Rivings and Lothwaite
Start Wythop Mill
Getting here Parking: Ling Fell, north-east (layby), 0.1 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the X4 and X5 stop at Embleton Close Barn (near); from there it is 2.7 km and 151 m of ascent to this start. And the same back: about 9.8 km in all, with the walk. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Hard steepness: Steepest sustained descent about 26% around the 4.0 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 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.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 Rivings2 Lothwaite3 Sale Fell
Easy 69%Moderate 30%Hard 2%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 → Rivings (1.6 km, 195 m)
Ascend steadily from the parking area near Wythop Mill, taking the broad grassy path that weaves up the south-eastern flank of the fell. The path climbs through scattered gorse and bracken before gaining the crest of the lower ridge, turning north-east to bring you onto the minor grassy prominence of Rivings.
WaypointsWythop Mill parking (vicinity), south-eastern flanks, Rivings summit.
Decision pointThe paths on Sale Fell are wide and heavily trodden. Keep the bulk of the main summit on your left as you ascend the eastern spur towards Rivings, using the obvious wear in the grass as your primary guide.
Easy to get wrongAs a lower fell, the primary hazard here in summer is the dense bracken and gorse on the lower slopes, which can heavily encroach on the path and hide uneven ground. The gradient is steady but can feel surprisingly warm and sheltered from the wind until you hit the exposed ridge line.
If you need to get offThe map shows the line beside the lane to about 0.7 km, then on a track and path up to Rivings; no mapped path reaches a road sooner than going back, so the way off is back the way you came, under 1 km; not walked for this guide.
- 2
Rivings → Lothwaite (0.6 km, 27 m)
Continue north-east along the delightful, gently undulating grassy ridge line. The path is a beautifully easy stroll over short turf, terminating at the magnificent viewpoint of Lothwaite, which abruptly overlooks the vast expanse of Bassenthwaite Lake.
WaypointsRivings ridge, Lothwaite viewpoint.
Decision pointThe ridge is well-defined and the path is clear. Bassenthwaite Lake dominates the view ahead and acts as a massive visual handrail drawing you directly to the Lothwaite viewpoint.
Easy to get wrongThe ground at Lothwaite drops away quite steeply through the forestry down to the A66, so avoid venturing too far past the viewpoint in wet, slippery conditions.
If you need to get offThe map shows no shorter way to a road between Rivings and Lothwaite than back or on, so the way off is back or on, up to about 1.5 km to the lane; not walked for this guide.
- 3
Lothwaite → Sale Fell (0.9 km, 45 m)
Turn your back on Bassenthwaite and head west, traversing back along the ridge before taking the slightly steeper, grassy pull up the broad eastern shoulder to reach the main, rounded summit of Sale Fell.
WaypointsLothwaite, eastern shoulder, Sale Fell summit (359m).
Decision pointThe path from Lothwaite to the main summit is heavily eroded into the turf; the summit is marked by a modest cairn.
Easy to get wrongSale Fell’s summit is a wide, grassy dome. In the frequently high winds that whip across the northern fells, there is no shelter up here. The short grass is forgiving on the joints, but can become greasy after a few days of classic Lake District drizzle.
If you need to get offThe map shows a path leaving the line at about 3 km, just short of the top of Sale Fell, that drops in about 150 m to the track the walk climbed at about 1.2 km, which leads back down to the lane: about 650 m in all, losing about 120 m, and shorter than going on; before that the way off is back or on, up to about 1.5 km; not walked for this guide.
Sale Fell → Finish (1.2 km, 6 m)
Leave the summit by descending the steep, grassy south-western slopes, following the zig-zagging trods that drop quickly back towards the Wythop valley. Rejoin the lower traverse path near the intake walls and follow the easy farm lanes back to the parking area.
WaypointsSale Fell south-western descent, intake wall boundary, Wythop valley road.
Decision pointAim for the distinct boundary of the intake walls and the visible ribbon of the valley road below. The descent paths naturally funnel you down toward the forestry edges and the starting lanes.
Easy to get wrongThe initial drop off the summit is surprisingly steep and entirely grass-covered; it acts like a slip-and-slide in the wet, so take small steps or use walking poles to save your knees. The final walk-out on the lower lanes is firm and easy underfoot.
If you need to get offFollow the route's own line to the finish.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
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.
- Sale 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 March — about half an hour after sunrise. In late December, not until about 08:45.
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
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.
- Roadside parking for Ling Fell (free) — a 460 m walk to the start
- Burthwaite Heights (layby) — joins the loop at about km 0.7 of 4.4: a 680 m walk to the line, climbing about 40 m, and you walk the round from there
- Ling Fell, north-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 X4 and X5 stop at Embleton Close Barn (near). From there it is 2.7 km and 151 m of ascent to this start — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 9.8 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (X5): Tuesday to Thursday 21:35; Friday and Saturday 23:50; Sunday 17:55. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 24 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival A layby on the north-east side of Ling Fell, about 105 m from the start: free, as mapped. 106 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 Short but steep: 273 m of climbing packed into 4.4 km, with a stage averaging 12%. (our route notes (this route's own summary), checked 2 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. None of them was set on the ground: they 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Rivings | 1.6 km | 195 m | 0:38–0:51 |
| 2Lothwaite | 2.2 km | 222 m | 0:49–1:05 |
| 3Sale Fell | 3.2 km | 267 m | 1:05–1:26 |
| Finish | 4.4 km | 273 m | 1:20–1:46 |
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 ~35% drop over 250 m around the 4.0 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 4.0 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 26 July 2026)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Not assessed.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Easy. No mapped crags on or beside the line.
- 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 26 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Places to stay near this start
- Embleton Spa Hotel (opens in new tab) hotelabout 1.6 km
- Bassenfell Manor Christian Centre (opens in new tab) hostelabout 4.7 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).