Dufton Pike and its Neighbours
Start Dufton village
Getting here Parking: Dufton village (free), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Parking & buses ↓
Hardest part Severe steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 37% around the 3.7 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 Dufton Pike2 Brownber Hill3 Knock Pike
Easy 75%Moderate 12%Hard 10%Severe 2%
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
Dufton village → Dufton Pike (2.5 km, 295 m)
Climb of about 295 m over 2.5 km (around 12% average).
- 2
Dufton Pike → Brownber Hill (1.6 km, 235 m)
Descent of about 197 m, then a climb of about 235 m, over 1.6 km.
- 3
Brownber Hill → Knock Pike (5.5 km, 222 m)
Descent of about 309 m, then a climb of about 222 m, over 5.5 km.
Knock Pike → Finish (4.5 km, 32 m)
Descent of about 207 m over 4.5 km.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (3)
- 1Dufton Pike481 m
- 2Brownber Hill519 m
- 3Knock Pike398 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
Water, shelter & getting away
Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is not proof the water is drinkable, so carry your own or use a supply you know is safe. Never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock upstream and leave you seriously ill. Use a treatment method suited to what might be in the water, and follow the device’s own instructions. Boiling and ordinary filters do not make water with dissolved metals or chemicals safe: where that is possible, choose another source.
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
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; terrain not assessed; 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dufton Pike | 2.5 km | 295 m | 1:00–1:20 |
| 2Brownber Hill | 4.1 km | 530 m | 1:43–2:16 |
| 3Knock Pike | 9.6 km | 752 m | 3:11–4:13 |
| Finish | 14.2 km | 784 m | 4:08–5:30 |
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: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~43% drop over 250 m around the 2.9 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates. The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 37% around the 3.7 km mark.
- Stiles and gates: Stiles of unmapped type at 3.3, 5.8, 6.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 12.5 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-21)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Not assessed.
- 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: 10 gates · 2 step-over stiles · 7 stiles (type unmapped)
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).