Holme Fell and Black Fell
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 16.1 km in all, with the walk. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Moderate distance: 13.74 km round. Moderate steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 21% around the 3.2 km mark. Hands for a few steps: the last push onto Holme Fell (about km 4.4).
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 93%Moderate 7%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 → Holme Fell (4.4 km, 283 m)
From the start point, the route winds through low-level tracks, passing near the dramatic sheer drops of Hodge Close Quarry and disused reservoirs before tackling the short, sharp, rocky ascent up to the summit of Holme Fell.
WaypointsHodge Close Quarry (skirted), disused reservoirs, Holme Fell summit.
Decision pointThe paths around the quarry and reservoirs are well-established, though the final rocky knolls leading to the summit require picking the best line through the crags.
Easy to get wrongWhile the 6% average climb sounds gentle, the final push onto Holme Fell is a steeper, rocky scramble in places. The ground near the old reservoirs and the base of the fell can be highly waterlogged and reedy. Take extra care if exploring near Hodge Close, as the sheer quarry edges are extremely hazardous and not entirely fenced.
If you need to get offTurn around and retrace the clear, low-level valley tracks back to the start.
- 2
Holme Fell → Black Fell (5.6 km, 245 m)
Descend Holme Fell and navigate the connecting valley tracks toward the famous Tarn Hows. After skirting the tarn, pick up the rough tracks climbing through the Iron Keld plantation. Emerge from the treeline and weave through grassy knolls and boggy puddles to the summit trig pillar of Black Fell.
WaypointsTarn Hows, Iron Keld plantation, Black Fell trig pillar (labeled Black Crag), Black Fell south-east cairn.
Decision pointTarn Hows acts as a massive, unmissable water handrail. On the summit of Black Fell, the trig pillar (confusingly bearing a National Trust plaque for 'Black Crag') marks the true summit, while a tall cairn nearby offers the best views of Windermere.
Easy to get wrongA long transition stage. The path through Iron Keld is a rough bridleway, often churned up by mountain bikes. The open fell above the plantation is a maze of small, boggy dips and undulating grassy knolls that require careful footwork.
If you need to get offThe shoreline path around Tarn Hows provides a flat, highly accessible route that bypasses Black Fell entirely and connects directly to valley exits.
Black Fell → Finish (3.7 km, 86 m)
From the summit cairn, drop down the southern slopes, following faint paths beside dry stone walls toward Low Arnside farm. Connect with the wider bridleways and lanes that contour around the lower intake walls, leading you back to the starting point.
WaypointsBlack Fell summit, Low Arnside farm, Hollin Bank.
Decision pointThe dry stone walls running down the fellside toward Low Arnside serve as a reliable, continuous visual handrail for the descent.
Easy to get wrongThe initial descent from Black Fell over the grassy slopes is vague and can be slippery after rain. Once off the open fell, the terrain transitions to straightforward bridleways and farm tracks.
If you need to get offOnce you reach the farm tracks at Low Arnside, you are entirely off the high ground with a clear walk back to the finish.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked by Lee, June 2023
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.
- Tarn Hows (NT, paid) — a 170 m walk to the start
- Hodge Close (free) — joins the loop at about km 4.9 of 13.7: a 180 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- High Oxen Fell Road, by the A593 (layby) — joins the loop at about km 6.9 of 13.7: a 490 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 16.1 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.
The 505 passes this route at 0.1 km (Holling Brow, 970 m off the line).
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival The National Trust car park at Tarn Hows, beside the start. Pay and display: £7 for 2 hours, £8.50 for 4 hours, £10 all day; free for National Trust members. 19 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (National Trust, Tarn Hows, checked 11 August 2026)
- Toilets Toilets are mapped about 60 m from the start. 58 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (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 route passes near the sheer drops of Hodge Close Quarry, and with about 50 path junctions near the line it pays to keep track of which one you are on. (our route notes (this route's own warnings), checked 28 September 2026)
Everything mapped near the start
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.
Mapped as nearby on OpenStreetMap too, as of 13 September 2026, within 250 m of the start and not already listed above:
Also mapped within reach: an information board.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab), ODbL.
No mapped drinking water or shelter on this route — that doesn’t mean there is none, and never drink untreated from a beck. (Facilities data © OpenStreetMap contributors.)
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
Moderate overall — hardest: Length and steepness
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holme Fell | 4.4 km | 283 m | 1:21–1:48 |
| 2Black Fell | 10.0 km | 528 m | 2:53–3:50 |
| Finish | 13.7 km | 614 m | 3:46–5:01 |
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 ~23% descent over 250 m around the 4.5 km mark — a little jarring on tired knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates.
- Stiles and gates: A stile of unmapped type at 0.5 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 19 July 2026)
- Rock and scrambling: Hands for a few steps: the last push onto Holme Fell (about km 4.4). 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: 19 gates · 1 kissing gate · 1 step-over stile · 1 stile (type unmapped)
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 19 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Places to stay near this start
From Tarn Hows: 6 places in Ambleside
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.
