Ulthwaite Rigg circuit
Start Wet Sleddale Reservoir Car Park
Getting here Parking: Wet Sleddale Reservoir Car Park, 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Severe navigation: Serious navigation in poor visibility — ~41% featureless high ground, 17 path junctions near the line. Severe – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground
Before you choose
- Upper Mosedale is peat-hag and tussock country with no paths — short route, slow miles. The plotted line is indicative; pick your own dry ground.
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 Ulthwaite Rigg
Easy 94%Moderate 6%HardSevere
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 → Ulthwaite Rigg (5.4 km, 272 m)
From the start, follow the public bridleway west-south-west. It crosses several streams at mapped fords in the first 2 km, one by stepping stones at about 1.3 km: after rain, judge each before you cross. The bridleway climbs steadily west-south-west across the moor to about 480 m at about 4 km, then paths lead south-west, with two more fords near 4.7 km, to the top of Ulthwaite Rigg (502 m) at about 5.4 km.
If you need to get offThe map shows no path from this stage that reaches a road sooner than going back down the bridleway the way you came, up to about 5.4 km from the top, where going on round the walk is about as far; not walked for this guide.
Ulthwaite Rigg → Finish (7.2 km, 96 m)
Come off the top north on the paths to rejoin the same bridleway at about 6.6 km, and follow it back east-north-east to about 9 km. Then take the public footpath and the track east-north-east past Sleddale Grange at about 10.1 km, down to the lane at about 11.5 km, and follow the lane south-west back to the start.
If you need to get offNo way off this moor has been checked for this guide other than the bridleway you came up. Do not assume a compass direction alone identifies a safe way off: judge going on or going back from where you are, in the conditions you have.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (1)
- 1Ulthwaite Rigg502 m
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
1 more place 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.
Buses
No bus we hold serves this start. The nearest stop we hold is the UB2 at Askham, outside Stores, 14.9 km away on foot: a walk of its own, not a way to the start. It is a seasonal service too: 1 November 2026 is its last day of the year (confirmed with the operator, 9 October 2026); it returns on 22 March 2027.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival Wet Sleddale reservoir car park, about 25 m from the start, with room for about ten cars. No fee is recorded for it here. 24 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (our parking map (Lee's Street View sweep, 10 August 2026), 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 Navigation is rated severe: Upper Mosedale is peat-hag and tussock country with no paths, so expect slow miles. 12.6 km out and back. (our route notes (this route's own warnings), checked 2 October 2026)
Everything mapped near the start
Mapped as nearby on OpenStreetMap, as of 13 September 2026, within 250 m of where this route starts (information boards within 150 m; benches and shelter within 50 m):
Also mapped within reach: an information board.
Distances are straight lines from where this route starts, not walking routes. Opening hours are as mapped and change; none of this is checked daily.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab), ODbL.
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
Severe overall — hardest: 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ulthwaite Rigg | 5.4 km | 272 m | 1:32–2:02 |
| Finish | 12.6 km | 368 m | 3:08–4:10 |
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 sustained ~22% descent over 250 m around the 9.3 km mark — a little jarring on tired knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates. The steepest stretch is a sustained descent of about 18% around the 9.4 km mark.
- Stiles and gates: Stiles of unmapped type at 1.2, 9.2, 11.1 and 11.3 km — a dog may need lifting over. (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. Graded from slope only (~22% max); treat exposure as unverified.
- 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: 15 gates · 2 step-over stiles · 4 stiles (type unmapped)
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
- New Ing Lodge (opens in new tab)about 4.2 km
- Shap Fell Bothy (opens in new tab)about 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).