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Written by · Walked · Route guide updated : warnings, ascent and time changed · 171 of 214 Wainwrights with a Strava-matched summit

A sharp ridge running out to a pointed top between Hopegill Head and Sand Hill, green valley fields far below to the left and cloud shadows on the fells
Severe steepnessLoop

The Grasmoor round: Whiteside, Hopegill Head and Whiteless Pike

16.17 km
Distance
~5–7 h
Typical time
~1161 m
Ascent
10
Summits

Photo: © Lee McCoy

Ten tops and the finest ridge walking in the North Western Fells — up Whiteside, along the narrow crest of Gasgale Crags to Hopegill Head, over the great whaleback of Grasmoor, then out along Wandope and down the elegant cone of Whiteless Pike to Rannerdale. Sixteen kilometres, a thousand metres of climbing, and views over Crummock Water all the way round.

Start Lanthwaite Green (paid)

Getting here Parking: Lanthwaite Green, 0.1 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 77 stops at Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite), a 110 m walk from this start. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓

Hardest part Severe steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 41% around the 1.5 km mark. Easy scramble: the last 100 m up Hopegill Head from Whiteside (km 3.5–3.6).

The automated detail on this page — distance, climb, pacing and a first-pass difficulty read — is live. Hand-written field notes are being added.

Before you choose

  • The climb straight up Whiteside from Lanthwaite is brutally steep — a relentless, loose, eroded pull with little respite. It is the hardest 500 m on this route and it comes first.
  • Gasgale Crags is a narrow, rocky ridge. It is not a graded scramble like Sharp Edge, but the last 100 m up Hopegill Head is an easy scramble, the ridge is airy, the rock is loose in places, and it wants care in wind or wet.
  • Grasmoor’s summit is a featureless stony plateau with crags on three sides. In cloud it is a genuine navigation trap — take a bearing before you leave the cairn.
  • The descent off Whiteless Pike is a knee-breaker — steep, sustained and relentless, right at the end of a long day. It is one of the steepest sustained descents in the Lakes.
  • A long day with 1,161 m of ascent and ten tops. Navigation is graded hard: the high ground is broad and the drops are real.
  • The path runs right around the edge of Addacomb Hole, a steep half-crater with a high headwall. Keep back from the rim, especially in wind or cloud — a slip here drops into serious ground. Don't approach the lip for the view in poor visibility.
  • Rannerdale Knotts: The ridge ends suddenly in a wall of crag and scree falling steeply to the valley by Crummock Water. Keep back from the abrupt end and the edges among the summit knolls, especially in wind or cloud — it's a small fell with a real drop.
  • Whiteside (Whiteside West Top): The ridge towers above Gasgale Gill on a wall of crag. Keep back from the southern edge, particularly in cloud or wind where the drop comes with little warning.
A route line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
Download GPX →Walked by Lee, August 2026

Conditions on this route

We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 6 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

OpenTopoMap
Elevation profile, shaded by steepness
Elevation profile Rises from about 100 m to 847 m over 16.2 km, with the summits marked in order. The area beneath is shaded by sustained steepness over a 500 m window, in the same four bands as the route’s steepness rating: Easy under 15%, Moderate 15 to 25%, Hard 25 to 35%, Severe above 35%. 847 m 100 m 0 km 16.2 km 12345678910

1 Whiteside (Whiteside West Top)2 Whiteside East Top (Whiteside) (Gasgale Crags)3 Gasgale Crags4 Hopegill Head5 Sand Hill6 Grasmoor7 Wandope8 Thirdgill Head Man9 Whiteless Pike10 Rannerdale Knotts

Easy 57%Moderate 20%Hard 18%Severe 5%

847 m
High point
153 m
Start height

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. 1

    Start → Whiteside (Whiteside West Top) (2.0 km, 547 m)

    Climb of about 547 m over 2.0 km (around 27% average).

    Decision point

    From Lanthwaite Green, straight up the steep nose of Whiteside.

    Easy to get wrong

    The crux of the day for sheer effort. Loose, eroded, and unremittingly steep. There is no gentle way to do this.

