North of Skiddaw
Photo: © Lee McCoy
Start Longlands
Getting here Parking: Longlands Fell car park, 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Hard steepness: Steepest sustained descent about 26% around the 6.2 km mark.
Before you choose
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
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 Longlands Fell2 Lowthwaite Fell3 Brae Fell4 Little Sca Fell5 Great Sca Fell6 Meal Fell7 Great Cockup8 Orthwaite Bank
Easy 83%Moderate 16%Hard 1%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
Start → Longlands Fell (2.2 km, 259 m)
From the small parking area near Longlands, pick up the wide track of the Cumbria Way. Before long, branch off to the right and tackle the grassy, direct ascent straight up the nose to the summit of Longlands Fell.
WaypointsLonglands hamlet, Cumbria Way track, Longlands Fell summit.
Decision pointThe Cumbria Way provides a clear starting highway. Once off the track, the grassy path heading up Longlands Fell is fairly clear in good weather.
Easy to get wrongAt 12%, this is the steepest sustained climb of the day, but the terrain is forgiving grass rather than loose rock.
If you need to get offTurn around and descend the grassy slopes directly back to the Cumbria Way track.
© Lee McCoy - 2
Longlands Fell → Lowthwaite Fell (0.7 km, 60 m)
Head south across the shallow, grassy saddle to the next small rise, Lowthwaite Fell.
WaypointsLonglands Fell summit, Lowthwaite Fell summit.
Decision pointMaintain a southern bearing. The route is highly visible on a clear day.
Easy to get wrongVery straightforward walking, though the dip between the two fells can hold water after heavy rain.
If you need to get offRetreat to Longlands Fell and descend to the start.
- 3
Lowthwaite Fell → Brae Fell (1.6 km, 118 m)
Drop slightly from Lowthwaite Fell and begin the long, sweeping curve east and then north over the broad, grassy slopes, ascending gently to the large summit cairn on Brae Fell.
WaypointsLowthwaite Fell, Brae Fell summit cairn.
Decision pointThe large summit cairn of Brae Fell is one of the few prominent man-made markers on this section of the moorland.
Easy to get wrongThe walking remains very easy on the legs, but the sweeping grass plateau lacks obvious features. In thick clag, it is remarkably easy to lose your bearings here—this is where your navigation skills will be tested.
If you need to get offWe have not checked a line down from Brae Fell for this guide, so none is offered here. The way back is the way you came.
© Lee McCoy - 4
Brae Fell → Little Sca Fell (1.0 km, 62 m)
Leave Brae Fell, heading south-east along the broad ridge. The gentle grassy climb takes you up to the sunken wind shelter and cairn of Little Sca Fell.
WaypointsBrae Fell, Little Sca Fell summit (wind shelter).
Decision pointThe wind shelter at the summit provides an excellent visual target.
Easy to get wrongHighly exposed to the wind, but mechanically very easy walking.
If you need to get offRetrace your steps back to Brae Fell.
© Lee McCoy - 5
Little Sca Fell → Great Sca Fell (0.4 km, 29 m)
A very short, virtually flat transit across the grass connecting the minor top of Little Sca Fell to the true summit of Great Sca Fell.
WaypointsLittle Sca Fell, Great Sca Fell summit.
Decision pointKeep following the main trod south-east; the paths cross near the summit cairn.
Easy to get wrongEasy terrain, but the actual summit of Great Sca Fell is somewhat underwhelming and can blend into the surrounding plateau.
If you need to get offPush forward or retreat to Little Sca Fell; there is no immediate valley descent here that doesn't involve steep, pathless grass.
- 6
Great Sca Fell → Meal Fell (0.9 km, 25 m)
From Great Sca Fell, turn sharply west-south-west and begin the grassy descent towards the col, before a short rise to the rugged little summit of Meal Fell.
WaypointsGreat Sca Fell, Meal Fell summit (wind shelter).
Decision pointLook for the small, circular stone wind shelter perched on an outcrop at Meal Fell's summit.
Easy to get wrongThe descent is on grass, which can be slippery when wet. Meal Fell is noticeably rockier than the previous Uldale fells, adding a nice bit of texture to the route.
If you need to get offWe have not checked a line down from the col before Meal Fell for this guide, so none is offered here.
© Lee McCoy - 7
Meal Fell → Great Cockup (1.3 km, 99 m)
Drop off Meal Fell into the steep, striking little valley of Trusmadoor. Cross the pass and tackle the loose, somewhat steep path up the eastern flank of Great Cockup before the gradient eases near the summit.
