Scout Scar from Kendal
Start Brigsteer Road, Kendal
Getting here Parking: Scout Scar, east car park (free), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 6C, 99, 530, 555, 755 and X6 stop at Kendal South, opposite Hadwins Garage; from there it is 1.6 km and 104 m of ascent to this start. And the same back: about 8.3 km in all, with the walk. Parking & buses ↓
Hardest part Moderate navigation: Care needed in cloud — 12 path junctions near the line. Moderate – our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet
Before you choose
- The first and last few metres are on Brigsteer Road, which OpenStreetMap maps with no pavement.
- About 3.3 km of the line, in two pieces, between about 1.6 and 2.3 km and from about 2.6 km to the finish, follows paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way; the climb from the start is a public footpath. 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: Scout Scar (Wainwright summit)
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 Scout Scar (Wainwright summit)
Easy 100%ModerateHardSevere
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
Brigsteer Road, Kendal → Scout Scar (Wainwright summit) (2.0 km, 91 m)
From the car park on Brigsteer Road, cross the stile at about 0.1 km on to a public footpath. The footpath climbs west across Bradley Field, through kissing gates at about 0.55 and 1.6 km; the steepest climbing is about 8% near 1.4 km. Paths lead on west-north-west on to the top of the scar. The top, beside the shelter OpenStreetMap names the Mushroom, is at about 1.95 km.
WaypointsBrigsteer Road car park, Bradley Field, the kissing gates, the Mushroom shelter, the top of Scout Scar (233 m).
If you need to get offThe way off is back down the footpath the way you came, about 2 km to the car park.
Scout Scar (Wainwright summit) → Finish (3.2 km, 5 m)
From the top, the line follows the top of the scar south, past Hodgson's Leap at about 2.4 km, where the mapped cliff edge is about 20 m from the path. A gate at about 2.6 km leads on along the path to about 3.25 km. There the line turns east-north-east across Helsington Barrows, gently down. It bends north-east through kissing gates at about 4.4 and 4.8 km, then reaches the stile at about 5.15 km and the car park.
WaypointsThe Mushroom, the top of the scar, Hodgson's Leap, Helsington Barrows, Brigsteer Road car park (finish).
Decision pointAt about 3.25 km the line leaves the top of the scar and turns across Helsington Barrows; the path along the top goes on.
If you need to get offBack along the top and down the footpath you came up is about 2 km to the car park; on along the line is never more than about 3.2 km.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (1)
More about this walk
The start is a small free car park on Brigsteer Road, about 1.1 km in a straight line from the nearest bus stops in Kendal, on Lumley Road, and about 2.3 km from Kendal station.
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.
- Scout Scar / Underbarrow Road, Kendal (paid) — joins the loop at about km 2 of 5.2: a 540 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Scout Scar, east car park (free) — 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 6C, 99, 530, 555, 755 and X6 stop at Kendal South, opposite Hadwins Garage. From there it is 1.6 km and 104 m of ascent to this start — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 8.3 km in all, with the walk. We haven’t published last buses, Sunday or winter service yet, so check the timetable before you rely on getting back.
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 car park on Brigsteer Road is at the start. 5 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 16 October 2026)
- Limitation Stiles at about 0.1 and 5.2 km and kissing gates: not a pushchair route. (OpenStreetMap contributors, via Overpass, 16 October 2026, checked 16 October 2026)
Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
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
Moderate overall — hardest: Navigation (our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet); 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Scout Scar (Wainwright summit) | 2.0 km | 91 m | 0:33–0:43 |
| Finish | 5.2 km | 96 m | 1:12–1:35 |
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: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: No sustained steep descent in the track’s height model (steepest 250 m about 8%). Steps, wet rock and the surface underfoot are not assessed; your own knees still matter.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates. The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 7% around the 1.4 km mark.
- Stiles and gates: Stiles of unmapped type at 0.1 and 5.2 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-16)
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Moderate. 1 mapped crag feature(s) near the line — check the airy sections.
- 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: 1 gate · 4 kissing gates · 2 stiles (type unmapped)
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-10-16. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).