Winter Wainwrights: fells you can still reach when the passes shut

The Wainwrights that work best in winter are the low ones you can reach from a valley road or a bus that runs all year. When snow or ice shuts Honister, Hardknott, Wrynose or Kirkstone, fells such as Latrigg, Walla Crag, Castle Crag, Helm Crag, Loughrigg Fell and Glenridding Dodd are still in reach, and each makes a round of under two and a half hours.

Around the shortest day the northern Lakes get a little over seven hours of daylight, with sunset before 4pm. That rules out most big rounds. Pick a fell you can finish in two or three hours with time to spare.

Which roads close

Hardknott Pass is often closed in winter because ice makes it impassable. Honister, Hardknott and Wrynose are not on gritting routes. Kirkstone is gritted, but at 454 m it is the highest road in the Lake District, and heavy snow still shuts it. When the passes close, fells that are usually climbed from the top of a pass, like Red Screes from Kirkstone, Fleetwith Pike from Honister, or Hard Knott and Cold Pike from Hardknott and Wrynose, become long days from the valley instead.

Fells on the valley roads and all-year buses

The 555 runs between Kendal and Keswick through Ambleside, Rydal and Grasmere all year. So does the X4/X5 between Penrith and Keswick, and the 78 from Keswick up Borrowdale to Seatoller. Other routes run a reduced winter timetable or stop altogether, so check before you set out. Distances, ascents and minimum times below come from the WalkLakes route pages.

• Latrigg, above Keswick. You can walk from town, or drive to the Gale Road car park, where it is 2.0 km and 100 m of ascent there and back, about 35 minutes.
• Walla Crag, from Great Wood on the Borrowdale road. 4.7 km, 283 m, about 1 hour 25 minutes.
• Castle Crag, from Rosthwaite on the 78 route. 4.5 km, 214 m, about 1 hour 15 minutes. The slate spoil near the top is slippery in frost.
• High Rigg, from the Legburthwaite car park by Thirlmere. An 8.9 km circuit with 344 m of ascent, about 2 hours 20 minutes.
• Helm Crag, from Grasmere. 6.4 km, 341 m, about 1 hour 50 minutes.
• Loughrigg Fell, from Pelter Bridge at Rydal. 6.5 km, 360 m, about 1 hour 55 minutes.
• Nab Scar, from Rydal, with a return by Alcock Tarn. 8.0 km, 450 m, about 2 hours 20 minutes.
• Wansfell, from Ambleside. The Wainwright summit is Baystones, a little beyond Wansfell Pike. 7.6 km, 490 m, about 2 hours 20 minutes.
• Glenridding Dodd, from Glenridding. 5.0 km, 330 m, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Gowbarrow Fell, from the Aira Force car park. 5.9 km, 347 m, about 1 hour 45 minutes.

If you are driving and the main roads are clear, Binsey, Little Mell Fell and Hallin Fell are shorter still. The easiest Wainwrights page has times for each. Minimum times assume steady walking on a clear path. In snow, ice or a headwind, add plenty.

Winter safety

Snow can lie on the tops for weeks while the valleys stay green, so a forecast for Keswick or Ambleside tells you little about the summits. Before any winter walk, read the fell top assessors' report. From about December to March, a small National Park team climbs Helvellyn most days and posts the conditions, with photos, on the Lake District National Park website. Carry a map and compass, and check the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) forecast as well for wind, freezing level and visibility.

On the high fells in snow or ice you need an ice axe and crampons, and you need to know how to use them. Carrying them without practice gives you false confidence. Wear stiff boots that take crampons, and pack goggles, a spare hat and gloves, and a head torch with fresh batteries. The assessors also run winter skills days on Helvellyn if you want to learn.

Even on the low fells on this page, frozen paths and stone steps are the main hazard. Set a turn-back time that leaves an hour of daylight, and turn round when you reach it. For the edges and rakes that become winter climbs, see Wainwright scrambles, and for more walks from the bus towns, see the Keswick and Grasmere guides.