Home / Routes / Great Gable from Honister Slate Mine

Severe steepnessLoopPlanned

Great Gable from Honister Slate Mine

9.61 km

Distance

~3–4 h

Typical time

~690 m

Ascent

Summits

Download GPX →Planned route · not yet walked

Key facts

Distance 9.61 km

Ascent ~690 m

Descent ~688 m

Time ~3–4 h

Difficulty Severe overall — hardest: Steepness

Type Loop

Start Honister Slate Mine

The kindest way to England’s most-loved mountain. Honister starts you at 350 m, so the Grey Knotts–Brandreth–Green Gable ridge does most of the climbing for you before the final stony pull onto Great Gable. Four Wainwrights, a summit war memorial and the finest view in Lakeland down into Wasdale — but the top is a broad boulder plateau, and in cloud it is one of the great navigation traps.

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet. A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

Difficulty profile

LengthModerate9.61 km round.

SteepnessSevereSteepest sustained pull about 53% around the 5.1 km mark.

TerrainHardRough, bouldery ground over Brandreth and Green Gable, then a steep, stony pull onto Gable’s summit. (Editorially assessed from the documented character of the route, not computed from gradient; not yet personally walked.)

NavigationSevereGreat Gable’s summit is a broad, featureless plateau ringed by crags. In cloud it is one of the classic navigation traps in the Lakes, and the descents to Sty Head and Beck Head are easy to lose. (Editorially assessed from the documented character of the route, not computed from gradient; not yet personally walked.)

ExposureModerateNo scrambling on this line — the danger on Gable is navigational, not exposure. (Editorially assessed from the documented character of the route, not computed from gradient; not yet personally walked.)

Five independent axes, not one score — all field-checked on the ground here, with nothing left as a desk estimate.

Conditions on this route

We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 4 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

By bus: the Honister Rambler (77/77A) (opens in new tab) reaches Honister Slate Mine at 08:59 and the last one back leaves at 18:33. At a steady pace this walk finishes about 13:04. Be off Grey Knotts by 17:25. Runs daily, including public holidays. From the summer 2026 timetable, read on 21 Aug 2026. Check the timetable before you rely on it.

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.

OpenTopoMap

Elevation profile, shaded by steepness

1 Great Gable2 Green Gable3 Brandreth4 Grey Knotts

Easy 61%Moderate 15%Hard 11%Severe 13%

~690 m

Total ascent

898 m

High point

350 m

Start height

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).

This walk covers about 9.61 km with around 690 m of ascent, taking in 4 summits. 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

Mostly gates

Buggy

Not buggy-able

Knees

Tough descent

Dog: A stile of unmapped type — a dog may need lifting over.
Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
Knees: A long, steep ~50% drop around the 5.4 km mark — hard on the knees.

On the line: 1 gate · 1 step-over stile · 2 stiles (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 2026-07-14. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Pacing

Summit	Cumulative	Ascent	Time (fast–steady)
1Great Gable	5.3 km	624 m	2:06–2:47
2Green Gable	6.0 km	644 m	2:17–3:02
3Brandreth	7.4 km	685 m	2:38–3:30
4Grey Knotts	8.2 km	690 m	2:47–3:42
Finish	9.6 km	690 m	3:04–4:05

