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Written by · Route guide updated · 171 of 214 Wainwrights with a Strava-matched summit

Hard terrainLoopPlanned

Wild Boar Fell and Swarth Fell

12.2 km
Distance
~3¼–4½ h
Estimated time
~536 m
Ascent
2
Summits

Start Aisgill, B6259 (Mallerstang)

Getting here Parking: Cross Keys, Cautley (A683 layby), 7.6 km from the start (straight line). Parking & buses ↓

Hardest part Hard terrain: Rough or partly pathless ground — indistinct path in places. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground Hard navigation: Care needed in cloud — ~19% featureless high ground, 20 path junctions near the line. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground

The automated detail on this page — distance, climb, pacing and a first-pass difficulty read — is live. Hand-written field notes are being added.

Before you choose

Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet. A route line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
Download GPX →Planned route · not yet walked

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

OpenTopoMap
Elevation profile, shaded by steepness
Elevation profile Rises from about 283 m to 709 m over 12.2 km, with the summits marked in order. The area beneath is shaded by sustained steepness over a 500 m window, in the same four bands as the route’s steepness rating: Easy under 15%, Moderate 15 to 25%, Hard 25 to 35%, Severe above 35%. 709 m 283 m 0 km 12.2 km 12

1 Swarth Fell (Mallerstang)2 Wild Boar Fell

Easy 90%Moderate 10%HardSevere

709 m
High point
354 m
Start height

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. 1

    Aisgill, B6259 (Mallerstang) → Swarth Fell (Mallerstang) (2.6 km, 331 m)

    Climb of about 331 m over 2.6 km (around 13% average).

  2. 2

    Swarth Fell (Mallerstang) → Wild Boar Fell (2.6 km, 132 m)

    Descent of about 93 m, then a climb of about 132 m, over 2.6 km.

  3. Wild Boar Fell → Finish (7.0 km, 74 m)

    Descent of about 425 m, then a climb of about 74 m, over 7.0 km.

Download GPX

GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked

Summits bagged (2)

  1. 1Swarth Fell (Mallerstang)681 mMallerstang · Nuttall, Hewitt
  2. 2Wild Boar Fell708 mMallerstang · Nuttall, Marilyn, Hewitt

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 and the Met Office mountain forecast before you set off.

Getting there and back

Parking

Cross Keys, Cautley (A683 layby) — 7.6 km from the start (straight line)
Layby by the temperance inn — Cautley Spout, Yarlside, The Calf's east side.
Directions Something changed here?
Bowderdale road end (verge) — 12.3 km from the start (straight line)
North-side access — West Fell, Yarlside, the long Bowderdale valley to The Calf.
Directions Something changed here?

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 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

Hard overall — hardest: Terrain and navigation (estimated from the map, not checked on the ground); exposure not assessed on the ground

LengthModerate12.2 km round.
SteepnessModerateSteepest sustained climb about 18% around the 0.3 km mark.
TerrainHardRough or partly pathless ground — indistinct path in places. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground
NavigationHardCare needed in cloud — ~19% featureless high ground, 20 path junctions near the line. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground
ExposureNot assessedNot assessed on the ground; the map suggests Hard. 4 mapped crag feature(s) near the line — check the airy sections. Exposure (drops, scrambling, how bad a slip would be) needs the ground, so a map estimate is not given a grade here and does not count towards the overall grade. A rating appears once the ground is assessed.

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

SummitCumulativeAscentTime (fast–steady)
1Swarth Fell (Mallerstang)2.6 km331 m1:05–1:26
2Wild Boar Fell5.2 km463 m1:49–2:25
Finish12.2 km536 m3:20–4:26

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?

Dog
Stile a dog may not pass
Buggy
Not buggy-able
Knees
Steep in places
  • Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
  • Knees: A sustained ~20% descent over 250 m around the 5.9 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 climb of about 18% around the 0.3 km mark.

  • Stiles and gates: 2 squeeze stiles at 9.9 and 10.1 km, mapped on OpenStreetMap, that a dog may not get through. Livestock, ground and water are not assessed. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-22)
  • Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Hard. 4 mapped crag feature(s) near the line — check the airy sections.
  • Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground. Rough or partly pathless ground — indistinct path in places.
  • 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: 19 gates · 2 squeeze stiles · 5 step-over stiles · 2 stiles (type unmapped)

Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us. Barrier data as of 2026-10-22. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).