    A wooden footbridge over a boulder-strewn beck at the foot of the fell, with gorse and scrub on the slope and the long ridge rising into morning sun above
    A deep, steep-sided valley with a beck threading its floor, sunlight raking the grassy flanks and cloud spilling over the ridge aboveLooking down a deep V-shaped valley from a heathery crag edge, a white beck threading its floor and cloud building over the ridge beyond
    © Lee McCoy · 3 photographs
  2. 2

    Whiteside (Whiteside West Top) → Whiteside East Top (Whiteside) (Gasgale Crags) (0.5 km, 23 m)

    Undulating section of about 0.5 km.

    A grassy ridge crest with a sheer drop into shadow on the left, heather and bilberry on the turf and low cloud spilling over the tops
    A grassy ridge crest with a sheer drop into shadow on the left, heather and bilberry on the turf and low cloud spilling over the tops
    © Lee McCoy · 2 photographs
  3. 3

    Whiteside East Top (Whiteside) (Gasgale Crags) → Gasgale Crags (0.3 km, 22 m)

    Undulating section of about 0.3 km.

  4. 4

    Gasgale Crags → Hopegill Head (0.7 km, 98 m)

    Climb of about 98 m over 0.7 km (around 14% average).

    Decision point

    Follow the narrow crest of Gasgale Crags east to Hopegill Head.

    Easy to get wrong

    Airy and rocky. Loose in places — test holds, and keep a group spaced out.

    A broad heather-and-grass dome rising to a tiny cairn just breaking the skyline, with bright cumulus behind it
    © Lee McCoy
  5. 5

    Hopegill Head → Sand Hill (0.3 km, 10 m)

    Undulating section of about 0.3 km.

    A steep grassy ridge falling away with a thin path along its crest, plantation and farmland in the valley beyond and cloud shadows crossing the fells
    A steep grassy ridge falling away with a thin path along its crest, plantation and farmland in the valley beyond and cloud shadows crossing the fells
    © Lee McCoy · 2 photographs
  6. 6

    Sand Hill → Grasmoor (2.6 km, 255 m)

    Descent of about 160 m, then a climb of about 255 m, over 2.6 km.

    Decision point

    South over Sand Hill, then the long pull west onto Grasmoor’s summit plateau.

    Easy to get wrong

    The navigation trap. A wide, stony, featureless top with crags all round. Get your bearing at the cairn.

  7. 7

    Grasmoor → Wandope (1.9 km, 42 m)

    Descent of about 80 m, with about 42 m of climbing, over 1.9 km.

    Decision point

    From Grasmoor, back east and out over Wandope and Thirdgill Head Man to Whiteless Pike.

    A high stony plateau looking out over Crummock Water and the green valley beyond, with heavy cloud filling the sky above the ranged fells
    A broad grassy summit with a small cairn on its crest, a dark bank of rain cloud pressing down on the fells behind it
    © Lee McCoy · 2 photographs
  8. 8

    Wandope → Thirdgill Head Man (0.5 km, 0 m)

    Descent of about 41 m over 0.5 km.

  9. 9

    Thirdgill Head Man → Whiteless Pike (0.8 km, 38 m)

    Descent of about 77 m over 0.8 km.

    Easy to get wrong

    Straightforward ridge walking, and the best views of the day down Crummock Water. On Wandope, the path runs right around the edge of Addacomb Hole, a steep half-crater with a high headwall.

    A narrow heather-lined ridge running out to a shapely pointed top, with Crummock Water on one side and Buttermere on the other far below
    © Lee McCoy
  10. 10

    Whiteless Pike → Rannerdale Knotts (3.0 km, 70 m)

    Descent of about 371 m, then a climb of about 70 m, over 3.0 km.

    Ridge after ridge of steep green fells with deep valleys between them, the low country and a glimpse of sea beyond under heavy cloud
    A rocky, bracken-covered knoll with walkers standing on its top, a much larger fell rising dark behind under heavy cloud
    © Lee McCoy · 2 photographs

  11. Rannerdale Knotts → Finish (3.5 km, 55 m)

    Descent of about 247 m, then a climb of about 55 m, over 3.5 km.

    Decision point

    From Rannerdale Knotts, descend west, steeply, to the valley floor near Rannerdale, then head north past Rannerdale Close, over Rannerdale Bridge, and on up the valley to Lanthwaite Green.

