Cautley Horseshoe
Start Cross Keys, Cautley (A683 layby)
Getting here Parking: Cross Keys, Cautley (A683 layby), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Parking & buses ↓
Hardest part Severe steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 47% around the 2.2 km mark.
Before you choose
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.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 The Calf2 Randygill Top3 Kensgriff4 Yarlside
Easy 59%Moderate 22%Hard 11%Severe 9%
Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Cross Keys, Cautley (A683 layby) → The Calf (3.7 km, 496 m)
Climb of about 496 m over 3.7 km (around 13% average).
- 2
The Calf → Randygill Top (4.2 km, 296 m)
Descent of about 331 m, then a climb of about 296 m, over 4.2 km.
- 3
Randygill Top → Kensgriff (1.0 km, 38 m)
Descent of about 53 m over 1.0 km.
- 4
Kensgriff → Yarlside (3.0 km, 245 m)
Descent of about 177 m, then a climb of about 245 m, over 3.0 km.
Yarlside → Finish (2.7 km, 39 m)
Descent of about 460 m over 2.7 km.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (4)
- 1The Calf677 m
- 2Randygill Top624 m
- 3Kensgriff574 m
- 4Yarlside639 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
Conditions and timing
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.
Getting there and back
Parking
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
We don’t know yet. The path network around this start isn’t mapped well enough for us to measure a walk from the nearest stop. That’s a gap in our data, not a sign that no bus comes here.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
No mapped drinking water or shelter on this route — that doesn’t mean there is none, and never drink untreated from a beck. (Facilities data © OpenStreetMap contributors.)
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Severe overall — hardest: Steepness; exposure not assessed on the ground
Five independent axes, not one score. None of them was set on the ground: they are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1The Calf | 3.7 km | 496 m | 1:34–2:06 |
| 2Randygill Top | 7.9 km | 793 m | 2:54–3:51 |
| 3Kensgriff | 8.9 km | 831 m | 3:10–4:13 |
| 4Yarlside | 11.9 km | 1075 m | 4:11–5:33 |
| Finish | 14.7 km | 1115 m | 4:47–6:22 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: No mapped stiles, but the ground is not a buggy line: terrain Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground.
- Knees: A long, steep ~37% drop over 250 m around the 13.0 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: rock and scrambling. The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 47% around the 2.2 km mark.
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground. Rough or partly pathless ground — indistinct path in places.
- Stiles and gates: Only gates and kissing gates are mapped: no stile a dog can’t get through. That is the barriers alone; check the route’s steep or rocky ground before you bring a dog. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-21)
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Easy. No mapped crags on or beside the line.
- Ways off early: None recorded for this route.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 1 gate
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-10-21. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).