Adam Seat
Adam Seat at 666m (2,185ft) is a broad, grassy summit on the high moorland south of Mardale Head, forming part of the ridge between Branstree and Harter Fell. A Birkett top in the remote country south of Haweswater.
Summit conditions on Adam Seat
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 59 mph, 17.0 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Routes up Adam Seat
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →
How hard is Adam Seat?
The shortest way up we hold is Birketts by Kentmere Horseshoe — 17.58 km, 798 m of ascent, ~4¾–6½ h. On our scale its hardest axes are distance and navigation — Hard.
All axes: length: Hard · navigation: Hard · steepness: Moderate · terrain: Not assessed · exposure: Not assessed.
These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →
Conditions and 7-day summit forecast
Modelled for the 666 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Adam Seat
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Adam Seat
Positions are approximate.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
Buses
The nearest bus stop we hold is the 6 and 555 stop at Staveley, outside Abbey Square, 8.5 km of walking from the start — no bus route we hold serves it.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Hazards on Adam Seat
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Birketts by Kentmere Horseshoe
If you need to get off (the leg from Little Harter Fell): The route drops east from Adam Seat to the Gatescarth Pass track (next stage), which leads down to the finish.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Adam Seat.
We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.
If you need Mountain Rescue
Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.
Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.
If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.
From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (opens in new tab) (read 26 October 2026).
Map, GPX and nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.
Birketts within 3 km of Adam Seat
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Adam Seat
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.
About Adam Seat
My Strava hikes over Adam Seat
2 logged hikes pass over this summit:
- Grey Crag, Tarn Crag, Kentmere Pike & Shipman Knotts (Needed that!) (opens in new tab) — 17.7 km · 1031 m ascent · 4h 33m moving · 5 May 2026
- Mardale circuit (opens in new tab) — 17.1 km · 1001 m ascent · 4h 31m moving · 28 February 2025
Data from Strava.
Classifications & hill data
Is Adam Seat a Wainwright?
Adam Seat is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.
Selected lists
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →
Places to stay near this fell
We have not verified an independent place near this fell — these are the chains and charities that serve it.
- Mosedale Cottage (opens in new tab) hutabout 4.0 km
We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).