    Easy to get wrong

    Steep, sustained and hard on the knees — the sting in this route’s tail. Poles earn their place here.

    Crummock Water and the Buttermere valley from the rocky top of Rannerdale Knotts, under a bright broken sky
    © Lee McCoy

Download GPX

GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked by Lee, August 2026

Make it easier or harder

Why this direction: Clockwise: the savage climb up Whiteside is taken on fresh legs, the fine ridge is walked in the middle of the day, and Whiteless Pike gives a shapely finish — at the cost of a steep descent.

Sun and shade: Going clockwise puts more of the walk in sun for a start between about 06:00 and 07:00, every day of the year on our terrain model.

Summits bagged (10)

  1. 1Whiteside (Whiteside West Top)707 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall
  2. 2Whiteside East Top (Whiteside) (Gasgale Crags)719 mNorth Western · Birkett, Synge, Nuttall, Hewitt
  3. 3Gasgale Crags703 mNorth Western · Birkett
  4. 4Hopegill Head770 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Hewitt
  5. 5Sand Hill756 mNorth Western · Birkett, Synge, Nuttall
  6. 6Grasmoor852 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Marilyn, Hewitt
  7. 7Wandope774 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Hewitt
  8. 8Thirdgill Head Man734 mNorth Western · Birkett
  9. 9Whiteless Pike660 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Hewitt
  10. 10Rannerdale Knotts355 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge

In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.

Keep to the built line. The notes on this route mention eroded or braided ground. Where it is mud or standing water, walk through the puddle rather than round it, stay on the pitched stone even where it is a staircase you would rather not use, take the zig-zags the long way, leave loose stones and cross-drains where they lie, and build no cairns. Deep or moving water is a different question — turn back or take the safest way past rather than wade for the sake of a path. Fix the Fells’ volunteers keep these paths: what a metre costs, and how to give a day or a few pounds.

More about this walk

If you only do one round in the North Western Fells, this is it. Grasmoor is a bigger, wilder mountain than its modest reputation suggests, and the ridge from Whiteside over Gasgale Crags to Hopegill Head is as good as ridge walking gets outside the Langdales. Whiteless Pike at the end is a perfect little peak — and a punishing descent.

Conditions and timing

Best season Late spring to autumn, in clear conditions. Gasgale Crags is narrow and rocky, and Grasmoor’s summit plateau is a blank, stony expanse that is thoroughly disorientating in cloud.

Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS and the Met Office mountain forecast 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.

  • Whiteside (Whiteside West Top) — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, about a quarter of an hour later. In late September, about 07:15. It waits longest in late December — about half an hour after sunrise.
  • Hopegill Head — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
  • Grasmoor — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
  • Wandope — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
  • Whiteless Pike — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00. It waits longest in midsummer — about half an hour after sunrise. In late December, not until about 08:45.
  • Rannerdale Knotts — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, about a quarter of an hour later. In late September, about 07:15. It waits longest in midsummer — well over an hour after sunrise. In late December, not until about 09:00.
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

Lanthwaite Green — 0.1 km from the start (straight line)
At the foot of Grasmoor and Whiteside, Crummock Water. Fees: £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for National Trust members (National Trust, read 28 September 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Grasmoor (verge) — 0.4 km from the start (straight line)
1.6 km from Grasmoor.
Directions Something changed here?
Grasmoor (layby) — 0.5 km from the start (straight line)
Nearest fells: Grasmoor (1.6 km), Lad Hows (1.7 km), Mellbreak North Top (1.8 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions Something changed here?
2 more places to park near the start
Lad Hows, north-west (layby) — 0.9 km from the start (straight line)
A lay-by on the B5289 by Crummock Water. The nearest route starts are at Lanthwaite Green, among them 'The Grasmoor Round', 0.9 km on foot. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Lad Hows (layby) — 1.1 km from the start (straight line)
A lay-by on the B5289 by Crummock Water. The nearest route starts are at Lanthwaite Green, among them 'The Grasmoor Round', 1.1 km on foot.
Directions Something changed here?

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.

Every option near this start, on the parking map →

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.

