Illgill Head
609m (1997ft)
The Southern Fells, The Lake District, Cumbria, England
You can find Illgill Head & 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 Illgill Head and the surrounding tops on our free-to-access 'Google Style' Peak Bagging Maps:
See Illgill Head and the surrounding tops on our downloadable PDF Peak Bagging Maps:
*Walk & bag all 30 Wainwrights in The Southern Fells area of The Lake District in just 11 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: | 8.75ml (14km) |
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| Ascent: | 2,347ft (715m) |
| Time: | 5½ hrs |
| Grade: |  (Moderate) |
Route Summary:
Miterdale Bridge - Porterthwaite - Miterdale Forest - Irton Fell - Greathall Gill - Whin Rigg - Illgill Head - Burnmoor Tarn - Burnmoor Lodge - Eskdale Moor - Ellerhow Moss - Boat How - Low Longrigg - River Mite - Low Place Farm - Miterdale Bridge
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 9ml (14.5km) |
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| Ascent: | 2,402ft (732m) |
| Time: | 5.75hrs |
| Grade: | (Moderate) |
Route Summary:
Wasdale Head - (National Trust Campsite) - Wast Water - Lingmell Gill - Illgill Head - Whin Rigg - Greathall Gill - Wasdale Hall Youth Hostel - Wast Water - Wasdale Head
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Vital Statistics:
| Length: | 15.25ml (24.5km) |
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| Ascent: | 4,841ft (1,475m) |
| Time: | 10½ hrs |
| Grade: |  (Very Hard) |
Route Summary:
Wasdale Head - (National Trust Campsite) - Wast Water - Lingmell Gill - Illgill Head - Whin Rigg - Greathall Gill - Low Wood - Lund Bridge - Woodhow Farm - Woodhow Tarn - Scale Farm - Tosh Tarn - Gill Farm - Gill Beck - Buckbarrow - Cold Well - Nether Wasdale Common - Seatallan - Windscale Hows - Middle Fell (Wasdale) - Greendale Farm - Nether Beck - Overbeck Bridge - Wasdale Head - Wast Water.
Fellow go4awalkers who have already walked, climbed, summited & bagged Illgill Head
Caroline Winter walked up Illgill Head on October 13th, 2024 [from/via/route] Wasdale road, NT car park, Illgill head, Whinn Rigg, gill, river Irt, Wastwater [with] Solo [weather] Warm, wind 10mph, clear views over Soloway & Wasdale Fells - NT volunteers stopping walkers to Scafell Pike to check if correctly equipped & giving out maps of route as increase in Mountain Rescue call outs. Great views from tops of fells already bagged.
Geoff Hand climbed Illgill Head on June 29th, 2024 [from/via/route] Walk C440 Whin Rigg, Illgill Head from Miterdale Bridge [with] Claire my daughter [weather] Cold claggy & wet - did the walk as part of the Wainwright Challenge 2024, which was to put someone on top of every Wainwright in one day. Unfortunately it was a wet & miserable day. We didn't get to see a thing. We missed our Boat How as it would have meant walking infront of Burnmoor Tarn which looked really wet & boggy.It is an outlying Wainwright in any case so wouldn't count.
Ian Ashton bagged Illgill Head on March 29th, 2024 [with] Solo
Pete George hiked Illgill Head on December 13th, 2023 [from/via/route] Wasdale [with] Roco [weather] Quite pleasant
James Hughes summited Illgill Head on July 9th, 2023 [from/via/route] From Wasdale Head Inn through NT campsite over Illgill Head & Whinn Rigg, back up Miterdale. [with] Paul [weather] Beautiful day, some cloud to start with & that cleared & was warmer when dropped back into valley. - Couple of Ritson's & an underwhelming Pork Pie before a drive back over Hard Knott Pass - lovely weekend.
Christine Shepherd conquered Illgill Head on August 18th, 2009 [from/via/route] Wasdale head using walk c116 Climbed again from Eskdale on a gloriously sunny day on 20.07.2021. Climbed for a third time from Eskdale on a very hot, humid day. 12.6.23 [with] On my own [weather] Very wet & misty - Had to rely on my compass quite a lot for this walk. I was a bit worried when I met a totally unprepared couple in' Sunday' shoes coming in the opposite direction. They asked if they were going in the right direction for Wasdale Head. They had a very wet map but no compass. I told them just to make sure they didn't veer too much to the left!!
