Great Gable
899m (2951ft)
The Western Fells, The Lake District, Cumbria, England
You can find Great Gable & all the walks that climb it on these unique free-to-access Interactive Walk Planning Maps: (click/TAP to select)
1:25,000 scale OS Explorer Map (the ones with orange/yellow covers):
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See Great Gable and the surrounding tops on our free-to-access 'Google Style' Peak Bagging Maps:
See Great Gable and the surrounding tops on our downloadable PDF Peak Bagging Maps:
*Walk & bag all 33 Wainwrights in The Western Fells area of The Lake District in just 10 easy-to-follow circular walks.
*This version is marked with the walk routes you need to follow to Walk all 214 Wainwrights in just 59 walks. Click here for more information.
NB: Whether you print off a copy on to paper or download it to your phone, these PDF Peak Baggers Maps will prove incredibly useful when your are up there on the tops and you cannot get a phone signal!
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 5.75ml (9km) |
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| Ascent: | 2,340ft (731m) |
| Time: | 4½ hrs |
| Grade: |  (Moderate) |
Route Summary:
Honister Pass - Honister Hause - Grey Knotts - Brandreth - Green Gable - Windy Gap - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Beck Head - Beckhead Tarn - Moses' Trod - Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk - Honister Pass
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 6ml (9.5km) |
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| Ascent: | 2,845ft (867m) |
| Time: | 5 hrs |
| Grade: |  (Moderate) |
Route Summary:
Seathwaite (Borrowdale) - Stockley Bridge - Styhead Tarn - Sty Head - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Windy Gap - Green Gable - Mitchell Cove - Blackmoor Pols - Base Brown - Gillercomb - Sour Milk Gill (Borrowdale) - Seathwaite (Borrowdale)
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 7.5ml (12km) |
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| Ascent: | 3,289ft (1,002m) |
| Time: | 6 hrs |
| Grade: | (Moderate) |
Route Summary:
Honister Pass - Honister Hause - Grey Knotts - Brandreth - Green Gable - Windy Gap - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Beck Head - Beckhead Tarn - Kirk Fell (East Top) - Kirk Fell - Moses' Trod - Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk - Honister Pass
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 8.25ml (13km) |
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| Ascent: | 3,016ft (919m) |
| Time: | 6 hrs |
| Grade: | (Moderate) |
Route Summary:
Seatoller - Seathwaite (Borrowdale) - Sourmilk Gill (Borrowdale) - Gillercomb - Blackmoor Pols - Mitchell Cove - Green Gable - Windy Gap - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Beck Head - Beckhead Tarn - Moses' Trod - Honister Pass - Honister Hause - Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk - Seatoller
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 8.5ml (13.5km) |
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| Ascent: | 4,260ft (1,298m) |
| Time: | 7.25hrs |
| Grade: |  (Hard) |
Route Summary:
Honister Pass - Honister Hause - Green Crag (Buttermere) - Black Beck - Blackbeck Tarn - Innominate Tarn - Hay Stacks (Haystacks) - Scarth Gap - Ennerdale - River Liza - Black Sail Hut (Youth Hostel) - Black Sail Path - Kirk Fell - Kirk Fell (East Top) - Beckhead Tarn - Beck Head - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Windy Gap - Green Gable - Gillercomb Head - Brandreth - Grey Knotts - Honister Hause.
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 9ml (14.5km) |
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| Ascent: | 3,965ft (1,208m) |
| Time: | 7½ hrs |
| Grade: | (Hard) |
Route Summary:
Honister Pass - Honister Hause - Grey Knotts - Brandreth - Blackmoor Pols - Base Brown - Mitchell Cove - Green Gable - Windy Gap - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Beck Head - Beckhead Tarn - Kirk Fell (East Top) - Kirk Fell - Moses' Trod - Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk - Honister Pass
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 10.5ml (17km) |
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| Ascent: | 4,693ft (1,430m) |
| Time: | 8½ hrs |
| Grade: |  (Hard) |
Route Summary:
Seatoller (Borrowdale) - Strands Bridge - Borrowdale - The Combe - Thornythwaite Fell - Comb Head - Glaramara - Looking Steads (Glaramara) - Red Beck - Red Beck Top - Allen Gill - High House Tarn - High House Tarn Top - Allen Crags - Esk Hause - Ruddy Gill - Sprinkling Tarn - Sty Head - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Windy Gap - Green Gable - Gillercomb Head - Brandreth - Grey Knotts - Honister Hause - Honister Pass - Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk - Seatoller (Borrowdale).
