Cat Bells by bus or boat: how to skip the car-park crush

Cat Bells is one of the most popular little fells in the Lake District, and the National Park Authority is blunt about the downside: parking is “extremely limited” at the start of the walk. The easy answer is not to bring the car. This guide covers the three ways to get to the foot of the fell without one, and what to do if you drive anyway.

At a glance

Why not drive?

• The National Park Authority says parking at the start is extremely limited and asks you not to park on the double yellow lines: it can stop emergency services getting through, and you will be fined.
• The National Trust’s Borrowdale parking page is clear: there is no permanent car park at Cat Bells, only a couple of lay-bys. One is at Gutherscale (CA12 5UE), “where the main path starts”; the other is at Little Town (CA12 5TU), for the Newlands side of the hill. There are only eight parking spaces in the lay-by at Cat Bells, and the Trust says the narrow lanes get crowded early. It is much better to park in Keswick and come by bus or by the launch.
• The Ramblers’ route page calls the start “Hawes End car park”. That is the same Gutherscale lay-by, not a formal National Trust car park.
• We have deliberately not listed parking prices, because they change. For current charges at nearby National Trust car parks, see the Trust’s Borrowdale parking page on the day you travel.

Option 1: the boat (Keswick Launch)

The National Park suggests a “park and sail” day: leave the car in Keswick and cross Derwentwater by launch.

• The Keswick Launch’s own page says Hawes End jetty is the stop for the main walk to Cat Bells. It lists no parking, no toilets and no shop at the jetty, and a café 15 minutes’ walk away.
• High Brandelhow jetty is the other stop. Visit Keswick lists it as the stop for National Trust woodland and routes up Cat Bells and Maiden Moor.
• Park and Sail: the National Park, Visit Keswick and the National Trust all describe the same offer: park at Keswick Rugby Club and get 15% off Keswick Launch tickets. Visit Keswick says you collect a voucher from the car park ticket machine and present it at the launch ticket office, for the driver and up to four passengers that day. Confirm the current parking charge and how the voucher works on the day, as those details change.
• Season (checked November 2026): the Launch’s own timetable lists a summer service from 21 March to 8 November 2026, and a winter service on selected days from 9 November 2026 to 19 March 2027. The winter page says the launch is closed in December and January, and that the summer timetable starts again on 20 March. Boats may not sail in rough weather, and the dates change each year, so check the Launch’s times page before you go.

Option 2: the Honister Rambler bus (77 and 77A)

The Honister Rambler is a circular, seasonal Stagecoach route from Keswick bus station. In the summer timetable, the 77A goes out via Portinscale and the Cat Bells stop, then on through Borrowdale, Honister, Buttermere and Whinlatter; the 77 runs the loop the other way, which makes it the bus back. Recent timetables list the stop at the start of the walk as “Catbells”.

• Where to catch it: Keswick bus station, outside Booths. Visit Keswick says Stand 3, and Cumberland Council’s timetable for the year-round 78 also lists Stand 3 at the same station.
• When it runs: it is a seasonal service, usually from spring to autumn. The National Park says daily from March to November; Visit Keswick says Easter to October. Those differ, and the National Park’s “Getting to Cat Bells” page still carried last year’s dates when we checked, so use the dates on Stagecoach or Traveline.
• Right now (mid-November 2026): the 77 and 77A are not running. News reports of Stagecoach’s winter announcement said the winter timetable began on 2 November 2026, with summer-only routes including the 77/77A due back on 22 March 2027. We could not load Stagecoach’s own timetable to confirm those restart dates, so check Stagecoach or Traveline before you travel.
• Fares and times: these change, including any national fare cap. Check the current single and day tickets on Stagecoach or Traveline before you travel.

Option 3: the year-round bus (78)

The National Park lists the Borrowdale bus 78, often an open-top service from Keswick up Borrowdale, and says it runs daily throughout the year. For the south end of the Cat Bells ridge, the useful stop is Grange (listed on Cumberland Council’s 78 timetable as “Bridge, Grange”). From there you can walk up towards Hause Gate, the col at the south end of the ridge. The council timetable, checked in November 2026, showed a roughly hourly daytime service from Keswick bus station, Stand 3. Times change, so confirm today’s times on Stagecoach or Traveline.

Option 4: walk from Keswick

The National Park describes a walk from Keswick to the start of Cat Bells of 4 km (2.5 miles) each way, mostly on public footpaths through fields and woodland, with tea stops at Lingholm, Nichol End and Portinscale on the way back. It adds about 8 km (5 miles) to your day, so it suits a long day or a bus or boat one way. The National Park’s Getting to Cat Bells page includes a map of this route: use that, and an OS map, rather than treating this as a turn-by-turn guide.

The walk itself

Visit Keswick summarises the classic circular as a climb from Hawes End landing up Skelgill Bank to the summit, with some short scrambly sections, then a descent south to the saddle at Hause Gate, a drop east to the lakeshore at Brandelhow, and a return along the shore past High and Low Brandelhow. The Ramblers describe it as a fun but steep climb with excellent views over Derwentwater to Skiddaw, followed by a descent and a wander back round.

We haven’t walked it for this site, so this is a planning outline, not a turn-by-turn route. Use an OS map (or the OS Maps app) and a published route such as Visit Keswick’s or the Ramblers’.

Planning notes

• Weather first. Read our guide to mountain weather forecasts before you go. The National Park advises checking the forecast the day before and again on the day, and avoiding steep and exposed ground in storms and high winds.
• Daylight. Plan to be off the fell in good time before nightfall, as the National Park advises.
• Scrambling. The scrambly sections are short, but wet rock is slippery. If the group isn’t comfortable, turn round.
• First Wainwright? See the easiest Wainwrights for a first fell day.
• Easy flat alternative: the Miles Without Stiles route from Keswick to Portinscale is a level walk with views of Cat Bells.

Sources

Checked on 14 November 2026. Official pages change: confirm anything time-sensitive (buses, car parks, closures) before you travel.

• Getting to Cat Bells (Lake District National Park Authority)
• Car parks in Borrowdale and Derwent Water (including parking at Cat Bells) (National Trust)
• Hawes End jetty (Keswick Launch Co.)
• Keswick Launch times (summer and winter 2026-27) (Keswick Launch Co.)
• Keswick Launch winter times (Keswick Launch Co.)
• Catbells walk (Visit Keswick)
• Car Free Catbells (Visit Keswick)
• Cat Bells: The family fell (Ramblers)
• OS Explorer OL4: The English Lakes, North-western area (Ordnance Survey)
• Bus timetable, route 78 to Seatoller (Cumberland Council)
• Stagecoach bus timetables (Honister Rambler 77/77A, Borrowdale 78) (Stagecoach Cumbria)
• Plan a bus journey (Traveline)
• List of Wainwrights (heights from the Database of British and Irish Hills, October 2018) (Wikipedia)
• Walking safety (Lake District National Park Authority)

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