Home / Routes / Knipe Scar - Birkett

Written by Lee McCoy · Route guide updated 18 October 2026: summary changed · 171 of 214 Wainwrights with a Strava-matched summit

Hard navigationLoopPlanned

Knipe Scar - Birkett

5.74 km

Distance

~1¼–2 h

Estimated time

~166 m

Ascent

Summit

A short limestone walk on Knipescar Common east of Haweswater — 5.7 km and 166 m, with one 19% pull over 250 m, and easy for length.

Start Bampton Grange

Getting here Parking: Knipescar Common (verge), 0.6 km from the start (straight line). Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓

Hardest part Hard navigation: Care needed in cloud — ~33% featureless high ground, 12 path junctions near the line. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground

Before you choose

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

Download GPX →Planned route · not yet walked

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.

Route map

OpenTopoMap

Elevation profile, shaded by steepness

1 Knipescar Common (Knipe Scar)

Easy 95%Moderate 5%HardSevere

336 m

High point

177 m

Start height

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 → Knipescar Common (Knipe Scar) (2.5 km, 159 m)
Climb of about 159 m over 2.5 km (around 6% average).
From the road in Bampton Grange, by The Crown & Mitre Inn, take the public footpath north through two gates to a stone step-over stile at about 0.4 km. A lane then leads north-north-west for about 0.3 km, past a gate. At about 0.7 km a public footpath leaves the lane and heads north-east. From about 1 km the route is on the permissive paths of Knipescar Common. They climb north-north-east, the steepest part of the walk at about 19% near the 1.4 km mark, onto the high ground at about 1.9 km. The path then turns south along the top of the scar, with the scar edge close on your right. Knipe Scar's highest point (341m) is at about 2.5 km.
Waypoints
Bampton Grange, the stone step-over stile at about 0.4 km, the lane, the permissive paths on Knipescar Common, the top of the scar, Knipe Scar summit (341m).
Decision point
On the common several paths meet and part; the route stays on the permissive paths. The scar edge, on your right along the top, leads to the summit.
Easy to get wrong
OSM maps the scar itself as a cliff, close on your right as the path runs south along the top from about 1.9 to 2.3 km. The climb onto the common, about 19% near the 1.4 km mark, is the steepest ground on the walk.
If you need to get off
The map shows the line on a lane from about 0.4 to 0.7 km; above it, at about 1.2 km, a permissive path leads about 190 m west to a road; otherwise the way off is back the way you came, never more than about 1.5 km; not walked for this guide.
Knipescar Common (Knipe Scar) → Finish (3.3 km, 7 m)
Descent of about 157 m over 3.3 km.
From the top, carry on east-south-east along the permissive paths across Knipescar Common for about 0.8 km, with Inscar Plantation close on your left near the 3.3 km mark. There the route turns back west on a path below the top. It descends to a public footpath at about 4.4 km; the steepest of the descent, about 16%, is near the 4 km mark. Follow the public footpath west. From about 4.7 km the route is the way you walked out, in reverse: the footpath to the lane, the lane over a cattle grid, and the public footpath back over the step-over stile to Bampton Grange.
Waypoints
Knipe Scar summit, Knipescar Common, Inscar Plantation, the public footpath at about 4.4 km, the lane, the step-over stile, Bampton Grange (finish).
Decision point
From about 4.7 km the route is the outward line in reverse, back to Bampton Grange.
Easy to get wrong
The descent near the 4 km mark is about 16%. The stone step-over stile near the finish is the one crossed on the way out.
If you need to get off
Follow the route's own line to the finish.

Download GPX

GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked

Summits bagged (1)

1Knipescar Common (Knipe Scar)341 mAround Penrith · Outlying Fell, Birkett, Synge

More about this walk

Rated hard to navigate from the map: about a third of the line is open, featureless ground with many path junctions, so it needs care in cloud (a desk estimate; this route is planned, not yet walked). About 1¼–2 hours.

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.

Getting there and back

Parking

Knipescar Common (verge) — 0.6 km from the start (straight line)

0.7 km from Knipescar Common.

Directions Something changed here?

Knipescar Common, south-west (layby) — 0.8 km from the start (straight line)

Nearest fells: Knipescar Common (Knipe Scar) (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

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.

Every option near this start, on the parking map →

Buses

No bus we hold serves this start. The nearest stop we hold is the UB2 at Askham, outside Stores, 6.1 km away on foot: a walk of its own, not a way to the start. It is a seasonal service too: 1 November 2026 is its last day of the year (confirmed with the operator, 9 October 2026); it returns on 22 March 2027.

Toilets and refreshments

The essentials

Arrival The nearest parking we hold is verge on Knipescar Common, about 600 m from the start. No fee or capacity is recorded for it. 596 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (our parking map (Lee's Street View sweep, 10 August 2026), checked 10 August 2026)
Toilets No toilets are mapped within 250 m of the start. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
Refreshments The Crown & Mitre Inn is mapped beside the start. Opening hours are not recorded here. 15 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
Limitation Rated hard to navigate from the map: about a third of the line is open, featureless ground with many path junctions, so take care in cloud. (our route notes (this route's own summary), checked 2 October 2026)

Everything mapped near the start

Mapped as nearby on OpenStreetMap, as of 13 September 2026, within 250 m of where this route starts (information boards within 150 m; benches and shelter within 50 m):

The Crown & Mitre Inn

Also mapped within reach: an information board.

Distances are straight lines from where this route starts, not walking routes. Opening hours are as mapped and change; none of this is checked daily.

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

Hard overall — hardest: Navigation (estimated from the map, not checked on the ground); terrain not assessed; exposure not assessed on the ground

LengthEasy5.74 km — a short outing.

SteepnessModerateSteepest sustained climb about 17% around the 1.5 km mark.

TerrainNot assessedThe map holds no grading for what is underfoot on this line, so we don’t guess. A rating appears once the ground is assessed.

NavigationHardCare needed in cloud — ~33% featureless high ground, 12 path junctions near the line. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground

ExposureNot assessedNot assessed on the ground; the map suggests Easy. Graded from slope only (~19% max); treat exposure as unverified. Exposure (drops, scrambling, how bad a slip would be) needs the ground, so a map estimate is not given a grade here and does not count towards the overall grade.

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)
1Knipescar Common (Knipe Scar)	2.5 km	159 m	0:46–1:01
Finish	5.7 km	166 m	1:25–1:54

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?

Dog

Mostly gates

Buggy

Not buggy-able

Knees

No steep descent mapped

Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
Knees: No sustained steep descent in the track’s height model (steepest 250 m about 16%). Steps, wet rock and the surface underfoot are not assessed; your own knees still matter.

With a dog

Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates. The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 17% around the 1.5 km mark.

Stiles and gates: A step-over stile at 0.4 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 26 July 2026)
Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Not assessed.
Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Easy. Graded from slope only (~19% max); 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: 3 gates · 1 step-over stile

Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 26 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Places to stay near this start

New Ing Lodge (opens in new tab) hostelabout 4.8 km

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from the route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).