Lingmoor Fell from Elterwater
Key facts
Difficulty profile
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 1 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.
1 Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)2 Side Pike
Easy 77%Moderate 21%Hard 3%Severe
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).
This walk covers about 11.51 km with around 487 m of ascent, taking in 2 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: A stile of unmapped type — a dog may need lifting over.
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A sustained ~29% descent around the 5.4 km mark — a little jarring on tired knees.
On the line: 19 gates · 1 kissing gate · 1 step-over stile · 3 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 2026-07-14. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lingmoor Fell (Brown How) | 3.7 km | 421 m | 1:27–1:56 |
| 2Side Pike | 5.2 km | 438 m | 1:46–2:21 |
| Finish | 11.5 km | 487 m | 3:07–4:08 |
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 → Lingmoor Fell (Brown How) (3.7 km, 421 m)
Starting from the picturesque village of Elterwater, the route immediately climbs west through the active Burlington Slate quarries. The terrain begins on firm, crushed-slate quarry tracks before breaking out onto the open, uncultivated eastern ridge of Lingmoor. The 11% average gradient masks a heavily terraced ascent. The path is a relentless rollercoaster over a series of rocky knolls and through incredibly deep, woody heather, eventually depositing you on the summit plateau of Brown How
WaypointsStart Point: Elterwater Village (approx. NY 327 047). Elterwater Quarries: The active and historical slate workings on the lower slopes. The Eastern Ridge: The undulating, heather-clad spine. Lingmoor Fell Summit - Brown How (469 m): A Wainwright summit marked by a rocky outcrop and a small cairn, offering the definitive view of the Langdale Pikes
Decision pointThe Great Wall of Lingmoor: As you ascend the ridge, you will intercept an immense, perfectly built drystone wall. This architectural marvel runs straight over the fell and acts as a flawless handrail all the way to the summit. Visual Targets: The Langdale Pikes are a constant, imposing visual magnet drawing you west/north-west
Easy to get wrongFalse Summits: The eastern ridge is heavily terraced. You will crest at least three distinct rocky lips, each time thinking you have reached the summit, only to see another heather-clad knoll ahead. The Heather: The heather on Lingmoor is notoriously thick and woody. It frequently conceals ankle-twisting holes and loose rocks on the path. Adders: In the height of summer, this sun-baked, rocky, heather-clad ridge is prime adder territory. Keep dogs on a short lead and watch where you place your hands if scrambling
If you need to get offRetreat: Carefully reverse your steps back down the eastern ridge through the quarries to Elterwater. Trap: Do NOT attempt to bail north directly off the ridge into Great Langdale. The northern flanks of Lingmoor are defended by vertical, highly dangerous crags (Lingmoor Crags) hidden just below the ridge line
- 2
Lingmoor Fell (Brown How) → Side Pike (1.5 km, 17 m)
A spectacular, rugged descent. Leaving Brown How, you follow the great wall north-west as the ridge begins to plunge towards the Blea Tarn col. The terrain here is highly uneven, dropping via steep, rocky steps and highly eroded, slippery channels. At the base of the descent, you confront Side Pike—a dramatic, craggy Birkett satellite peak that requires negotiating the famous "Fat Man's Agony" rock squeeze to bypass its sheer northern face
WaypointsThe Descent Path: The steep, rocky trod shadowing the wall. Fat Man's Agony: A notoriously tight, narrow gap between the vertical crag and a massive detached boulder on the path around Side Pike. Side Pike Summit (362 m): The rocky, precipitous Birkett marking the western terminus of the Lingmoor ridge
Decision pointThe Wall: The drystone wall remains your constant companion, plunging directly down the steep terrain. Blea Tarn: The dark, perfectly framed waters of Blea Tarn sit directly below you, acting as an unmissable visual target for the col
Easy to get wrongSteep Rock Steps: The descent off Lingmoor requires careful foot placement. The rock is highly polished by boot traffic and lethally slick after rain. The Squeeze: Fat Man's Agony is genuinely tight. If you have a large 60L+ rucksack or are of a broader build, you will likely need to take your pack off and push it through the gap ahead of you
If you need to get offRetreat: Once at the col near Side Pike, dropping west/south-west delivers you immediately to the Blea Tarn road, where you can easily walk to the National Trust car park. Trap: Do not try to climb directly down the front (north/west) faces of Side Pike. They are vertical climbing crags. You must use the established paths to bypass or descend it safely
Side Pike → Finish (6.3 km, 49 m)
A long, sweeping, and incredibly scenic valley walk-out. From the Side Pike/Blea Tarn col, the route drops sharply north into the floor of the Great Langdale valley. You then pick up the Cumbria Way/valley trails, heading east. The terrain transitions into a flat, easy march through beautiful pastoral enclosures, ancient oak woodlands (Baysbrown Wood), and alongside the meandering Great Langdale Beck, returning you to Elterwater
WaypointsThe Col Descent: The steep grassy drop into Great Langdale. Great Langdale Valley Floor: The transition to flat, agricultural land. Baysbrown Woods / Oak Howe: The shaded woodland tracks on the southern side of the river. Great Langdale Beck: The river that guides you back to the start. Finish Point: Elterwater Village
Decision pointThe River: Great Langdale Beck is a massive linear handrail. Keep the river on your left (north) and the steep slopes of Lingmoor Fell on your right (south), and you will be funneled perfectly back to Elterwater. The Valley Road: The B5343 runs parallel to your path on the opposite side of the valley, providing constant visual orientation
Easy to get wrongDistance Fatigue: After the steep, rugged terrain of Lingmoor, 6.3 km of valley walking can feel surprisingly long on tired feet. Flooding / Mud: The paths immediately adjacent to Great Langdale Beck are prone to severe flooding in winter or after heavy rain. The sections through Baysbrown Wood can become deep, inescapable mud baths
If you need to get offRetreat: This entire stage is the ultimate valley escape route. Emergency: If the southern valley paths (Oak Howe/Baysbrown side) are heavily flooded, you can cross the river at the New Dungeon Ghyll hotel or Chapel Stile bridges to walk the pavement of the B5343 road instead, though be cautious of traffic
Summits bagged (2)
- 1Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)470 m
- 2Side Pike362 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
Getting there & parking
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
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Buses
The 516 stops at Elterwater, opposite The Britannia Inn, 70 m from this start. Last bus: Monday to Friday 19:52 towards Dungeon Ghyll (516); Saturday 22:12 towards Dungeon Ghyll (516); Sunday 19:52 towards Dungeon Ghyll (516). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
The 516 passes this route at 0.0 km (Elterwater, opposite The Britannia Inn, 40 m off the line) and again at 7.5 km (New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel (opp), 350 m off the line) — one bus, two stops, 3.6 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.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
If the parking is full
If the first one is full, these do not all fill together. 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.
- New Dungeon Ghyll (LDNPA, paid)
- Loughrigg Fell, west (layby 5)
- Side Pike (layby)
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 Elterwater (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.
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.
- Lingmoor Fell (Brown How) — 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.
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 Side Pike squeeze. The direct ridge line passes through a narrow cleft above a steep drop. There is a bypass path that drops below the crag — take it if you are carrying a big pack, or with a dog or children.
- Old quarry workings on the Elterwater side. Keep to the path.
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
Short version: turn back at about 5.0 km (drop to Start) — roughly half the distance.
Places to stay near this start
From Elterwater: 5 places in Grasmere