Maiden Moor and High Spy
Start Brackenburn layby, below Catbells
Getting here Parking: Cat Bells, south-east (layby), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 77 stops at Brandelhow Park (o/s), a 910 m walk and 32 m of ascent from this start. Parking & buses ↓
Hardest part Hard steepness: Steepest sustained descent about 32% around the 7.4 km mark.
Before you choose
- The first 0.6 km and the last 1.7 km or so are on the narrow lanes below Catbells and past Manesty, which OpenStreetMap maps as minor roads and records no pavement for.
- The way down from the ridge is steep: about 37% over 250 m near 6.2 km, past points OpenStreetMap maps as fords near 6.45 and 6.5 km and the crag of Nitting Haws, mapped about 7 m from the path near 6.9 km.
- Apart from the lanes, about 0.9 km of the line, in pieces, the longest a permissive path between about 0.6 and 1.0 km, follows paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way; the rest is public bridleways and public footpaths. That is a map-data note, not a ruling on access: check the access land and rights of way maps before relying on this stretch.
Hazard & incident notes: Maiden Moor · High Spy
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 Maiden Moor2 High Spy
Easy 57%Moderate 27%Hard 17%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
Brackenburn layby, below Catbells → Maiden Moor (3.3 km, 459 m)
From the layby, the line follows the lane south-east for about 0.6 km, over a cattle grid. It then leaves the lane on a permissive path west-south-west to a public bridleway at about 0.95 km. The bridleway climbs north-west, on rock in places, to Hause Gate, the col between Catbells and Maiden Moor, at about 1.9 km. There the line turns south-south-west on to the public footpath along the ridge. It climbs steadily south-west, with mapped crags (Black Crag, then Bull Crag) about 25 to 35 m from the path, to the top of Maiden Moor at about 3.3 km.
WaypointsThe layby, the lane and its cattle grid, the permissive path, the public bridleway, Hause Gate, the ridge path, Maiden Moor (575 m).
Easy to get wrongThe top of Maiden Moor is broad and grassy, with no clear summit, and ends in crags on the Newlands side; in cloud, keep to the ridge path. The desk count for the whole line is 28 path junctions near it.
If you need to get offBack the way you came: the ridge path north to Hause Gate and the bridleway down, never more than about 3.3 km.
- 2
Maiden Moor → High Spy (2.1 km, 95 m)
The line keeps south along the ridge path, past Narrow Moor at about 3.75 km and a cairn at about 4.35 km, with the crags of Eel Crag and Red Crag mapped about 30 m from the path near 4.8 and 5.1 km, to the top of High Spy at about 5.35 km.
WaypointsMaiden Moor, Narrow Moor, the cairn, Eel Crag and Red Crag, High Spy (653 m).
Easy to get wrongCrags fall from both sides of this ridge: High Spy's hazard notes name Eel Crags on the Newlands side and Blea Crag on the Borrowdale side. Keep to the path in cloud.
If you need to get offThe line on is the shorter way down from High Spy, about 4.8 km to the layby (stage 3); back the way you came is about 5.4 km.
High Spy → Finish (4.8 km, 99 m)
Off High Spy the line goes north along the ridge path for about 0.45 km, the way it came. At about 5.8 km it turns east-north-east off the ridge on to a public footpath. The path goes steeply down east, past mapped fords near 6.45 and 6.5 km; the steepest stretch is about 37% over 250 m near 6.2 km. It goes on down north-east, past the crag of Nitting Haws, mapped about 7 m from the path near 6.9 km, crosses Greenup Sikes near 7.5 and 7.8 km, and reaches a gate at about 8.2 km. A short footpath leads east to a lane at about 8.45 km. The line follows the lane north through gates and over cattle grids, joins the lane below Catbells at about 9.05 km and follows it north past Manesty and its bus stops, at about 9.25 km, back to the layby.
WaypointsHigh Spy, the turn off the ridge on to the public footpath, the fords, Nitting Haws, Greenup Sikes, the gate at about 8.2 km, the lanes, Manesty and its bus stops, the layby (finish).
Decision pointNorth of High Spy's top, at about 5.8 km, the line leaves the ridge path on to the public footpath down past Nitting Haws.
Easy to get wrongThe descent from the ridge is steep, about 37% over 250 m near 6.2 km and about 32% sustained near 7.4 km, with two mapped fords and a mapped crag beside the path. The last 1.7 km or so is on lanes.
If you need to get offThe line itself is the way down; back over Maiden Moor to Hause Gate and the bridleway is longer.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (2)
- 1Maiden Moor575 m
- 2High Spy653 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
More about this walk
The start is a small free layby on the lane below Catbells, near Brackenburn. The line passes bus stops at Manesty, about 0.8 km from the start, near the end of the walk.
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
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
There is no real plan B here. Every place we know beside this route serves the same walks and sits close together, so expect them to fill on the same mornings. Worth starting early, or having a different walk in mind before you set off.
- Grange village car park (by the chapel) — joins the loop at about km 8.4 of 10.2: a 480 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Cat Bells (layby) — a 510 m walk to the start
- Cat Bells, south-east (layby) — at the start
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 77 stops at Brandelhow Park (o/s), a 910 m walk and 32 m of ascent from this start. We haven’t published last buses, Sunday or winter service yet, so check the timetable before you rely on getting back.
The 77 passes this route at 0.0 km (Brandelhow Park (o/s), 880 m off the line). It passes again at 9.3 km. Other services cross it too — 78 at 8.4 km. Seasonal: the 77 does not run from 2 November 2026 to 21 March 2027.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival A small free layby on the lane below Catbells is at the start. 7 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 17 October 2026)
- Limitation Lanes at each end, a steep descent and two fords: not a pushchair route. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 17 October 2026)
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: Steepness; terrain not assessed; exposure not assessed on the ground
Five independent axes, not one score. This route has not been walked yet, so none of them was set on the ground: one of the five is our judgement from the map and the route’s record, and 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Maiden Moor | 3.3 km | 459 m | 1:25–1:54 |
| 2High Spy | 5.3 km | 554 m | 2:00–2:39 |
| Finish | 10.2 km | 653 m | 3:07–4:09 |
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: No mapped stiles, but the ground underfoot has not been assessed; not a buggy line on what we know.
- Knees: A long, steep ~37% drop over 250 m around the 6.2 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: drops and exposed ground (estimated from the map). The steepest stretch is a sustained descent of about 32% around the 7.4 km mark.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Hard. 7 mapped crag feature(s) near the line — check the airy sections.
- Stiles and gates: Only gates and kissing gates are mapped: no stile a dog can’t get through. That is the barriers alone; check the route’s steep or rocky ground before you bring a dog. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-17)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Not assessed.
- 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: 5 gates
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-10-17. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Lodore Falls — 1.7 km from this start
- Walks from Grange-in-Borrowdale — 1.9 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.
