Elterwater & Skelwith Force
Key facts
Difficulty profile
Five independent axes, not one score. “Desk” ratings come from maps and guidebooks, not yet walked — treat them as a guide, not a survey.
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.
Easy 100%ModerateHardSevere
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).
This walk covers about 7.6 km with around 164 m of ascent. 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: 1 ladder/squeeze stile(s), but a dog gate alongside — most dogs get round.
- Buggy: Only part of this suits a buggy.
- Knees: No sustained steep descent — kind on the knees.
On the line: 19 gates · 6 kissing gates · 2 dog gates · 1 squeeze stile · 3 step-over stiles · 1 stile (type unmapped)
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | 7.6 km | 164 m | 1:48–2:23 |
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
Elterwater village (NT car park) → Finish (7.6 km, 164 m)
Climb of about 164 m over 7.6 km (around 2% average).
Getting there & parking
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
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Buses
The 516 stops at Elterwater, opposite The Britannia Inn, 30 m from this start. Last bus: Monday to Friday 19:52 towards Dungeon Ghyll (516); Saturday 22:12 towards Dungeon Ghyll (516); Sunday 19:52 towards Dungeon Ghyll (516). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
The 516 passes this route at 0.9 km (Chapel Stile, at Guide Stone turn, 280 m off the line). It passes again at 7.6 km. Other services cross it too — 517 at 4.0 km.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
If the parking is full
If the first one is full, these do not all fill together. The 3 below sit in different places or are different kinds of parking, so a busy morning at one does not mean a busy morning at all of them.
- Silver How (verge)
- Black Fell, north-west (layby 2)
- Silverthwaite (Lowther Estates, paid)
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.
Toilets and refreshments
At Elterwater (NT, paid), the closest parking we hold to where this route starts:
Distances are straight lines from the car park, not walking routes. Opening hours change; none of this is checked daily.
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.
Places to stay near this start
From Elterwater: 5 places in Grasmere