WaypointsMeal Fell, Trusmadoor pass, Great Cockup summit.
Decision pointTrusmadoor is a massive, distinctive geographical cleft. Once through it, the path up Great Cockup is clear in good weather.
Easy to get wrongThe drop into and climb out of Trusmadoor is the only section of the day that feels like a real slog. The initial climb out of the pass onto Great Cockup is loose and rocky before returning to grass.
If you need to get offWe have not checked a line down from Trusmadoor for this guide, so none is offered here. The way back is the way you came, over Meal Fell.
© Lee McCoy - 8
Great Cockup → Orthwaite Bank (1.8 km, 8 m)
From the summit of Great Cockup, follow the long, gentle ridge line west-south-west as it descends steadily over the grassy slopes towards Orthwaite Bank.
WaypointsGreat Cockup, Orthwaite Bank.
Decision pointThe ridge line naturally funnels you downward toward the farmlands.
Easy to get wrongA long, steady, and very pleasant grassy descent.
If you need to get offContinue the descent; you are well on your way off the high fell.
© Lee McCoy Orthwaite Bank → Finish (3.4 km, 70 m)
Skirt the lower slopes above Orthwaite, picking up the farm tracks and quiet country lanes. Follow these low-level paths northward, contouring the base of the fells until you return to the parking area at Longlands.
WaypointsOrthwaite Bank, Uldale fell base tracks, Longlands parking area.
Decision pointThe lower tracks and roads are well-defined and clearly mapped.
Easy to get wrongA flat, easy walk-out on farm tracks and lanes. It feels like a breeze after the fells, perfectly wrapping up a route that is delightfully easy on the legs.
If you need to get offYou are on the valley floor network and entirely off the high fells.
© Lee McCoy
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked by Lee, August 2024
Summits bagged (8)
- 1Longlands Fell483 m
- 2Lowthwaite Fell509 m
- 3Brae Fell585 m
- 4Little Sca Fell633 m
- 5Great Sca Fell651 m
- 6Meal Fell549 m
- 7Great Cockup526 m
- 8Orthwaite Bank348 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.
- Longlands Fell — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:30. It waits longest in late December — about an hour after sunrise.
- Brae Fell — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
- Great Sca Fell — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
- Meal Fell — in late March the sun reaches it around 07:00, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:45. It waits longest in late December — about an hour after sunrise.
- Great Cockup — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:30. It waits longest in late March — about half an hour after sunrise. In late December, not until about 09:00.
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
1 more place 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.
- Roadside parking for Longlands Fell (free) — at the start
- Little Cockup car park — joins the loop at about km 12 of 13.2: a 370 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Longlands Fell car park — 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
No bus we hold serves this start. The nearest stop we hold is the 553, 554 and X4 stop at Bassenthwaite, at Village turn, 6.4 km away on foot: a walk of its own, not a way to the start.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival Longlands Fell car park, at the start. 1 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (our parking audit, from OpenStreetMap, 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 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 Nearly a fifth of the line is featureless ground where a compass earns its keep. (our route notes (this route's own warnings), checked 28 September 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
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Longlands Fell | 2.2 km | 259 m | 0:52–1:09 |
| 2Lowthwaite Fell | 2.9 km | 318 m | 1:06–1:28 |
| 3Brae Fell | 4.5 km | 436 m | 1:38–2:10 |
| 4Little Sca Fell | 5.5 km | 498 m | 1:56–2:34 |
| 5Great Sca Fell | 5.9 km | 527 m | 2:03–2:44 |
| 6Meal Fell | 6.8 km | 553 m | 2:16–3:01 |
| 7Great Cockup | 8.0 km | 652 m | 2:42–3:35 |
| 8Orthwaite Bank | 9.9 km | 660 m | 3:04–4:05 |
| Finish | 13.2 km | 729 m | 3:52–5:08 |
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; terrain Easy – graded by Lee on the ground, but the going for wheels is not recorded; not a buggy line on what we know.
- Knees: A long, steep ~32% drop over 250 m around the 6.0 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: the steepest stretch, a sustained descent of about 26% around the 6.2 km mark.
- 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 19 July 2026)
- Rock and scrambling: 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: 2 gates
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
- Woodlands Country House & Cottage (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 4.5 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).