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9.61 km · ~690 m ascent · ~3–4 h · loop · 4 summits

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Great Gable from Honister Slate Mine

9.61 km
Distance
~3–4 h
Typical time
~690 m
Ascent
4
Summits
Download GPX →Maps & guidebooks

Key facts

Distance 9.61 km
Ascent ~690 m
Descent ~688 m
Time ~3–4 h
Type Loop
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.

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

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

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
Elevation profile Rises from about 350 m to 898 m over 9.6 km, with the summits marked in order. 898 m 350 m 0 km 9.6 km 1234

1 Great Gable2 Green Gable3 Brandreth4 Grey Knotts

~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 and we’ll fix it. Barrier data as of 2026-07-14. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Pacing

SummitCumulativeAscentTime (fast–steady)
Great Gable5.3 km624 m2:06–2:47
Green Gable6.0 km644 m2:17–3:02
Brandreth7.4 km685 m2:38–3:30
Grey Knotts8.2 km690 m2:47–3:42
Finish9.6 km690 m3:04–4:05

Naismith-based estimate — a fast/steady range. Your pace will vary.

The walk, stage by stage

Start → Great Gable (5.3 km, 624 m)

Climb of about 624 m over 5.3 km (around 12% average).

Great Gable → Green Gable (0.7 km, 20 m)

Descent of about 125 m over 0.7 km.

Green Gable → Brandreth (1.4 km, 41 m)

About 1.4 km with 41 m of ascent.

Brandreth → Grey Knotts (0.7 km, 5 m)

Undulating section of about 0.7 km.

Grey Knotts → Finish (1.5 km, 0 m)

Descent of about 344 m over 1.5 km.

Stage-by-stage field notes coming soon.

Summits bagged (4)

  • Great Gable 899 m · Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Marilyn
  • Green Gable 800 m · Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall
  • Brandreth 715 m · Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall
  • Grey Knotts 697 m · Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall

🅿️ Getting there & parking

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.
Directions
Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge) — 1.7 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.
Directions

Positions are approximate. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

💧 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

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.
Stagecoach 78 “Borrowdale Rambler”
Keswick – Lodore – Grange – Rosthwaite – Seatoller
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 or X4/X5)
Year-round, frequent in season. Serves all the Borrowdale starts — Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable via Seathwaite (alight Seatoller, 20 min walk up the lane).

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

⚠️ 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 and the Met Office mountain forecast 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.

📚 Maps & guidebooks for Great Gable from Honister Slate Mine

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