The Tilberthwaite Birketts
Start Low Tilberthwaite car park
Getting here Parking: Tilberthwaite (paid), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 505 stops at Monk Coniston, at Hall; from there it is 3.5 km and 256 m of ascent to this start. And the same back: about 12.2 km in all, with the walk. Parking & buses ↓
Hardest part Hard steepness: Steepest sustained descent about 30% around the 4.6 km mark. Hard navigation: Care needed in cloud — ~40% featureless high ground, 17 path junctions near the line. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground
Before you choose
- Between about 1.75 and 2.6 km the line crosses open ground between the four tops, mostly away from mapped paths, and crosses a crag line OpenStreetMap maps on Hawk Rigg twice, at about 2.2 and 2.3 km. Take care on the steep ground there, and in cloud.
- Old mine workings are mapped beside the line: the Tilberthwaite Tunnel adit about 13 m from the path near 0.5 km, and the Hawkrigg Copper Mine about 35 m from the line near 2.1 km. Keep to the paths and away from any opening.
- About 2.1 km of the line, over the tops and round below Great Intake between about 1.75 and 4.2 km, is on paths that OpenStreetMap does not record as public rights of way, or on no mapped path at all; the climb beside Tilberthwaite Gill and the descent to the road are public footpaths. 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.
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 Blake Rigg (Tilberthwaite)2 Haystacks (Tilberthwaite)3 Hawk Rigg4 High Fell (Hawk Rigg)
Easy 68%Moderate 23%Hard 9%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
Low Tilberthwaite car park → Blake Rigg (Tilberthwaite) (1.9 km, 266 m)
From the car park, climb the stone steps and follow the public footpath south-west above Tilberthwaite Gill. An old mine level, the Tilberthwaite Tunnel adit, is mapped 13 m from the path near 0.5 km, where a footbridge crosses the gill; a kissing gate follows at about 0.6 km. The path goes on west-north-west up the gill, past the waterfall OpenStreetMap maps about 25 m from it near 0.9 km, then north-north-west, over stepping stones at about 1.2 km and a footbridge at about 1.55 km. At about 1.6 km the line bends right, and from about 1.75 km it leaves the mapped paths and crosses open ground to the top of Blake Rigg at about 1.9 km.
WaypointsLow Tilberthwaite car park, the stone steps, Tilberthwaite Gill, the footbridge and kissing gate, the waterfall, the stepping stones, Blake Rigg (423 m).
Decision pointAt about 1.75 km the line leaves the path for open ground to Blake Rigg.
Easy to get wrongFrom about 1.75 km to about 2.6 km the line is mostly off the mapped paths, on open ground between the tops.
If you need to get offBack the way you came, down the path beside the gill: about 1.9 km to the car park.
- 2
Blake Rigg (Tilberthwaite) → Haystacks (Tilberthwaite) (0.2 km, 7 m)
From Blake Rigg cross the open ground north-north-west to Haystacks, the next top, at about 2.1 km.
WaypointsBlake Rigg, Haystacks (423 m).
If you need to get offBack over Blake Rigg and down the way you came: about 2.1 km.
- 3
Haystacks (Tilberthwaite) → Hawk Rigg (0.1 km, 14 m)
Go on north-west, across a crag line OpenStreetMap maps on the side of Hawk Rigg at about 2.2 km, to the top of Hawk Rigg at about 2.24 km. The Hawkrigg Copper Mine is mapped about 35 m from the line here.
WaypointsHaystacks, the crag line, Hawk Rigg (441 m).
Easy to get wrongThe crag line is crossed away from any mapped path, going on to Hawk Rigg and again coming off it. Take care on the steep ground.
If you need to get offBack the way you came: about 2.2 km.
- 4
Hawk Rigg → High Fell (Hawk Rigg) (0.3 km, 3 m)
Leave Hawk Rigg north, across the crag line again at about 2.3 km, and go on north-north-east on a path to High Fell at about 2.5 km.
WaypointsHawk Rigg, High Fell (428 m).
If you need to get offBack the way you came, about 2.5 km, or on along the line, about 2.8 km.
High Fell (Hawk Rigg) → Finish (2.7 km, 17 m)
From High Fell the line doubles back for about 100 m, then goes north on a path, down across Birk Fell Gill near 2.8 km and on north-north-east to a public footpath at about 3.0 km. Over a stile in a wall at about 3.1 km, it goes round below Great Intake, away from the path, passing about 100 m from its top near 3.4 km, and comes back south-west on the same path to about 3.9 km. At about 4.0 km the line crosses a fence on to a path, then a public footpath goes steeply down south-south-east and south, across Blake Rigg Gill near 4.25 km and over a stile at about 4.7 km; this is the steepest descent of the walk, about 30% sustained near 4.6 km. At about 5.0 km a track and then Tilberthwaite Road, a lane with no pavement mapped, lead over a stile at about 5.2 km and the bridge on Yewdale Beck back to the car park.
WaypointsHigh Fell, Birk Fell Gill, the wall stile, Great Intake, Blake Rigg Gill, Tilberthwaite Road, Low Tilberthwaite car park (finish).
If you need to get offThe line itself is the way down: about 2.7 km from High Fell to the car park.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (4)
- 1Blake Rigg (Tilberthwaite)423 m
- 2Haystacks (Tilberthwaite)423 m
- 3Hawk Rigg441 m
- 4High Fell (Hawk Rigg)428 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
More about this walk
The start is the National Trust car park at Low Tilberthwaite, the start of Wetherlam by Birk Fell too. The four tops lie within about 0.6 km of each other, between about 1.9 and 2.5 km.
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.
- Tilberthwaite (paid) — at the start
- Tilberthwaite (NT, 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 505 stops at Monk Coniston, at Hall. From there it is 3.5 km and 256 m of ascent to this start — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 12.2 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 24 October to 1 November. Towards Coniston (505): 20:07, every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 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 The National Trust car park at Low Tilberthwaite is at the start. 1 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 17 October 2026)
- Limitation Stone steps, stepping stones, stiles and pathless tops: not a pushchair route. (OpenStreetMap contributors, via Overpass, 17 October 2026, checked 17 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 and navigation (estimated from the map, not checked on the ground); 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Blake Rigg (Tilberthwaite) | 1.9 km | 266 m | 0:49–1:06 |
| 2Haystacks (Tilberthwaite) | 2.1 km | 273 m | 0:53–1:10 |
| 3Hawk Rigg | 2.2 km | 288 m | 0:56–1:14 |
| 4High Fell (Hawk Rigg) | 2.5 km | 290 m | 0:59–1:19 |
| Finish | 5.3 km | 307 m | 1:34–2:05 |
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: A long, steep ~33% drop over 250 m around the 4.5 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: drops and exposed ground (estimated from the map). The steepest stretch is a sustained descent of about 30% around the 4.6 km mark.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Hard. 16 mapped crag feature(s) near the line — check the airy sections.
- Stiles and gates: Stiles of unmapped type at 3.1, 4.7 and 5.2 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-17)
- 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 kissing gate · 3 stiles (type unmapped)
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-10-17. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Tom Gill waterfalls (Glen Mary) — 1.9 km from this start
- Walks from Tarn Hows — 2.7 km from this start
Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.