Western Howgills from Fairmile Road
Start Fairmile Road
Getting here Parking: Unnamed roadside parking at 54.3762,-2.5720 (layby), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Parking & buses ↓
Hardest part Severe steepness: Steepest sustained descent about 36% around the 16.5 km mark.
Before you choose
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 Fell Head2 Bush Howe3 The Calf4 Simon's Seat5 Uldale Head
Easy 82%Moderate 11%Hard 7%Severe <1%
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
Fairmile Road → Fell Head (2.6 km, 443 m)
Climb of about 443 m over 2.6 km (around 17% average).
- 2
Fell Head → Bush Howe (1.3 km, 37 m)
Undulating section of about 1.3 km.
- 3
Bush Howe → The Calf (1.4 km, 81 m)
Climb of about 81 m over 1.4 km (around 6% average).
- 4
The Calf → Simon's Seat (3.5 km, 98 m)
Descent of about 152 m, then a climb of about 98 m, over 3.5 km.
- 5
Simon's Seat → Uldale Head (4.3 km, 230 m)
Descent of about 42 m, with about 230 m of climbing, over 4.3 km.
Uldale Head → Finish (4.1 km, 156 m)
Descent of about 348 m, with about 156 m of climbing, over 4.1 km.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (5)
- 1Fell Head640 m
- 2Bush Howe622 m
- 3The Calf677 m
- 4Simon's Seat587 m
- 5Uldale Head532 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
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
We don’t know yet. The path network around this start isn’t mapped well enough for us to measure a walk from the nearest stop. That’s a gap in our data, not a sign that no bus comes here.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
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: 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fell Head | 2.6 km | 443 m | 1:15–1:40 |
| 2Bush Howe | 3.9 km | 481 m | 1:34–2:06 |
| 3The Calf | 5.2 km | 561 m | 1:59–2:38 |
| 4Simon's Seat | 8.7 km | 660 m | 2:51–3:47 |
| 5Uldale Head | 13.0 km | 890 m | 4:05–5:26 |
| Finish | 17.1 km | 1045 m | 5:10–6:52 |
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 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 ~39% drop over 250 m around the 16.4 km mark — hard on the knees.
On the line: No barriers mapped on this line.
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-10-21. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).