Whin Rigg, Illgill Head & the Wastwater Screes
Start Easthwaite Farm Car Park
Getting here Parking: Irton Fell car park, 0.1 km from the start (straight line). Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Severe steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 42% around the 2.2 km mark.
Before you choose
- Do not try to cut the walk short down the Screes to the lake. It looks like a shortcut and is a serious mistake — the Wastwater Screes are steep, loose and boulder-choked, and the shoreline beneath them is a notorious, hazardous boulder-scramble, not an escape. The only safe way off is to finish the route.
- A high, exposed edge above a huge drop to Wast Water — keep well back from the crumbling rim, especially in wind or poor visibility.
- A long day (nearly 17 km, 680 m of ascent) with boggy stretches — carry map, compass and enough food and water, and start early.
- Livestock on the lower fields; keep dogs under close control.
Conditions on this route
We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 2 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 Whin Rigg (Wasdale)2 Illgill Head
Easy 76%Moderate 13%Hard 8%Severe 4%
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
Easthwaite Farm Car Park → Whin Rigg (Wasdale) (3.7 km, 493 m)
Starting from the southern tip of Wast Water near Easthwaite and Lund Bridge, this route bypasses the famous high peaks to tackle the dramatic southern wall of the valley. The ascent begins by climbing through the woods and intake walls, before breaking out onto the open fellside to tackle the long, grassy southern nose of Whin Rigg. The gradient is a persistent 13% pull over grassy, undulating terrain that gradually steepens as you approach the summit. The true character of the fell remains hidden until you reach the summit cairn, where the ground suddenly vanishes into a terrifying, vertical plunge down to Wast Water.
WaypointsEasthwaite / Lund Bridge (approx. 60m): The valley-bottom starting point near the River Irt. Great Bank: The broad, grassy shoulder marking the mid-point of the ascent. Whin Rigg Summit (535m): The top of the fell, marked by a cairn sitting unnervingly close to the edge of the Wastwater Screes.
Decision pointMiterdale: The quiet, V-shaped valley of Miterdale runs parallel to your right (east) as you climb. The Ridge Line: The topography naturally funnels you upwards; the path climbs the ridge to the summit. Keep well back from the cliff edge at the top.
Easy to get wrongFalse Summits: The southern approach is a series of grassy steps. You will encounter several false horizons before finally seeing the summit cairn. Summer Bracken: The lower slopes climbing out of the woodland are heavily choked with bracken in the summer, which can obscure the path and hide loose rocks. The Sudden Drop: The transition from a gentle, grassy ascent to a vertical cliff edge at the summit is abrupt and visually shocking. Keep dogs on a tight lead as you crest the top.
If you need to get offBefore reaching the summit, the escape is incredibly straightforward: turn 180 degrees and walk back down the grassy slopes to the intake walls and the car park.
- 2
Whin Rigg (Wasdale) → Illgill Head (2.4 km, 138 m)
This is one of the most spectacular and vertigo-inducing ridge walks in Britain. The route connects Whin Rigg to Illgill Head along the crest above the Wastwater Screes. The walking itself is physically easy—a rolling, grassy path with a mild 6% gradient—but the geography is staggering. To your left, the fellside has collapsed, creating a two-mile-long sheer cliff and scree chute that plunges hundreds of feet directly into England's deepest lake.
WaypointsThe Screes Edge: The continuous, crumbling cliff line connecting the two peaks. Illgill Head Summit (609m): The highest point of the ridge, marked by a cairn and offering unmatched views of the Scafell massif at the head of the valley.
Decision pointThe Cliff Edge: The drop is on your left all the way. Keep well back from it, on the path, and follow the ridge to Illgill Head.
Easy to get wrongLethal Drops: The drops to the left (north-west) are sheer, unstable, and fatal. The edge is constantly eroding. Do not stand near the rim for photos, and stay well back in high winds. Winter Cornices: In winter, snow overhangs (cornices) build up over this edge. Walking on them is a death sentence; give the edge a massive berth in snow conditions. Wind Exposure: This ridge forms a massive wall that catches winds funnelling up the lake. Crosswinds here can be fierce enough to knock you off balance. Under absolutely no circumstances should you attempt to descend the scree chutes directly down to the lake.
If you need to get offIf the wind becomes dangerous: turn back along the ridge the way you came. Do not drop off it on unmapped ground towards Miterdale or the lake.
