Home / Routes / Honister to Keswick: over the Newlands fells

Severe steepnessLinearPlanned

Honister to Keswick: over the Newlands fells

19.62 km

Distance

~5.5–7.5 h

Typical time

~1035 m

Ascent

Summits

Download GPX →Planned route · not yet walked

Key facts

Distance 19.62 km

Ascent ~1035 m

Descent ~1306 m

Time ~5.5–7.5 h

Difficulty Severe overall — hardest: Steepness

Best season Late spring to autumn, in clear conditions. The steep descent off Robinson to Newlands Hause is rough and slippery when wet, and the broad grassy tops need a compass in mist; in full winter it’s a serious outing.

Type Linear

Start Honister Slate Mine

A big Newlands horseshoe walked one–way from the top of Honister Pass to Keswick. You climb straight onto Dale Head, trace the broad grassy tops over Hindscarth and Robinson, drop to Newlands Hause and pick up the quieter Knott Rigg–Ard Crags ridge, then walk out down the Newlands valley into town — six summits and a proper day out, with no car to collect.

✎️ Because it finishes in a different valley from where it starts, this one suits a car–free day: the seasonal Honister Rambler (the 77 / 77A) sets you down at Honister Hause and you walk back into Keswick for the bus home. From Penrith it’s the X4 / X5 to Keswick, then the Rambler up to Honister. Check the last bus before you set off — the walk’s long tail down the Newlands valley eats time when legs are tired.

✎️ 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

LengthHard19.62 km — a long day out.

SteepnessSevereSteepest sustained pull about 46% around the 6.1 km mark.

TerrainModerateMostly good mountain path. desk assessment — not field-verified

NavigationModerateClear line, hard to stray. desk assessment — not field-verified

ExposureNot assessedExposure (drops, scrambling, how bad a slip would be) can’t be judged from gradient data alone, so we don’t guess. A rating appears once the route is editorially assessed or walked.

Five independent axes, not one score. “Desk” ratings come from maps and guidebooks, not yet walked — treat them as a guide, not a survey.

Conditions on this route

We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 5 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. This walk finishes in Keswick, so there is no last bus to catch — 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 Dale Head2 Hindscarth3 Robinson4 Knott Rigg5 Ill Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)6 Ard Crags

Easy 65%Moderate 19%Hard 11%Severe 5%

~1035 m

Total ascent

749 m

High point

351 m

Start height

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

This walk covers about 19.62 km with around 1035 m of ascent, taking in 6 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: Not a pushchair route.
Knees: A long, steep ~46% drop around the 6.0 km mark — hard on the knees.

On the line: 20 gates · 1 kissing gate · 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 2026-07-12. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Pacing

Summit	Cumulative	Ascent	Time (fast–steady)
1Dale Head	1.9 km	402 m	1:03–1:24
2Hindscarth	3.7 km	480 m	1:32–2:02
3Robinson	5.7 km	666 m	2:16–3:00
4Knott Rigg	9.1 km	896 m	3:19–4:25
5Ill Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)	9.5 km	896 m	3:24–4:31
6Ard Crags	10.5 km	958 m	3:42–4:55
Finish	19.6 km	1035 m	5:39–7:31

