Gowbarrow Fell and Little Mell Fell
Photo: © Lee McCoy
Start Aira Force (NT, paid)
Getting here Parking: Aira Force (NT, paid), 0.3 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 508, 509, UB1 and UB2 stop at Matterdale, opposite Aira Force, a 470 m walk from this start. The UB1 and UB2 run until 1 November 2026, the last day of their season. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Hard distance: 15.11 km — a long day out.
Before you choose
- Aira Force plunges some 65 ft through a steep, narrow gorge with sheer sides, slippery rock and stone steps, and few natural viewing points or barriers. It's a busy honeypot — keep children and dogs close, stay behind railings and back from wet edges, and don't clamber for a better view of the falls.
Conditions on this route
We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 2 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.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit)2 Little Mell Fell
Easy 85%Moderate 15%HardSevere
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
Start → Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit) (2.9 km, 320 m)
From the main parking area near Aira Force, follow the woodland trails up beside Aira Beck, past the falls of Aira Force. Cross Aira Beck by the footbridge beside High Force, about 0.3 km above Aira Force, and carry on up. At about 1.6 km, cross a side stream by stepping stones and go through a gate, then climb on until you clear the tree line. Go through the gate onto the open fell and follow the grassy path north-east up the steep slope to the rocky outcrop of Airy Crag, the summit of Gowbarrow Fell.
WaypointsAira Force car park, Aira Force waterfalls, the footbridge by High Force, stepping stones and gate (about 1.6 km), the gate onto the open fell, Airy Crag (Gowbarrow Fell summit trig point).
Decision pointThe paths around Aira Force are well signposted. On the open fell the path is clear, and the trig point marks the highest rock.
Easy to get wrongThe climb through the woods beside the falls is gentle; the steep part is above the gate, on the open fell, about 24% around 2.3 km. The stone steps near the waterfalls are busy and can be slippery from spray and shade. Nearer Airy Crag the ground is rougher and sometimes boggy. Aira Force plunges some 65 ft through a steep, narrow gorge with sheer sides, slippery rock and stone steps, and few natural viewing points or barriers.
If you need to get offTurn round and come back down the way you came, into the woods of Aira Force.
- 2
Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit) → Little Mell Fell (5.4 km, 315 m)
From Airy Crag, head north-east across the grass and down off Gowbarrow Fell. Follow lower fell tracks, woodland edges and quiet lanes towards Watermillock and the road pass called The Hause. From the gate at The Hause, go straight up the steep grass to the summit trig point of Little Mell Fell.
WaypointsAiry Crag, Swinburn's Park / Watermillock Common boundary, The Hause (road pass), Little Mell Fell summit.
Decision pointThe road at The Hause is an obvious marker, and the gate at the start of the Little Mell Fell path is easy to spot. From there, go straight up the nose of the fell.
Easy to get wrongA long 5.4 km between the fells, on farm tracks and some tarmac. The hard part is the last climb, from The Hause to Little Mell Fell: about 120 m in about 0.55 km, steep grass all the way, much steeper than the stage's 6% average.
If you need to get offIf your legs are heavy, leave out the last climb: the way back (stage 4) starts from The Hause.
© Lee McCoy Little Mell Fell → The Hause (0.4 km, 2 m)
Go carefully back down the steep grass to The Hause.
WaypointsLittle Mell Fell summit, The Hause.
Easy to get wrongThe top of the descent is very steep on grass; place your feet with care.
The Hause → Finish (6.3 km, 76 m)
From The Hause, take the quiet lanes and bridleways south-west, then pick up the Ullswater Way through the woods of Swinburn's Park. At about 13 km you rejoin your outward path; follow it back down beside Aira Beck to the car park.
WaypointsThe Hause, Watermillock quiet lanes, Swinburn's Park, Ullswater Way, Aira Force finish.
Decision pointThe Ullswater Way is waymarked, with wooden signposts through Swinburn's Park and back onto National Trust land.
Easy to get wrongA long, rolling, low-level 6.3 km back, with about 76 m of climbing.
If you need to get offThe whole return is on lanes, bridleways and the waymarked Ullswater Way, back to the car.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked by Lee, August 2023
Make it easier or harder
Short version: turn back at about 6.2 km and retrace your outward leg: about 12.4 km in all, against 15.1 km for the whole walk, with about 210 m of climbing on the way back over ground you came down. It is the same ground back, not a separate descent.
Summits bagged (2)
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.
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.
- 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.
- Little Mell Fell — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
How to read these times
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.
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.
Getting there and back
Parking
2 more places to park near the start
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.
If the parking is full
If the first one is full, these overlap least in our model. 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.
- Aira Force (NT, paid) — at the start
- The Hause, Little Mell Fell (verge) — joins the loop at about km 8.6 of 15.1: a 10 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Bracken How car park — joins the loop at about km 11.5 of 15.1: a 1.3 km walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- By bus: buses stop at Matterdale, opposite Aira Force, a 470 m walk from the start. A bus is not affected by a full car park. Its return times are under Buses.
We never say whether anywhere has spaces today. Walks to the line are measured along mapped paths (OpenStreetMap), not in a straight line. How we choose these places.
No signal when you get there? RoutePark keeps this list on your phone: choose this walk’s GPX at home, keep it, and it opens offline.
Buses
The 508, 509, UB1 and UB2 stop at Matterdale, opposite Aira Force, a 470 m walk from this start. The UB1 and UB2 run until 1 November 2026, the last day of their season. 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; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
The UB1 passes this route at 7.0 km (Horrockwood, opposite The Quiet Site, 240 m off the line). Other services cross it too — 508 at 15.1 km.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival The main Aira Force car park (National Trust), by the toilets, about 270 m from the start. Pay and display. 271 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked 11 August 2026)
- Toilets Public toilets are mapped by the Aira Force car park. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Refreshments No café or pub is mapped within 250 m of the start: bring what you need. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Limitation Aira Force drops through a steep, narrow gorge with sheer sides, slippery rock and few barriers: keep children and dogs close and stay behind the railings. (our route notes (this route's own warnings), checked 28 September 2026)
Everything mapped near the start
Mapped as nearby on OpenStreetMap, as of 13 September 2026, within 250 m of where this route starts (information boards within 150 m; benches and shelter within 50 m):
Also mapped within reach: 3 benches.
Distances are straight lines from where this route starts, not walking routes. Opening hours are as mapped and change; none of this is checked daily.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab), ODbL.
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
Hard overall — hardest: Length
Five independent axes, not one score. Three of the five were set on the ground; the rest 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit) | 2.9 km | 320 m | 1:07–1:30 |
| 2Little Mell Fell | 8.3 km | 635 m | 2:44–3:38 |
| Finish | 15.1 km | 713 m | 4:13–5:36 |
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 ~31% drop over 250 m around the 8.5 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates.
- Stiles and gates: Stiles of unmapped type at 7.8 and 7.9 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 20 July 2026)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Easy – graded by Lee on the ground. Graded on the ground.
- Drops and exposed ground: Easy – graded by Lee on the ground. Graded on the ground.
- 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: 14 gates · 2 stiles (type unmapped)
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 20 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Places to stay near this start
- Lowthwaite Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 3.9 km
- Low Gale (opens in new tab) self-cateringabout 4.4 km
We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from the route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Aira Force — 0.3 km from this start
- Walks from Glenridding — 3.6 km from this start
Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.