Illgill Head → Finish (10.8 km, 51 m)
From the summit of Illgill Head, the route drops steadily north-east off the ridge on grassy slopes towards the head of Wast Water. At the head of the lake it turns back south-west and returns the whole length of the lake along its north-western side, where the valley road runs, to the start at Easthwaite Farm. It does not use the Screes path under the ridge on the far side of the lake.
WaypointsThe north-eastern descent: the grassy drop off Illgill Head towards the head of the lake. The head of Wast Water: the turning point, near Wasdale Head. The north-western side of the lake: the long walk back to Easthwaite Farm.
Decision pointWast Water: on the way back, keep the lake on your left all the way to its south-western end.
Easy to get wrongRoad walking: much of the return is on or beside the valley road. Where there is no pavement, keep to the right to face oncoming traffic, stay close to the side and be ready to walk in single file; before a sharp right-hand bend, cross to the other side and cross back after it. Wear something bright, or reflective in poor light (Highway Code rules 2 and 3). Endurance: about 10.8 km back after the ridge, at the end of a mountain day. The Screes path is not this route: the boulder field along the foot of the Screes, on the far side of the lake, is a notoriously difficult path. This route does not use it, and you should never try to shortcut down to it from the ridge.
If you need to get offOnce you are down at the head of the lake, the way back is the valley itself, and you are never far from the road if you need to stop.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (2)
- 1Whin Rigg (Wasdale)537 m
- 2Illgill Head609 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
Whin Rigg and Illgill Head are the two fells that cap the Wastwater Screes, looking down England’s deepest lake. A magnificent but serious round — and the rule that matters most: resist any urge to drop down the Screes; the only safe way down is the walking route.
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.
- Whin Rigg (Wasdale) — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00. It waits longest in midsummer — about a quarter of an hour after sunrise.
- Illgill Head — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:15. It waits longest in midsummer — about a quarter of an hour after sunrise.
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
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
If the first one is full, these overlap least in our model. The 3 below sit in different places or are different kinds of parking, so a busy morning at one does not mean a busy morning at all of them.
- Irton Fell car park — at the start
- Lake Head, Wasdale (NT, paid) — joins the loop at about km 9.5 of 16.9: a 60 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Overbeck Bridge, 0.7 km SW (layby) — joins the loop at about km 12.1 of 16.9: a 90 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
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
We don’t know yet. Wasdale Explorer (seasonal) serves this area, but we don’t hold its stop positions, so we can’t measure the walk from it — and we won’t tell you to drive on the strength of a gap in our own data. The Wasdale Action Group lists it as running Saturdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays from the start of May to the end of August (read 30 September 2026): check before you travel.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival Irton Fell car park, about 100 m from the start: room for about 40 vehicles. There is no pay-and-display machine, only a National Trust donation box; free for members. 98 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (Lee's Street View sweep (9 August 2026) for the capacity; National Trust, car parks in Wasdale, for the donation box, checked 12 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 The Sawmill Wasdale is mapped about 105 m from the start. Opening hours are not recorded here. 106 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Limitation Never cut down the Screes to the lake: they are steep, loose and boulder-choked, and the only safe way off is to finish the route. Keep well back from the crumbling edge above Wast Water. (our route notes (this route's own warnings), checked 1 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):
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.
Water, shelter & getting away
Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is not proof the water is drinkable, so carry your own or use a supply you know is safe. Never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock upstream and leave you seriously ill. Use a treatment method suited to what might be in the water, and follow the device’s own instructions. Boiling and ordinary filters do not make water with dissolved metals or chemicals safe: where that is possible, choose another source.
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
Severe overall — hardest: Steepness
Five independent axes, not one score. This route has not been walked yet, so none of them was set on the ground: three of the five are 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Whin Rigg (Wasdale) | 3.7 km | 493 m | 1:34–2:05 |
| 2Illgill Head | 6.1 km | 631 m | 2:16–3:01 |
| Finish | 16.9 km | 682 m | 4:31–6:00 |
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: Not a pushchair route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~36% drop over 250 m around the 7.0 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: drops and exposed ground. The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 42% around the 2.2 km mark.
- Drops and exposed ground: Hard – our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. A high edge above the huge drop of the Wastwater Screes — keep well back from the crumbling rim.
- Stiles and gates: A stile of unmapped type at 14.3 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 12 July 2026)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Moderate – our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. Good tops with boggy stretches; the Screes flank is loose and dangerous — not a descent.
- 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: 8 gates · 1 kissing gate · 1 stile (type unmapped)
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 12 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Places to stay near this start
- Church Stile Farm And Holiday Park (opens in new tab) campsiteabout 0.6 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).