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 11.25ml (18km) |
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| Ascent: | 5,819ft (1,773m) |
| Time: | 10 hrs |
| Grade: |  (Very Hard) |
Route Summary:
Wasdale Head - Moses' Trod - Lingmell Beck - Gable Beck Bridge - Sty Head - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Beck Head - Beckhead Tarn - Kirk Fell (East Top) - Kirk Fell - Black Sail Pass - Looking Stead (Pillar) - High Level Route - Robinson's Cairn - Pillar - Wind Gap - Black Crag (Pillar) - Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) - Steeple - Red Pike (Wasdale) - Dore Head - Mosedale Beck - Wasdale Head - Wast Water.
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 18.75ml (30km) |
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| Ascent: | 7,309ft (2,408m) |
| Time: | 14.75hrs |
| Grade: | (Very Hard) |
Route Summary:
Bowness Knott Car Park Ennerdale - Low Gillerthwaite Field Centre - High Gillerthwaite Yourth Hostel - Red Pike (Buttermere) - High Stile - High Crag (Buttermere) - Seat (Buttermere) - Scarth Gap - Hay Stacks (Haystacks) - Innominate Tarn - Blackbeck Tarn - Black Beck - Green Crag (Buttermere) - Great Round How - Brandreth - Gillercomb Head - Green Gable - Windy Gap - Great Gable - Westmorland Cairn - Beck Head - Beckhead Tarn - Kirk Fell (East Top) - Kirk Fell - Black Sail Pass - Looking Stead (Pillar) - High Level Route - Robinson's Cairn - Pillar - Wind Gap - Black Crag (Pillar) - High Beck - Low Beck - Ennerdale.
Fellow go4awalkers who have already walked, climbed, summited & bagged Great Gable
Angeline Grieveson walked up Great Gable on October 5th, 2024 [with] Rick & Dotty
Geoff Hand climbed Great Gable on September 3rd, 2024 [from/via/route] Walk C417 Great Gable & Kirk Fell from Honister. Set off from Honister & climbed Grey Knotts, from there onto Glamara. We then climbed towards Green Gable but went South to pick up Brown Base. We retraced our steps, climbed green gable & onto Gt Gable. Leaving Gt Gable in cloud we found the path down to Beck Head. When reached there the cloud had lifted off Kirk fell so we went for it. Came back by Moses's trod & the dismantled tramway to Honister. [with] Tess, my Jack Russell [weather] Started off quite sunny, however cloud moved in & covered Gt Gable. A bit drisly towards the end. - A really tough walk, one I would think twice about in the future. Very pleased with my navigation of Gt Gable as it was spot on! According to my garmin I didn't quite hit the top of Grey Knots & Brandreth. I find this incredible as I did a lot of tramping around to make sure I hit the tops today. So I'm claiming them anyway. NB I've also done them both before.
Simon Myerscough bagged Great Gable on November 27th, 2023 [from/via/route] From Seathwaite dry to start then progressively colder & misty - some snoe above 2000ft. [with] Joanne [weather] Light winds & dull all day - Scramble coming down Sourmilk Ghyll was challenging but made it after change of line
Christine Shepherd hiked Great Gable on July 19th, 2003 [from/via/route] Walked from Honister via Brandreth. Second & Third times from Seathwaite Fourth & Fifth times from Honister again. [with] Andy, Miriam and Ishmay (aged 7) [weather] Sunny - Got half way up Gable again in July 07 but turned back in heavy rain. Reached the summit again twice in 2010. On 18.6.10 Jenny & I had a glorious walk from Seathwaite taking in Fleetwith Pike before a descent via Honister. I then led a church group to the top just over a week later on 26.6.10, in lovely sunshine. Climbed again 30.11.19. Had to walk back to Honister along Moses Trod in the dark! Climbed for a fifth time on 8.6.23 using walk c417, in gorgeous sunshine with a pleasant breeze.