Richard Marchant scaled Illgill Head on September 29th, 2022 [from/via/route] Parked at a small car park at Porterthwaite in Miterdale. From here I took a NW route up through the forest onto Irton Fell & then I followed the ridge NE up to Whin Rigg. Then I carried on in a NE direction taking the nearest path to the tops of The Screes of Wast Water on to Illgill Head. from here I carried on in a NE direction to the pass then turn to a SW direction & on to Tongue Moor above Burnmoor Tarn & basically back down through Miterdale to the car. [with] On my Own [weather] Sunny clear day with no breeze.
Victoria Bates walked up Illgill Head on June 1st, 2022 [from/via/route] Irton Fell car park [with] Mark, Dominic, Tabitha, Chris and Nadirah [weather] Cool, no wind or rain
John Fenwick climbed Illgill Head on October 4th, 2020 [from/via/route] Walked from Wasdale head carpark. [with] Romany [weather] Sunny with some clouds & not too windy - Followed Walk c116 to Whin Rig but after talking to a couple of walkers decided not to follow the walk back along the bank of Wast Water due to being too rocky. Instead we continued on strait to Miterdale forest then droped left to return past Burnmoor Tarn.
Richard Beardsley bagged Illgill Head on September 20th, 2019 [from/via/route] Used part of Route C116 On summiting Illgill Head & Whin Rigg we retraced back to the start point. [with] Gillian. [weather] Lovely sunny day. - Parked at Campsite, (£7 all day), & commenced walk at 0945hrs. Ideal weather conditions attracting lots of walkers for Scafell Pike. Arrived back at 1415hrs after our walk along the ridge above Wast Water. Thoroughly enjoyable day.
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More Photographs & Pictures of views from, on or of Illgill Head
Illgill Head (left) and Whin Rigg (right) above the Wast Water screes from Buckbarrow
Wast Water, Yewbarrow (left), Kirk Fell (centre left), Great Gable (centre right) and Lingmell Fell (right) from Illgill Head
The Scafell Massif, Illgill Head, Whin Rigg and the Wast Water Screes from Buckbarrow
Wast Water with the Scafel Massive (far left- featuring Ling Mell, Great End, Broad Crag, Ill Crag, Scafell Pike, Symonds Knott and Sca Fell) and Illgill Head (centre) and Whin Rigg (centre right) above the Wast Water screes from Buckbarrow
The Wasdale Screes below Illgill Head (centre) and Whin Rigg (right) from Ponsonby Fell
Yewbarrow, Wasdale Head, Wast Water, Lingmell, Scafell Pike, Mickledore and Sca Fell, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg from below Middle Fell (Wasdale)
Eskdale from Birker Force (Waterfall) with Illgill Head (centre left) and Sca Fell (centre right) on the horizon
*Illgill Head (left), Wast Water (centre) and Middle Fell (right) from Yewbarrow
Wasdale featuring Lingmell (left), Illgill Head and Whin Rigg (left of centre in the distance), Wast Water (centre) and Yewbarrow (right) from Westmorland Cairn near the summit of Great Gable
Climbing Scafell Pike via the Brown Tongue path with Illgill Head (left), Wast Water and Middle Fell (Wasdale) (right) in the background
Wast Water with Illgill Head (left) and Yewbarrow (right) from Great Gable summit
The shoulder of Lingmell and snow on Illgill Head (far left), Wasdale and Wast Water (left) and Yewbarrow (right) from Gable Beck Bridge
Illgill Head and Whin Rigg (left) Wast Water and Yewbarrow and Middle Fell (right) from Westmorland Cairn, Great Gable
*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)
Wasdale Head (left), Burnmoor Tarn, Yewbarrow (front centre), Illgill Head (back) and Wast Water from Pillar
*Kirk Fell (left), Great Gable (centre) Lingmell, Scafell Pike (partially hidden) and Illgill Head across Wast Water
Britain's Favourite View - Yewbarrow, Great Gable, Lingmell, Great End, Sca Fell and the shoulder of Illgill Head (far right) from Wast Water
Yewbarrow (left), Kirk Fell (partially hidden), Great Gable (centre) Lingmell, Scafell Pike (partially hidden) and Illgill Head (right) from across Wast Water
Illgill Head (left) Wasdale, Wast Water and Yewbarrow from Westmorland Cairn, Great Gable
The Wasdale Valley featuring Lingmell (left), Illgill Head and Whin Rigg (left of centre in the distance), Wast Water (centre) and Yewbarrow (right) from near Westmorland Cairn on the summit of Great Gable
Lingmell (far right), Scafel Pike, Mickledore, Sca Fell and Illgill Head (centre right) from across Overbeck Bridge, Wast Water
*Kirk Fell (left), Great Gable (centre) Lingmell, Scafell Pike (partially hidden) and Illgill Head across Wast Water
. . . see just 20 walk photographs & pictures of views from, on or of Illgill Head
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