Holme Fell and Black Crag from Tarn Hows
Start Tarn Hows National Trust car park
Getting here Parking: Tarn Hows (NT, paid), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 505 stops at Holling Brow (near); from there it is 1.2 km and 105 m of ascent to this start. And the same back: about 15.3 km in all, with the walk. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Hard steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 26% around the 2.4 km mark. Hands for a few steps: the last push onto Holme Fell (about km 2.9).
Before you choose
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 Holme Fell2 Black Fell
Easy 95%Moderate 4%Hard 1%Severe
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 → Holme Fell (2.9 km, 267 m)
Descent of about 116 m, then a climb of about 267 m, over 2.9 km.
- 2
Holme Fell → Black Fell (5.5 km, 325 m)
Descent of about 157 m, then a climb of about 325 m, over 5.5 km.
Black Fell → Finish (4.5 km, 194 m)
Descent of about 106 m, with about 194 m of climbing, over 4.5 km.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (2)
- 1Holme Fell316 m
- 2Black Fell323 m
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.
- Holme Fell — 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 a quarter of an hour after sunrise.
- Black Fell — 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 a quarter of an hour after sunrise.
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.
- Black Fell car park, east — joins the loop at about km 9.4 of 12.9: a 1.1 km walk to the line, climbing about 60 m, and you walk the round from there
- Tarn Hows (NT, paid) — a 170 m walk to the start
- High Oxen Fell Road, by the A593 (layby) — joins the loop at about km 5.3 of 12.9: a 480 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
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 505 stops at Holling Brow (near). From there it is 1.2 km and 105 m of ascent to this start — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 15.3 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Coniston (505): Tuesday to Sunday 20:05. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
At Tarn Hows (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.
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: Steepness; terrain not assessed; exposure not assessed on the ground
Five independent axes, not one score. None of them was set on the ground: they 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holme Fell | 2.9 km | 267 m | 1:01–1:22 |
| 2Black Fell | 8.4 km | 591 m | 2:40–3:32 |
| Finish | 12.9 km | 785 m | 3:53–5:10 |
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 sustained ~21% descent over 250 m around the 9.3 km mark — a little jarring on tired knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates. The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 26% around the 2.4 km mark.
- Stiles and gates: Stiles of unmapped type at 0.3, 8.4, 11.3 and 11.7 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 24 October 2026)
- Rock and scrambling: Hands for a few steps: the last push onto Holme Fell (about km 2.9). Ground underfoot: Not assessed.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Easy. From gradient only (~0% max) — mapped crag data unavailable; treat exposure as unverified.
- 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: 11 gates · 2 kissing gates · 4 stiles (type unmapped)
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 24 October 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Tom Gill waterfalls (Glen Mary) — 0.6 km from this start
- Walks from Tarn Hows — 0.7 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.
