free.”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from the route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).