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

1
Start → Great Gable (5.3 km, 624 m)
Climb of about 624 m over 5.3 km (around 12% average).
Leave the Honister Slate Mine car park and take the old, steep mining tramway path uphill to the dismantled winding house (Drum House). Instead of climbing straight up Grey Knotts, bear south to join Moses Trod. This historic track contours beautifully around the western flanks of Brandreth and Green Gable, keeping a relatively level gradient. You will pass beneath the towering cliffs of Gable Crag and cross Stone Cove before arriving at Beck Head (the col between Kirk Fell and Great Gable). From Beck Head, you begin a punishing 250m climb straight up the North West Ridge of Great Gable
Waypoints
Honister Incline, Drum House, Moses Trod, Stone Cove, Beck Head, NW Ridge, Great Gable Summit (Westmorland Cairn)
Decision point
Moses Trod is unwaymarked but well-trodden and easy to follow as a traverse line in good visibility. At Beck Head, the saddle is obvious. On the steep NW Ridge, keep an eye out for small guide cairns perched on rocks to help thread a route through the boulders
Easy to get wrong
The first 4 km on Moses Trod are languid, but the final push up the NW Ridge from Beck Head is a lung-buster. It requires navigating steep, loose scree and mild scrambling through broken crags and boulder fields
If you need to get off
Before Beck Head: Simply turn 180 degrees and walk back along the flat Moses Trod to Honister. On the NW Ridge: If the scramble becomes too difficult, carefully down-climb back to Beck Head and retreat via Moses Trod. Do not drop down the Wasdale side (south), as getting back to your car at Honister from Wasdale is a massive logistical challenge
2
Great Gable → Green Gable (0.7 km, 20 m)
Descent of about 125 m over 0.7 km.
Leave the Great Gable summit plateau heading North-East. You will drop steeply down into the deep, rocky depression of Windy Gap. From the bottom of the saddle, it is a very short, sharp pull back up the opposite side to the summit of Green Gable
Waypoints
Windy Gap col, Green Gable summit
Decision point
The heavily eroded path down to Windy Gap forms a very obvious visual scar on the landscape
Easy to get wrong
The descent from Great Gable to Windy Gap is notoriously steep, heavily eroded, and covered in loose red scree. It is very easy to lose your footing here, so poles or very careful foot placement are required
If you need to get off
Once you descend into Windy Gap, if you have had enough of climbing, you can abort the rest of the summits. Bear left (west) from Windy Gap to drop directly down and seamlessly rejoin Moses Trod. This flat path will wrap back around the mountains and take you straight to Drum House and down to Honister
3
Green Gable → Brandreth (1.4 km, 41 m)
About 1.4 km with 41 m of ascent.
Descend northwards from Green Gable over much gentler terrain. The path drops slightly into the broad, grassy depression of Gillercomb Head. From there, it is an easy, gradual walk up onto the wide summit plateau of Brandreth
Waypoints
Gillercomb Head, Brandreth summit
Decision point
You will pick up a line of old, rusted iron fence posts. These act as a brilliant "handrail" leading you directly across the ridge toward Brandreth
Easy to get wrong
The physical challenge drops off significantly here. The main hazard is navigational; the plateau around Brandreth is very broad and featureless, making it confusing in thick mist
If you need to get off
If the weather suddenly closes in at Gillercomb Head, you can contour slightly west to rejoin the reliable Moses Trod track, utilizing it as a safer, slightly lower-level return to Drum House
4
Brandreth → Grey Knotts (0.7 km, 5 m)
Undulating section of about 0.7 km.
This is an easy, undulating stroll along the top of the ridge. Keep heading North-East, following the grassy and occasionally rocky terrain until you reach the rocky outcrops that mark the summit tors of Grey Knotts
Waypoints
Old fence line, Grey Knotts summit
Decision point
Continue to use the old fence line as your primary navigational aid between the two fells
Easy to get wrong
Minimal physical difficulty. The ground can be quite boggy and saturated after heavy rain
If you need to get off
You are incredibly close to the finish line here. The safest and most efficient option is to simply press on over Grey Knotts and begin the final descent, as retreating offers no time or energy savings
Grey Knotts → Finish (1.5 km, 0 m)
Descent of about 344 m over 1.5 km.
From the rocky top of Grey Knotts, head generally north. You will descend steep, pathless grassy slopes to meet back up with the Drum House ruins. From Drum House, rejoin the stony tramway incline and follow it steeply downhill back to the Honister Slate Mine
Waypoints
Drum House, Tramway incline, Honister Slate Mine car park
Decision point
The view down to the pass usually opens up here. Aim directly for the visible Drum House ruins and the massive, obvious scar of the tramway leading down to the slate mine buildings
Easy to get wrong
The initial descent off the grass of Grey Knotts is steep, tough on the knees, and extremely slippery in wet conditions
If you need to get off
None needed; you are on the direct descent to your starting point

Summits bagged (4)

1Great Gable899 mWestern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Marilyn
2Green Gable800 mWestern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall
3Brandreth715 mWestern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall
4Grey Knotts697 mWestern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall

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

Getting there & parking

⛽ Nearest fuel to this start: High Hill, Keswick, 14.2 km by road (07:00-20:00 daily). Nearest shop: Open All Hours, 13.3 km. Both measured along the road from the parking we publish at Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale, checked 8 August 2026. Coming in from a particular direction you may pass a closer one — the last petrol before each valley →

Honister (NT, paid) — 0.1 km from the start (straight line)

Walking base for Great Gable, Green Gable, Brandreth and Grey Knotts — the 'Great Gable from Honister Slate Mine' route starts 61 m away. Also serves 'Haystacks'. Paid National Trust car park - the prices we used to show here came from an aggregator rather than the Trust, so we no longer publish a figure; check the machine on arrival, and members should bring their card (National Trust car-park list, checked Aug 2026). The machine takes cards, and National Trust members park free on production of their membership card (Lee McCoy, local observation, recorded 12 Aug 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) — 0.1 km from the start (straight line)

Pay & display at the top of the pass — Dale Head, Fleetwith Pike, Grey Knotts with minimal ascent. This is the slate mine's own car park, the WESTERN one; the National Trust car park 170 m east is a separate one. Fees: Day parking GBP 5 per day for visitors; free for all Honister activity guests (honister.com/your-visit/). Overnight parking GBP 15 a night in the large bottom car park, open to campervans, motorhomes and vans, no tent camping, no facilities, no electric hook-ups; book online or pay by QR code on arrival and display confirmation on the dashboard (honister.com/your-visit/overnight-parking) (operator, checked Aug 2026). You pay by card, inside the building, not at a machine in the car park. The posted opening is 9am but it is often later; the mine is content for you to arrive before it and pay on the way out, and the car park is covered by cameras (Lee McCoy, local observation, recorded 12 Aug 2026). Pay and display (LDNPA, checked Aug 2026).

🕑 Typically full before 10:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 2026-08-09.

