Collection · 24 fells
Walking the Northern Fells
The Wainwright and Outlying fells we group as the Northern area of the Lake District — each with its height, a typical round time, the bus where there’s one, and today’s predicted conditions. Grouped by our own area tag (a practical guide, not a fixed authored canon). Check the live conditions and the mountain forecast before the tops.
24
fells
from 1.5 hr
shortest day
0
dog-friendly
1 of these are rated good to climb on 11 September — see live conditions →
A prediction from our daily fell score (clear summits, wind, rain, visibility), not a guarantee — always check the mountain forecast before you go.
Map
● fells within ~5 km
An interactive map of the route start points and the fells within about 5 km. Each marker links to its page; the same routes and fells are listed below.
- Skiddaw930 m~4.5 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inSkiddaw at 931m (3,054ft) is the fourth highest fell in England and one of Wainwright's great favourites for its distinctive character — a mountain of broad, smooth ridges and sweeping, slate-grey slopes quite unlike the rocky Central and Western Fells.
- Blencathra - Hallsfell Top868 m~4 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inBlencathra at 868m (2,848ft) was, by many accounts, Wainwright's personal favourite — he described it as 'a mountain that has everything a mountain should have.' Its dramatic southern face presents a series of sweeping ridges and dark corries that compose into one of the great mountain spectacles of Lakeland, visible from the A66 below.
Skiddaw Little Man865 m~3.5 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inSkiddaw Little Man at 865m (2,838ft) is the subsidiary summit on the Skiddaw ridge south of the main top, often climbed with Skiddaw but a separate fell in its own right.
Carl Side747 m~3.5 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inCarl Side at 746m (2,447ft) is the prominent shoulder of Skiddaw above Millbeck, its summit giving excellent views across Bassenthwaite Lake and north to Scotland on clear days.
Long Side734 m~3 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inLong Side at 734m (2,408ft) is an intermediate summit on the Ullock Pike to Skiddaw ridge, its long, narrow crest giving outstanding views across Bassenthwaite Lake below and north to the Solway coast.
Lonscale Fell715 m~3 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inLonscale Fell at 715m (2,346ft) is the eastern shoulder of Skiddaw above the River Glenderaterra, giving fine views of the Blencathra massif and east across the Northern Fells.- Knott710 m~4.5 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inKnott at 710m (2,329ft) is the highest point of the Back o' Skiddaw plateau — a vast, remote moorland above Caldbeck and the Vale of Eden that Wainwright described as the loneliest corner of Lakeland.
- Bowscale Fell702 m~3 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inBowscale Fell at 702m (2,303ft) is a broad summit above Mungrisdale, its eastern face concealing one of Lakeland's most atmospheric tarns — Bowscale Tarn, set in a dark corrie below the fell's north-east face.
- Great Calva691 m~4.5 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inGreat Calva at 690m (2,264ft) is an isolated summit in the heart of the Back o' Skiddaw country, its rounded top giving wide, spacious views across a landscape that feels genuinely remote.
Ullock Pike690 m~3 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inUllock Pike at 692m (2,270ft) is the sharp, pointed north-western extremity of the Skiddaw ridge, its needle-like profile visible from the Bassenthwaite valley below.- Bannerdale Crags684 m~3 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inBannerdale Crags at 683m (2,240ft) stands above the remote Bannerdale valley between Mungrisdale and the Helvellyn range, its summit crags giving a dramatic and largely unvisited view of the eastern Northern Fells.
Bakestall674 m~3 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inBakestall at 673m (2,208ft) is the north-eastern satellite of Skiddaw, a broad grassy summit with the best views of the Back o' Skiddaw plateau and north towards the Solway.- Carrock Fell662 m~3 hMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inCarrock Fell at 663m (2,175ft) is the easternmost of the Northern Fells, an isolated summit above the Vale of Eden with a remarkable ancient hillfort on its summit — one of the finest Iron Age fortifications in northern England.
- High Pike (Caldbeck)658 m~3 hMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inHigh Pike at 658m (2,159ft) above Caldbeck is the northernmost fell in Wainwright's guide, a broad grassy summit on the edge of the Lake District whose summit gives an extraordinary view north and east — the Solway Firth, the Isle of Man and the Pennines all visible on a clear day.
- Great Sca Fell651 m~3 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inGreat Sca Fell at 651m (2,136ft) is a rounded, grassy summit in the Back o' Skiddaw country, giving wide views across the northern moorlands to the Solway and the Pennines.
- Mungrisdale Common632 m~4.5 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inMungrisdale Common at 675m (2,215ft) is a broad, boggy summit between Blencathra and Bowscale Fell, its featureless top challenging to navigate in mist but giving good views of the Blencathra massif on a clear day.
- Brae Fell585 m~2.5 hMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inBrae Fell at 586m (1,923ft) is a moorland summit in the Back o' Skiddaw country, its broad top giving wide views north towards the Solway and east to the Pennines.
- Meal Fell549 m~2.5 hMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inMeal Fell at 550m (1,804ft) is a small, grassy summit in the Back o' Skiddaw country above Longlands, giving pleasant views across the northern moorlands.
- Great Cockup526 m~2.5 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inGreat Cockup at 526m (1,726ft) is an isolated summit north of Skiddaw, its open top giving wide views across the Solway Plain and north towards Scotland.
- Souther Fell522 m~2.5 h🚌 BusDecent · 67Dry, firm underfootSouther Fell at 522m (1,713ft) is an isolated, flat-topped ridge above Mungrisdale, famous in local tradition for the legendary ghostly army said to have been seen marching along its crest in the 18th century.
Dodd (Skiddaw)502 m~2 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inDodd at 502m (1,647ft) is the prominent wooded cone above Bassenthwaite Lake, its open summit — above the Dodd Wood forest — giving one of the finest aerial views of Bassenthwaite Lake in the whole district.- Longlands Fell483 m~2.5 hMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inLonglands Fell at 483m (1,585ft) is the lowest of the Back o' Skiddaw group, a pleasant, easy summit above Caldbeck giving views across the northern moorlands.
Binsey447 m~1.5 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inBinsey at 447m (1,467ft) is a solitary, isolated fell above Bassenthwaite village, its rounded summit entirely separate from any other fell group.
Latrigg369 m~1.5 h🚌 BusMarginal · 40Summit likely clagged inLatrigg at 368m (1,207ft) is the little fell above Keswick, its summit giving one of the finest and most accessible viewpoints of Derwent Water and the surrounding fells in the whole Lake District.
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