It is 753 metres (2,470 feet) above sea level and stands immediately north of Honister Pass, the road between Borrowdale and Buttermere.

The North-Western Fells occupy the area between the rivers Derwent and Cocker, a broadly oval swathe of hilly country, elongated on a north-south axis.

The southern flank of the fell running down to the summit of the Honister Pass road (1,180 feet or 360 metres) has much gentler slopes, although there is outcropping rock on either side.

From the top of the pass Gatesgarthdale Beck runs north west to Buttermere while Hause Gill flows east to Seatoller and Borrowdale.

[1] Dale Head stands at the junction of the two main Lakeland geological systems, the Skiddaw slates to the north and the Borrowdale Volcanics to the south.

Southward march the Borrowdale series beginning with the plagioclase-phyric andesite lavas of the Birker Fell Formation, visible near the summit.

In 1887 work began to drive a tunnel right under Dale Head into Newlands Valley, connecting with a proposed tramway to join the railway at Keswick.

[4][5] One of the most popular ascent routes of Dale Head begins from the summit of Honister Pass, where there is a car park and a youth hostel.

The route ascends directly alongside a fence for approximately 2 kilometres (1+1⁄4 miles) and would take the average walker some 45 or 50 minutes.

Longer routes begin at Little Town in the Newlands Valley, climbing either via Dalehead Tarn or the old access track to Dale Head Mine.