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Seatoller (NT, paid) (2.3 km)

🚺 Public toilets (~136 m straight line) — Free🚺 Public toilets (~1825 m straight line) — Free☕ Sky Hi Cafe

Grey Knotts car park — 0.6 km from the start (straight line)

Nearest fells: Grey Knotts (1.7 km), Dale Head (1.9 km), Honister Crag (Black Star) (1.9 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.

Directions Something changed here?

Thornythwaite Fell (layby) — 1.6 km from the start (straight line)

Walking base for Allen Crags, High House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags), Red Beck Top (Glaramara South Top) (Lincomb Head - Glaramara) and Looking Steads (Glaramara) — the 'Allan Crags & Glaramara' route starts 135 m away. Also serves 'Scafell Pike via the Corridor Route'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge) — 1.6 km from the start (straight line)

Free verge parking on the Seathwaite lane — the honeypot start for the Scafells, Great Gable and Glaramara. Arrive very early.

🕑 Typically full before 09:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 2026-08-09.

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) (1.8 km); Seatoller (NT, paid) (2.0 km); Rosthwaite (NT, paid) (3.8 km)

🚺 Public toilets (~188 m straight line) — Free

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

🚌 Honister Youth Hostel / Slate Quarry (E) (88 m)🚌 map (91 m)⛺ Honister Pass YHA (39 m)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.

Buses

The 77 stops at Honister Youth Hostel (near), 140 m from this start. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day, and it is not daily before then — a bus on 31 of the 56 days from 7 September. We don’t know when it returns. Confirmed with the operator, 29 August 2026. The last bus is 18:33 towards Keswick (77), every day. 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 9.6 km (Honister Youth Hostel (near), 90 m off the line).

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”

Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse 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 (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.

If the parking is full

There is no real plan B here. Every place we know beside this route serves the same walks and sits close together, so if one is full the others usually are too. Worth starting early, or having a different walk in mind before you set off.

Honister Pass (paid, slate mine)
Honister (NT, 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.

Safety & conditions

The summit plateau in cloud. Gable’s top is a broad sea of boulders with crags on several sides and no handrails. Take a bearing off the summit and follow it precisely — this is where the callouts start.
Do not drift towards the Napes. The southern face is a climbers’ playground of crags and gullies, not a walkers’ descent.
The Windy Gap descent is loose and steep. Take it slowly, especially in the wet.

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.

Make it easier or harder

Short version: turn back at about 5.8 km (drop to Start) — roughly half the distance.

Download

Download GPX

GPX track for your GPS or phone.

Places to stay near this start

Seatoller House (opens in new tab) guest house

about 2.0 km from the start, in a straight line

The nearest serviced bed to the top of Honister with a kitchen behind it. It is the only property inside 3 km whose own page answers evening meal, breakfast time, parking, dogs and a family room together - and two of its ten rooms are downstairs, which matters to a walker who has just come off Haystacks on wrecked knees.

Worth knowing: “Well behaved dogs are allowed, they are not allowed in the dining room at any time,Please clean and dry all dogs on entering Seatoller via the back door.”

The house is 400 years old, has taken guests for more than a century, and is the biggest building in the hamlet of Seatoller.

Dogs “Well behaved dogs are allowed, they are not allowed in the dining room at any time,Please clean and dry all dogs on entering Seatoller via the back door.”
Family rooms “Rabbit Large Family room, Private bathroom directly opposite, great views of garden & Fells”
Evening meal “The dining room has two large traditional oak tables creating a friendly atmosphere where guests are served a set meal at 7 pm (excluding Wednesdays).”
Parking “There are 10 bedrooms all with private bathrooms, a large award winning garden surrounding the house and ample private car parking.”

Also nearby, but not independent

YHA Borrowdale (opens in new tab) hostel

about 3.1 km from the start, in a straight line

The only bed in the cluster whose own page states a cot, a highchair, ground-floor rooms, wheelchair access, a drying room, a self-catering kitchen and a 07:30 breakfast. For a family where one adult walks Great Gable and the rest do not, nothing else in the radius answers as many of their questions - which is why it earns a row despite not being independent.

Worth knowing: “Dogs: Pets are not permitted at YHA Borrowdale, except in our Camping & Cabins accommodation. Assistance dogs are welcome - please notify us at the time of booking.”

There has been a youth hostel in this valley since before the war - the present one opened at Longthwaite at Easter 1939, after an earlier hostel at Grange-in-Borrowdale closed in 1937.

Drying room “Self-catering kitchen Shared drying room Shared lounge Sole use available Unlimited breakfast Water refill station Wheelchair accessible WiFi”
Family rooms “YHA Borrowdale offers a variety of accommodation options including rooms of varying sizes, camping pods and camping pitches.”
Evening meal “With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something delicious to eat at YHA Borrowdale (see sample menu ).”
Packed lunch “With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something delicious to eat at YHA Borrowdale (see sample menu ).”
Parking “Parking: This hostel has on-site parking (subject to availability). Charges apply though overnight guests benefit from a discounted rate of £5 per vehicle for 24 hours.”
Children “Accessible rooms available Bed linen Central heating Cot available Ground floor rooms available Heating Hot water Lock on doors Smoke alarm”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from the route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).