Best fell runs in the Lake District
The Lake District has more quality fell running per square mile than anywhere else in England. These are the routes worth travelling for — from short sharp ascents to full-day mountain circuits.
24routes
EXPERTAbraham's Tea Round
You earn a free cup of tea at Abraham's Cafe by touching every summit you can see from its top-floor window: a proper Keswick fell-running rite of passage.
Checked Jul 2026
EXPERTUltra Tour of Staveley
This is a commitment. Five distinct fell ridges, two remote valleys, and enough climbing to earn a very large meal. Plan your food, check the forecast, and don't set off late.
Checked Jun 2026
EXPERTHelvellyn Double
It takes two of the Lake District's best-known summits and links them properly, so instead of picking Fairfield or Helvellyn for the day, you get both, with the climbing to prove it.
Checked Jul 2026
EXPERTFairfield Horseshoe Extended
You get the full Fairfield ridge plus a there-and-back tag of Helvellyn thrown in, so a route runners already know becomes a proper full-day mountain outing without ever leaving a path.
Checked Jul 2026
EXPERTTour de Helvellyn
A genuine ultra-distance day that shows you the Helvellyn range from every angle without ever queuing for Striding Edge - based on the established Tour de Helvellyn race route.
Checked Jul 2026
EXPERTBob Graham Round Leg 3: Dunmail Raise to Wasdale Head
This is the heart and the crux of the Bob Graham: the Langdale Pikes, the highest ground in England over the Scafells, and the notorious Broad Stand step onto Scafell.
Checked Jul 2026
EXPERTBob Graham Round Leg 4: Wasdale Head to Honister Pass
The savage climb straight out of Wasdale onto Yewbarrow sets the tone: this is the steepest, most concentrated leg of the round, over Pillar and Great Gable.
Checked Jul 2026
EXPERTBob Graham Round Leg 2: Threlkeld to Dunmail Raise
It is the great runnable middle of the Bob Graham: a near-continuous high ridge where you can hold a rhythm over twelve tops without ever dropping to the valley.
Checked Jul 2026
EXPERTBob Graham Round Leg 1: Skiddaw and Blencathra
You get the start of the most famous round in British fell running, crossing Skiddaw at 931 m and the lonely top of Great Calva before the high traverse to Blencathra and the steep drop off Hall's Fell.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARDSkiddaw and Blencathra via Lonscale Fell
Four Northern Fell Wainwrights in one continuous round, including the roof of the region on Skiddaw and the dramatic edges of Blencathra.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARDHelvellyn Range and St Sunday Crag from Glenridding
Seven summits of the Eastern Fells in one continuous high-level horseshoe, finishing over St Sunday Crag with Ullswater filling the view ahead.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARDColedale Horseshoe
Seven Wainwrights, 1,199m of climbing, and a long ridge with exposure on both sides. This is proper fell running territory — you need to move well on open ground.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARDRobinson, Dale Head, High Spy and Catbells from Lingholm
Five Wainwrights in one flowing 20.9km round, finishing along the famous Catbells ridge with Derwentwater spread out below and a celebrated cafe at the start and finish.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARDKentmere Horseshoe
High-level ridge running with minimal descent until the end. The views across Kentmere Reservoir and to the surrounding fells are some of the best in the eastern Lakes.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARD
Scandale Horseshoe from Ambleside
Scandale is the quiet valley next door to the crowded Fairfield Horseshoe, so you get the same big eastern-fell views and ridgelines with a fraction of the traffic.
VERY HARDEspresso Round
All four summits are visible from George Fisher's cafe window, so you can plan the whole thing over a coffee before you go and pick out exactly what you're about to climb.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARD
Elterwater and Ivy Crag
Ivy Crag gives you the whole Langdale valley laid out below for a modest climb, and the loop links three lakes and a tarn without ever feeling like a slog.
VERY HARDCatbells, Maiden Moor, Dale Head and Hindscarth from Lingholm
Five Wainwright summits in one continuous Newlands ridge, from gentle Catbells along the airy skyline to the high point on Dale Head, with the valley falling away on both sides.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARDWansfell Pike, Sour Howes and Sallows from Ambleside
Three Wainwrights for the price of one popular summit, swapping the crowds of Wansfell Pike for the empty grassy tops of Sour Howes and Sallows.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARDHelvellyn via Swirral Edge and Striding Edge from Thirlmere
You get the two most famous ridges on the fell, Swirral and Striding Edge, on a route that still starts and finishes on the quiet Thirlmere side.
Checked Jul 2026
EXPERT
Scafell Pike from Seathwaite
You top out on Scafell Pike, the roof of England at 978m, from the green Borrowdale side, and the Corridor country you cross to get there is as wild as the Lakes gets.
VERY HARDHelvellyn via Striding Edge and Swirral Edge from Patterdale
This is the postcard round of Helvellyn: up the knife-edge of Striding Edge, across the 950m summit, and down Swirral with Red Tarn below the whole way.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARD
Garburn Pass from Staveley
The Garburn Pass is one of the great old cross-fell tracks, and this loop links it with the quiet Kentmere and Troutbeck valleys for a big day that stays almost entirely runnable.
Checked Jul 2026
VERY HARDHelvellyn from Thirlmere
You gain the summit of a 950m Wainwright in well under an hour of climbing, then drop back to the car on grass you can really open up on.
Checked Jul 2026
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