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7.12 km · ~514 m ascent · ~2–3 h · loop · 2 summits

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Place Fell and The Knight

7.12 km
Distance
~2–3 h
Typical time
~514 m
Ascent
2
Summits
Download GPX →Maps & guidebooks

Key facts

Distance 7.12 km
Ascent ~514 m
Descent ~515 m
Time ~2–3 h
Type Loop
✎️ 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

LengthEasy7.12 km — a short outing.
SteepnessSevereSteepest sustained pull about 42% around the 4.7 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.

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.

OpenTopoMap
Elevation profile
Elevation profile Rises from about 146 m to 650 m over 7.1 km, with the summits marked in order. 650 m 146 m 0 km 7.1 km 12

1 Place Fell2 The Knight

~514 m
Total ascent
650 m
High point
151 m
Start height

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

This walk covers about 7.12 km with around 514 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
Gates only
Buggy
Not buggy-able
Knees
Tough descent
  • Dog: Gates and kissing gates only — a dog can do the whole route.
  • Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
  • Knees: A long, steep ~42% drop around the 4.6 km mark — hard on the knees.

On the line: 6 gates

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 2026-07-26. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Pacing

SummitCumulativeAscentTime (fast–steady)
Place Fell3.2 km502 m1:29–1:59
The Knight4.1 km502 m1:39–2:12
Finish7.1 km514 m2:17–3:02

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

The walk, stage by stage

Start → Place Fell (3.2 km, 502 m)

Climb of about 502 m over 3.2 km (around 16% average).

Place Fell → The Knight (0.9 km, 1 m)

Descent of about 128 m over 0.9 km.

The Knight → Finish (3.0 km, 12 m)

Descent of about 373 m over 3.0 km.

Stage-by-stage field notes coming soon.

Summits bagged (2)

  • Place Fell 657 m · Far Eastern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Marilyn
  • The Knight 552 m · Eastern · Birkett, Synge

🅿️ Getting there & parking

Patterdale (paid) — 0.4 km from the start (straight line)
For Place Fell, St Sunday Crag, the Grisedale fells.
Directions
Glenridding (paid) — 1.2 km from the start (straight line)
Main Helvellyn-from-the-east base: Striding Edge, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse Moor; also Sheffield Pike, Glenridding Dodd.
Directions

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

💧 Water, shelter & getting away

🛖 map (97 m)🚺 map (103 m)🚌 Patterdale Hotel (E bound) (50 m)🚌 Patterdale Hotel (W bound) (81 m)🚌 Youth Hostel (N bound) (411 m)🚌 Youth Hostel (S bound) (418 m)⛺ Patterdale Youth Hostel (437 m)⛺ Patterdale Youth Hostel camp site (464 m)

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

🚌 Buses

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

Short version: turn back at about 4.1 km (drop to Start) — roughly half the distance.

⬇️ Download

Download GPX

GPX track for your GPS or phone.

📚 Maps & guidebooks for Place Fell and The Knight

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