John Ramsbottom summited Great Gable on April 10th, 2023 [from/via/route] walk c442 parked at Honister slate mines [with] Lola [weather] misty/rainy/windy - solo walk with Lola, bad visibilty, glad i had digital mapping
Richard Fulcher conquered Great Gable on April 3rd, 2023 [from/via/route] Parked in the NT car park at Honister Slate Mine & walked up the steep path to Grey Knotts. We then traversed over the rock strewn ridge to Brandreth & across Gillercomb Head to Green Gable. Just before reaching the top of GG I diverted left down the fell & across to Base Brown. I then returned by the same route & we carried on up to the summit of GG after having some lunch. After a slippery descent from GG to Windy Gap we then started the rocky ascent to Great Gable. We returned to WG by the same route & then descended down another scree strewn path to join the Moses Trod path before branching off towards the dismantled tramway at Honister. The rocky paths continued pretty much all the way back. [with] Jen [weather] Sunny, blue skies, cold at times when in exposed sections, very good visibility. - Be prepared for some climbing over rocks in certain stretches esp. up Great Gable.
Martyn Atherton scaled Great Gable on September 20th, 2020 [from/via/route] c338 Grey Knotts, Brandreth, Green Gable, Great Gable, Kirk Fell [with] Martyn and Paul [weather] Cloudy at first then very warm & sunny - Great view of the mines
Neall Garrad walked up Great Gable on June 25th, 2022 [from/via/route] Wasdale Head [weather] Sunny, hailstones, windy
Paul Macey climbed Great Gable on June 6th, 2022 [from/via/route] C417 in revert [with] Luke [weather] Cloudy but cloud above summits
Ian Ashton bagged Great Gable on September 4th, 2021 [from/via/route] Seathwaite & corridor route down [with] Solo
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More Photographs & Pictures of views from, on or of Great Gable
*Kirk Fell (left), Great Gable (centre) Lingmell, Scafell Pike (partially hidden) and Illgill Head across Wast Water
Wast Water, Wasdale and Yewbarrow with Middle Fell (left) Seatallan (background centre), Red Pike (Wasdale) (right) and the shoulder of Kirk Fell (centre foreground) from Westmorland Cairn on Great Gable
Yewbarrow (left), Great Gable (centre in cloud), Lingmell and the shoulder or Scafell Pike (right) from across Wast Water
On the ridge between Great Borne and Starling Dodd with Great Gable and Kirk Fell in the distance
Looking down Greta Gill to Wasdale from Great End with Red Pike (Wasdale), Little Scoat Fell, Kirk Fell and Great Gable beyond
The Seathwaite Valley from half-way up Sourmilk Gill en-route to Gillercombe, Green Gable and Great Gable
Great Gable (centre) and Kirk Fell (right) from below Black Sail Hut (Youth Hostel) Ennerdale
Wast Water with Illgill Head (left) and Yewbarrow (right) from Great Gable summit
Haycock, Little Scoat Fell, Red Pike (Wasdale), Pillar, Top of Stirrup Crag, Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Great End, Lingmell, Scafell Pike, Sca Fell, Slightside, Harter Fell (Eskdale) and Burnmoor Tarn from the summit of Yewbarrow
Great Gable (back), Lingmell, the shoulder of Scafell Pike and Mickeldore from Symonds Knott
*From Left to right: Caw Fell, Seatallan, Red Pike, Pillar, Yewbarrow, Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Lingmell and Sca Fell and Wast Water (foreground) from Illgill Head (NB. Scafell Pike is largely hidden behind Sca Fell)
Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Great End and Lingmell from the summit of Yewbarrow
Great Gable peeping up through the clouds during a cloud inversion from Scafell Pike
Snow capping Yewbarrow (left) Great Gable (centre) Lingmell and Scafell Pike surround Wast Water from near Overbeck Bridge, Wasdale
360 degree panorama featuring Great Gable, Green Gable, Little Scoat Fell & Pillar (distance), Brandreth, Dale Head (Newlands), High Spy, Glaramara, Esk Pike, Great End and Scafell Pike from Base Brown
Innominate Tarn on Hay stacks (frozen solid) with Great Gable rising majestically in the background
. . . see all 140 walk photographs & pictures of views from, on or of Great Gable
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