Kirkstone Pass

Kirkstone Pass is the Lake District's highest public road — 454 metres above sea level, with gradients up to 25% and views that shift from Windermere's long lake surface in the south to Ullswater's wild valley in the north. At the top sits Kirkstone Pass Inn, serving beer to travellers since the 1400s. The road is named after a stone near the summit that resembles a church. On a clear day you can see all the way to Morecambe Bay from the south-facing side.Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District, England connects Ambleside in the south with Patterdale and Ullswater in the north via the A592. From Ambleside the climb starts immediately — the road gains 350 metres over 5 km. "The Struggle" is the old, steep route up from Ambleside (25% gradient). The modern A592 is wider but still steep. From the top the road descends to Brothers Water and on to Glenridding at Ullswater. The full Ambleside-Glenridding route is 16 km, taking 30-40 minutes.The Kirk Stone is a 5-metre rock outcrop 200 metres north of the summit that with some imagination resembles a church with a tower. Red Screes (776 m) rises east of the pass — a popular walk with views over all of Windermere from the top. Brothers Water in the valley north of the pass is one of the Lake District's smallest lakes — quiet, surrounded by fell sides, rarely visited. The walk from the pass over Caudale Moor and down to Troutbeck is one of the finest half-day walks in the Lake District.