Walk · Cumbria

Holme Fell and Hodge Close from Tilberthwaite

Coniston · LA21 8DG
N 440 YD
4.1MILES
2h 30mON FOOT
260mCLIMB
CircularSHAPE
Off-road 88% 12% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 55%Lane & track 33%Road with traffic 12%

Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill. Off-lead information here is what walkers reported or what signage allows — never our advice. Whether and when a dog is off the lead is the owner’s decision and legal responsibility; keep dogs under control near livestock and follow signs on the day.

Starts at
Tilberthwaite car park, off the Coniston to Little Langdale road LA21 8DG
Parking
Free roadside car park at Tilberthwaite, about twenty-five spaces on rough ground. It fills by 9.30am on any dry weekend because it is also the start for Wetherlam; the lane in is single track with fe
Directions to the start →

A short rough fell between Coniston and Little Langdale, all heather, birch and old slate, with a summit view out of proportion to its 317m. From the Tilberthwaite car park the track climbs east past the disused workings, then a scrambly path picks its way onto Ivy Crag and the top. The return passes Hodge Close, a flooded slate quarry with a vertical hundred-foot drop straight into green water and no fence on the north side. That drop is the reason to have the dog on a lead for the whole of the second half.

THE SMALL PRINTThe fell is access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. Government guidance for open access land is that "dogs must be kept under effective control at all times and on a short lead of no more than 2 metres at all times near livestock", with the short-lead rule near livestock applying between 1 March and 31 July on non-coastal access land. Herdwicks graze the fell all year. Hodge Close quarry is an unfenced vertical drop into deep water on its northern edge and the surrounding ground is undercut, so a lead is needed there whatever the season.

House rules, decoded

Livestock — leads on
REGION · CUMBRIA
GRID · 54.3995, -3.0709
SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.GOV.UK/GUIDANCE/OPEN-ACCESS-LAND-MANAGEMENT-RIGHTS-AND-RESPONSIBILITIES
Also in Coniston
WAGFINDER No photo yet
440 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 2 MI · LOOP
SOME LIMITS

Around Tarn Hows

Coniston · LA21 8DP
No reviews yet
2MILES
51mTIME
40mCLIMB
98%OFF-ROAD
Livestock — leads on Water bowls

Two miles on a gravelled all-ability path right round the tarn, fifty minutes at a stroll and the flattest famous view in the Lakes. The National Trust car park is the only sensible start; it is paid, it holds around 130 cars and it is full by half past ten on any fine day, with a mobility vehicle available in summer for those who need it. The surface suits old and short-legged dogs, the tarn has several easy shingle entries for a swim, but Belted Galloways and Herdwicks graze the surrounding enclosures and the path is shared with pushchairs and wheelchairs the whole way, so this is a lead walk from car park to car park.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
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Beech Tree House

LA21 8DX
No reviews yet

Beech Tree House is a place to stay on Yewdale Road, Coniston. It is listed here so you know it is there, but we have not yet established whether dogs are welcome — so there is no verdict on this page and no stamp. If it is your business, claim the page and tell us, and we will stamp it.

NOT CHECKED YET · IS THIS YOURS? VIEW ›
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Stay NOT CHECKED YET

Black Bull Inn & Hotel

LA21 8DU
No reviews yet

Black Bull Inn & Hotel is a place to stay on Yewdale Road, Coniston. It is listed here so you know it is there, but we have not yet established whether dogs are welcome — so there is no verdict on this page and no stamp. If it is your business, claim the page and tell us, and we will stamp it.

NOT CHECKED YET · IS THIS YOURS? VIEW ›

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