Staying safe on the Lake District fells

The Lake District is a safe place to walk for the vast majority of visitors, but its fells are real mountains. Every year the volunteer Mountain Rescue teams of the National Park are called out hundreds of times, most often for slips, trips and walkers who are lost or caught out by darkness or weather. Almost all of those call-outs can be avoided with a little planning. This guide covers the essentials: forecasts, navigation, kit, daylight, winter, livestock, water, and what to do if things go wrong.

It isn't a substitute for experience. If you're new to the hills, start with Easy and Moderate walks, build up gradually, and consider a navigation course before tackling the high fells.

Check a mountain forecast, not a town forecast

Valley weather tells you little about the tops. As a rule of thumb the air cools by around 1°C for every 150 metres you climb, before you add wind-chill, so a pleasant 15°C in Keswick can mean a few degrees above freezing and a stiff wind on a 900-metre summit. Cloud often sits on the fells when the valleys are clear.

Before any fell walk, check one of the specialist mountain forecasts:

• Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS): summit wind, cloud base, wind-chill and how hard walking will be.
• Met Office mountain forecast for the Lake District.
• Lake District Weatherline: in winter the National Park's fell-top assessors report conditions on Helvellyn, including snow and ice.

Our walk pages also show a three-day yr.no forecast for the nearest place, and fell walks link to the mountain forecasts. The key numbers are wind speed on the tops (above about 40 mph walking becomes difficult and exposed ridges dangerous), the cloud base (if it's below your summit, you'll be navigating in mist) and the freezing level.

Navigation: map first, phone as backup

Most mountain rescue call-outs for "lost" walkers happen in cloud, and the most common place to go wrong is on broad, rocky summits where the path vanishes, such as the summit plateau of Scafell Pike. The answer is simple and old-fashioned: carry the paper OS Explorer map for the area and a compass, and know how to take a bearing.

Use your phone as well. Our free GPX files load into most mapping apps (see the GPX and maps guide), and a GPS dot on a map is a huge help. But phone batteries drain fast in the cold and when the screen is on, rain makes touchscreens unreliable, and signal is poor or absent in valleys such as Wasdale, Eskdale and Langdale. Download maps for offline use before you set off, carry a power bank, and keep the phone warm in an inside pocket.

Before you go, look at the route on the map and note the points where you could go wrong: path junctions, where the path crosses open ground, and how to get off the fell quickly if the weather turns. On the summit, check your direction off before you leave, not after.

Kit: what to carry

The right kit depends on the walk and the season, but on any fell walk carry:

• Waterproof jacket and over-trousers, even if the forecast is dry.
• A warm layer, hat and gloves. Summits are cold even in summer.
• Walking boots with a good grip, broken in before the day.
• Map, compass and a phone with the route downloaded, plus a power bank.
• Plenty of food and water. Most fell routes have no shops or safe drinking water after the car park.
• A head torch, small first-aid kit and a whistle.
• On bigger days, an emergency shelter or survival bag.

Our walk grades guide has a kit table for each grade, and every walk guide has its own "What to bring" list.

Daylight and timing

Being caught out by darkness is one of the most common reasons for a rescue. Check sunset time before you set off and work backwards: add the guide time, then add stops and a margin. In midwinter the Lake District gets well under eight hours of daylight, and it gets dark sooner in steep valleys and under cloud. Set a turn-back time and stick to it, even if the summit is in sight. Always carry a head torch; a phone torch drains the battery you may need to call for help.

Winter on the fells

From late autumn to spring, snow and ice can lie on the higher fells for weeks. Hard, icy snow on steep ground is genuinely dangerous: a slip can turn into an uncontrolled slide. In these conditions fell walking becomes winter mountaineering, which needs an ice axe, crampons and the training to use them. Steep edges such as Helvellyn's Striding Edge and the ground around Scafell Pike's summit are particularly serious. Winter also brings cornices (overhanging snow at the top of steep slopes) and white-outs, where snow and cloud blur the ground and the sky together.

If you don't have the kit and the skills, pick a lower walk. Woodland, lakeshores and waterfall walks such as Tarn Hows and Tom Gill or Rydal Caves are superb in winter.

Cattle, sheep and dogs

Much of the Lake District is working farmland and open fell grazed by sheep and, in places, cattle. Cows with calves can be protective, and dogs make them more so. Keep to the edge of fields, don't walk between a cow and its calf, and move calmly. Keep dogs on a short lead around livestock and always during lambing time (roughly March to May) and wherever signs ask. If cattle chase you, let go of the dog's lead.

Dog worrying is a criminal offence and can be devastating for farmers. Pick up after your dog and bag it home; there are no bins on the fells. Each of our walk guides notes whether the route suits dogs and where livestock are likely.

Water: becks, waterfalls and cold lakes

Lakeland streams (becks) rise very quickly after heavy rain. A beck you could step across in the morning can be a torrent by afternoon. Don't attempt to cross a swollen beck: look for a bridge, wait for it to drop, or turn back. Rocks around waterfalls are slippery whatever the weather, so stay on the paths, especially with children, at places such as Aira Force and Stanley Ghyll.

The lakes stay cold all year, rarely much above 15°C even in summer, and sudden immersion in cold water can cause cold-water shock. If you swim, go in slowly, stay close to the shore, and never swim alone or after a long walk when you're tired and cold.

If something goes wrong: calling Mountain Rescue

Lake District Mountain Rescue teams are volunteers, on call day and night and free to anyone who needs them. To call them:

1. Dial 999 or 112.
2. Ask for the Police, then ask for Mountain Rescue.
3. Give your location (a grid reference if you can; the OS Locate app or your mapping app can show it), what has happened and any injuries, how many people are in the group, and your phone number.
4. Stay where you are and keep your phone switched on so the team can call you back. Save battery by closing other apps.

If you can't make a call, you can text 999 using the emergencySMS service, but only if your phone is registered first. It's designed for people with hearing or speech difficulties, and mountain rescue teams also encourage walkers to register. To register, text register to 999, then follow the instructions in the reply. Do it now, before you need it. See the Lake District Search & Mountain Rescue Association for advice and to support the teams.

If you're lost but not hurt, stop, put on warm clothes, have something to eat, and try to work out where you are on the map before calling. If you can safely get down to a road or a farm, that's often the quickest help.

Before you leave: a quick checklist

• Mountain forecast checked; route matches the weather and the slowest walker.
• Someone at home knows your route and when you'll be back.
• Map, compass, charged phone with route downloaded, power bank.
• Waterproofs, warm layers, hat and gloves, head torch, first aid, food and water.
• Sunset time noted and a turn-back time agreed.
• Phone registered with emergencySMS.

Then enjoy it. The fells are at their best for walkers who arrive prepared. Browse our walks by grade and area to find the right one for the day.