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 → Dale Head (1.9 km, 402 m)
Climb of about 402 m over 1.9 km (around 21% average).
Decision point
From Honister Hause take the steep, cairned path climbing beside the old fence line up onto Dale Head.
Easy to get wrong
It’s an unrelenting pull straight from the pass — pace it; the summit shelter sits right on the edge above Newlands.
If you need to get off
Retreat: Reverse your route and follow the fence line back down the steep grassy slopes directly to Honister Pass. There is shelter, a cafe, and a bus stop at the slate mine. Trap: Do NOT bail north off the summit of Dale Head. The ground drops sheer over Dalehead Crags into the upper Newlands Valley. It is vertical, impassable terrain
2
Dale Head → Hindscarth (1.7 km, 78 m)
Climb of about 78 m over 1.7 km (around 5% average).
Decision point
Off Dale Head head north along Hindscarth Edge; where the ridge broadens, a short spur runs out to the Hindscarth summit cairn before you rejoin the round.
Easy to get wrong
In mist the broad top of Hindscarth Edge gives few landmarks — hold your bearing rather than following sheep trods.
If you need to get off
Retreat: The safest option is to retrace your steps south over Dale Head and back down to Honister Pass. Trap: Do not attempt to bail south-west off Hindscarth Edge down into the head of the Buttermere valley (Warnscale Bottom) unless you are an expert navigator; it is heavily crag-fringed and pathless
3
Hindscarth → Robinson (2.1 km, 186 m)
Climb of about 186 m over 2.1 km (around 9% average).
Decision point
Cross Littledale Edge west to the stony plateau of Robinson.
Easy to get wrong
Robinson’s summit is a wide grassy dome with several tops — find the correct north–west line before you start down.
If you need to get off
Retreat: From the saddle of Littledale Edge, you can safely bail south-west, following the drainage line of Little Dale directly down into the Buttermere valley near Hassness. Trap: Do not bail north-east off Littledale Edge into the upper Newlands valley bowl. The terrain is a trap of deep, pathless heather, bogs, and steep ravines feeding Newlands Beck
4
Robinson → Knott Rigg (3.4 km, 230 m)
Climb of about 230 m over 3.4 km (around 7% average).
Decision point
Descend Robinson’s steep nose to Newlands Hause, cross the road, and take the clear grassy path up onto Knott Rigg.
Easy to get wrong
This is the steepest, roughest ground of the day — the descent is eroded and crag–fringed; stay on the walkers’ path and don’t be tempted onto steeper ground in poor visibility.
If you need to get off
Retreat (Major Bail Point): This stage crosses Newlands Hause, a tarmac mountain pass. This is your primary escape hatch for the entire route. If the weather turns or you are fatigued, do not climb Knott Rigg. Turn right (east) and walk the road down into the Newlands Valley, or left (west) into Buttermere. Trap: The descent off Robinson's nose down to the Hause is treacherous in poor visibility. Do not stray right (east) off the main descent path, or you will be bluffed out above the sheer drops of High Snab Bank and Robinson Crags
5
Knott Rigg → Ill Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top) (0.4 km, 0 m)
Undulating section of about 0.4 km.
Decision point
Follow the narrow, grassy ridge north–east over the minor top.
Easy to get wrong
Straightforward — a pleasant, quiet ridge after the Newlands crowds.
If you need to get off
Retreat: Turn around and walk south-west back along the ridge to the road at Newlands Hause. Trap: The Keskadale (west) and Newlands (east) flanks of this ridge are incredibly steep, sustained grass slopes. Bailing laterally off the ridge will punish your knees and ankles severely. Stick to the crest
6
Ill Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top) → Ard Crags (1.0 km, 61 m)
Climb of about 61 m over 1.0 km (around 6% average).
Decision point
Continue along the ridge to the neat summit of Ard Crags.
Easy to get wrong
Fine airy walking, but the ridge is narrow in places — take care in strong wind.
If you need to get off
Retreat: Due to the short distance, your best option is to push forward to Ard Crags to set up the descent, or reverse the ridge to Newlands Hause. Trap: Again, do not drop off the sides of this narrow ridge
Ard Crags → Finish (9.1 km, 77 m)
Climb of about 77 m over 9.1 km (around 1% average).
Decision point
Drop off Ard Crags’ north–east ridge to the valley road at Rigg Beck, then follow footpaths and lanes down the Newlands valley through Stair and Portinscale into Keswick.
Easy to get wrong
The descent to Rigg Beck is steep and can be greasy; after that it’s a long, low walk–out on tired legs — allow for it in your bus timing.
If you need to get off
Retreat: Once you have navigated the steep drop off Ard Crags to the road at Rigg Beck, you are off the mountain and safe. If the 9 km walk-out to Keswick is too much, you can walk the road north to the village of Braithwaite (about 3.5 km away) where there are pubs and regular bus services back to Keswick. Trap: Do not underestimate the descent off the north-east nose of Ard Crags. It is notoriously steep, greasy, and choked with heather. Take your time, as tired legs are prone to slipping here before you hit the valley floor

Summits bagged (6)

1Dale Head754 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Marilyn
2Hindscarth727 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall
3Robinson738 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Marilyn
4Knott Rigg556 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge
5Ill Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)546 mNorth Western · Birkett, Synge
6Ard Crags581 mNorth Western · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, HuMP

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 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

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?

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

🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 1 (16 m)🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 2 (25 m)🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 3 (29 m)🚌 Keswick Bus Stn Stand 4 (35 m)⛺ Honister Pass YHA (89 m)⛺ Keswick YHA (422 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), 150 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 0.1 km (Honister Youth Hostel (near), 80 m off the line) and again at 17.2 km (Nichol End (at), 10 m off the line) — one bus, two stops, 9.6 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 – 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.

Toilets and refreshments

At Honister Pass (paid, slate mine), the closest parking we hold to where this route starts:

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

Distances are straight lines from the car park, not walking routes. Opening hours change; none of this is checked daily.

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. 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.

Dale Head — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
Hindscarth — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
Robinson — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
Knott Rigg — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00. It waits longest in late December — about half an hour after sunrise.
Ard Crags — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.

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.

Safety & conditions

The descent off Robinson to Newlands Hause is the crux — steep, eroded and grassy (around a 40–45% pull), and slippery when wet. Take the walkers’ line and keep away from the crags; cross the Buttermere road with care at the bottom.
A long day — nearly 20 km and about 1,035 m of ascent over six tops, with a further long walk–out down the valley at the end. Carry map, compass, food and water, and start early.
The high ridge from Dale Head over Hindscarth and Robinson is broad and grassy — easy to drift off line in cloud, so navigate on a bearing between the tops.
It’s a linear route: fix your return transport (and the last bus time) before you leave, as there’s no loop back to the start.

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

Why this direction: Walked north–bound (Honister to Keswick) so the day ends in town for the bus, and the steep Robinson ground is taken as a descent early on rather than a climb late.

Short version: turn back at about 9.8 km — 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).