  • Car park for Rannerdale Knotts — joins the loop at about km 13.5 of 16.2: a 0 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
  • Lanthwaite Green — at the start
  • Lad Hows, north-west (layby) — joins the loop at about km 15.2 of 16.2: a 30 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
  • By bus: buses stop at Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite), a 110 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 77 stops at Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite), a 110 m walk from this start. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. It returns on 22 March 2027. Confirmed with the operator: its last day on 29 August 2026, its return on 16 October 2026. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (77): Tuesday to Sunday 18:03. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

The 77 passes this route at 11.3 km (Buttermere Youth Hostel (near), 860 m off the line) and again at 16.1 km (Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite), 10 m off the line) — one bus, two stops, 4.3 km apart on the ground. We haven’t walked a shortened version, so the distance, grading and escape routes on this page describe the walk end to end.

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
Keswick – Portinscale – Hawes End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)
Seasonal (Summer 2026 timetable: 23 March to 1 November 2026). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before travelling.

Toilets and refreshments

The essentials

  • Arrival Lanthwaite Green car park (National Trust), beside the start: £7 up to 2 hours, £8 up to 4 hours, £9.50 all day; free for National Trust members. 59 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (National Trust, car parks in the Buttermere valley (listed as Lanthwaite Wood, grid reference NY158207; Lee, 28 Sep 2026: it is this car park), checked 28 September 2026)
  • Toilets No toilets are mapped within 250 m of the start. (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 The climb straight up Whiteside from Lanthwaite is steep, loose and eroded, with little respite, and it comes first. (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: 2 information boards.

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, ODbL.

Water, shelter & getting away

shelter (weather shelter, mapped, not checked; 5 m off the line) Lanthwaite Green Farm (58 m from the start, straight line)

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

LengthHard16.17 km — a long day out.
SteepnessSevereSteepest sustained climb about 41% around the 1.5 km mark.
TerrainHardA savagely steep, eroded climb up Whiteside, then the narrow, loose rock of Gasgale Crags. Hard – graded by Lee on the ground
NavigationHardGrasmoor’s summit is a blank stony plateau with crags on three sides. Hard – graded by Lee on the ground
ExposureHardGasgale Crags is a narrow, airy ridge, and the last 100 m up Hopegill Head is an easy scramble — no place to slip. Hard – graded by Lee on the ground
HandsEasy scrambleThe last 100 m up Hopegill Head from Whiteside (km 3.5–3.6).

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

SummitCumulativeAscentTime (fast–steady)
1Whiteside (Whiteside West Top)2.0 km547 m1:19–1:45
2Whiteside East Top (Whiteside) (Gasgale Crags)2.5 km571 m1:28–1:56
3Gasgale Crags2.9 km593 m1:34–2:05
4Hopegill Head3.6 km691 m1:53–2:30
5Sand Hill3.9 km701 m1:57–2:36
6Grasmoor6.5 km955 m2:54–3:52
7Wandope8.5 km997 m3:21–4:28
8Thirdgill Head Man8.9 km997 m3:27–4:35
9Whiteless Pike9.7 km1036 m3:40–4:52
10Rannerdale Knotts12.7 km1106 m4:23–5:49
Finish16.2 km1161 m5:10–6:52

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?

Dog
Mostly gates
Buggy
Not buggy-able
Knees
Tough descent
  • Buggy: Not a pushchair route.
  • Knees: A long, steep ~42% drop over 250 m around the 10.0 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 41% around the 1.5 km mark.

  • Rock and scrambling: Easy scramble: the last 100 m up Hopegill Head from Whiteside (km 3.5–3.6). Ground underfoot: Hard – graded by Lee on the ground. A savagely steep, eroded climb up Whiteside, then the narrow, loose rock of Gasgale Crags.
  • Drops and exposed ground: Hard – graded by Lee on the ground. Gasgale Crags is a narrow, airy ridge, and the last 100 m up Hopegill Head is an easy scramble — no place to slip.
  • Stiles and gates: A stile of unmapped type at 14.9 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 12 July 2026)
  • 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: 2 gates · 1 kissing gate · 1 stile (type unmapped)

Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us. Barrier data as of 12 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Places to stay near this start

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.

Walks from places nearby

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.

All routes →
Coledale Round
16.13 km · ~1277 m · walked May 2026
The Grasmoor Round
16.17 km · ~1304 m · walked August 2026
Rannerdale Knotts from Buttermere
4.0 km · ~265 m · walked in part