hikes.guideLake District

4.16 km · ~167 m ascent · ~1–1.5 h · loop · 1 summit

Home / Routes / Orrest Head
ModerateLoopPlanned

Orrest Head

4.16 km
Distance
~1–1.5 h
Typical time
~167 m
Ascent
1
Summit
Download GPX →Maps & guidebooks

Key facts

Distance 4.16 km
Ascent ~167 m
Descent ~166 m
Time ~1–1.5 h
Type Loop
Start Windermere village (by the railway station)
Wainwright's first Lakeland summit and still the best short introduction to the fells — a steady wooded climb from Windermere to a rocky crown with a sweeping panorama over the lake to the Coniston and Langdale skyline.
✎️ 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.

🧭 The automated detail on this page — distance, climb, pacing and a first-pass difficulty read — is live. Hand-written field notes are being added.

Difficulty profile

LengthEasy4.16 km — a short outing.
SteepnessEasySteepest sustained pull about 15% around the 2.5 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.

☀️ 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.

OpenTopoMap
Elevation profile
Elevation profile Rises from about 102 m to 229 m over 4.2 km, with the summits marked in order. 229 m 102 m 0 km 4.2 km 1

1 Orrest Head

~167 m
Total ascent
229 m
High point
129 m
Start height

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

This walk covers about 4.16 km with around 167 m of ascent, taking in 1 summit. 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
Not dog-friendly
Buggy
Not buggy-able
Knees
Gentle descent
  • Dog: 1 ladder/squeeze stile(s) a dog can’t get through.
  • Buggy: Not a pushchair route.
  • Knees: No sustained steep descent — kind on the knees.

On the line: 5 gates · 4 kissing gates · 1 ladder stile · 1 stile (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 and we’ll fix it. Barrier data as of 2026-07-09. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Pacing

SummitCumulativeAscentTime (fast–steady)
Orrest Head1.2 km103 m0:24–0:32
Finish4.2 km167 m1:07–1:29

Naismith-based estimate — a fast/steady range. Your pace will vary.

The walk, stage by stage

Windermere village (by the railway station) → Orrest Head (1.2 km, 103 m)

Climb of about 103 m over 1.2 km (around 9% average).

Orrest Head → Finish (3.0 km, 64 m)

Climb of about 64 m over 3.0 km (around 2% average).

Stage-by-stage field notes coming soon.

Summits bagged (1)

🅿️ Getting there & parking

Church Bridge, Troutbeck (limited) — 4.0 km from the start (straight line)
For Wansfell, Troutbeck Tongue and the Ill Bell ridge via Garburn Pass.
Directions
Staveley village (paid/free mix) — 5.5 km from the start (straight line)
For Reston Scar, Hugill Fell and Potter Fell.
Directions

Positions are approximate. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

💧 Water, shelter & getting away

💧 possible water source (39 m)🛖 map (22 m)🛖 map (24 m)🛖 map (52 m)🚌 Windermere Railway Station (1) (6 m)🚌 Windermere Railway Station (2) (16 m)🚌 Thwaites Lane (113 m)🚌 Thwaites Lane junction (127 m)⛺ Station Lodge (156 m)⛺ Lakes Boutique Hostel (169 m)

💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.

🚌 Buses

Stagecoach 555
Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.
Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before travelling.

⚠️ Safety & conditions

Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS and the Met Office mountain forecast before you set off.

Make it easier or harder

Easier and harder options coming soon.

⬇️ Download

Download GPX

GPX track for your GPS or phone.

📚 Maps & guidebooks for Orrest Head

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you. How affiliate links work →

Appears in these collections
Easy walks