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533 m · Wainwright — Far Eastern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Arthur's Pike - golden moor grass on the fellside above Ullswater, the lake curving between hazy fells under blue sky
Wainwright — Far Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Arthur's Pike

Arthur's Pike at 533m (1,749ft) is a grassy summit above Ullswater's western shore, giving fine views of the lake from its open top.

533 m
Height
~2.5–3 h
Typical time
+1
Bonus Birkett
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Arthur's Pike

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

533 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+1 bonus Birkett within 3 km Severe in cloud

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 533 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 16° to 14°C, gusts to 32 mph, 1.7 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
16° / 14°
💨 32 mph
🌧 1.7 mm (98%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
17° / 13°
💨 33 mph
🌧 3.1 mm (98%)
Thu 30 Jul
☁️
16° / 7°
💨 28 mph
🌧 0.1 mm (63%)
Fri 31 Jul
☁️
16° / 3°
💨 25 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (82%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 3°
💨 11 mph
🌧 6.3 mm (31%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌤️
17° / 4°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (25%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
17° / 7°
💨 12 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (24%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 533 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

About the walk

Key information

Arthur's Pike

Arthur's Pike - golden moor grass on the fellside above Ullswater, the lake curving between hazy fells under blue sky
© Lee McCoy

Arthur's Pike at 533m (1,749ft) is a grassy summit above Ullswater's western shore, giving fine views of the lake from its open top. Wainwright described it as a pleasant short walk from Pooley Bridge with rewarding lake views. Most naturally combined with Bonscale Pike as a short circuit above Ullswater. The views east across the lake to the distant Pennines are a distinctive bonus from this northern end of the Far Eastern Fells.

Routes up Arthur's Pike

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

Fusedale Circuit
14.7 km · ~4.4 hr
A quiet ~15 km circuit of the Far Eastern fells from Howtown on Ullswater — Hallin Fell, Steel Knotts, Wether Hill, Loadpot Hill, Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike — broad grassy tops with grandstand views over the lake. A fine Steamer-and-walk outing.
Heughscar Hill & Arthur's Pike
11.7 km · ~3.1 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Far Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
533 m
Height
1,749 ft
In feet
NY 4607 2068
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Martindale, St Peter's church (free, limited), about 3.1 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Arthur's Pike (within 3 km)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.

1.3 km SSWSwarth Fell (Ullswater)545 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Arthur's Pike

Fusedale CircuitRevised
14.68 km · ~856 m ascent · loop · ~4–6 h
Summits: Hallin FellBonscale PikeArthur's PikeLoadpot HillWether HillBrownthwaite CragSteel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts)

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: Steep crag edges above Ullswater: Bonscale Tower and the western drops off Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike are serious — keep well back, especially in cloud or wind.; Boggy, featureless plateau: the Loadpot Hill saddle is peat-hagged and wet, and the broad grassy tops give little to aim for in mist — a compass day if the cloud is down.; Summer bracken + a washed-out descent: the Brock Crag short-cut and the steep drop off Bonscale to Mellguards can be thick, navigation-sapping bracken, with one eroded section underfoot — walking poles help.; Easy-to-miss summits: Wether Hill and Loadpot Hill both have their true top just off the obvious path — step the few metres across to be sure you've actually bagged them.

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

Heughscar Hill & Arthur's PikePlanned
11.68 km · ~436 m ascent · loop · ~3–4 h
Summits: Heughscar HillArthur's Pike

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

The View from Arthur's Pike

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys
Computed 360-degree skyline from Arthur's Pike30 labelled tops shown (8 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 13 kmSkiddaw · 22 kmHigh Crag · 14 kmRaise · 12 kmFairfield · 14 kmGreat Dodd · 12 kmAtkinson Pike · 16 kmStybarrow Dodd · 12 kmDove Crag · 13 kmRed Screes · 14 kmClough Head · 13 kmKnott · 20 kmRest Dodd · 8 kmCarrock Fell · 18 kmCross Fell · 26 kmLittle Hart Crag · 13 kmGreat Yarlside · 15 kmWasdale Pike · 14 kmDodd · 23 kmThe Calf · 31 km · clear daysWild Boar Fell · 37 km · clear daysSighty Crag · 62 km · clear daysHeughscar Hill · 4 kmDodd Fell Hill · 52 km · clear daysCalkin Rig · 69 km · clear daysKnipescar Common · 7 kmMickle Fell · 35 km · clear daysCold Fell · 38 km · clear daysNine Standards Rigg · 39 km · clear daysDufton Pike · 25 kmHelvellyn Lower Man · 13 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 21 kmWhite Side · 13 kmDollywaggon Pike · 14 kmSt Sunday Crag · 12 kmHart Crag · 13 kmHart Side · 10 kmRanderside · 11 kmBannerdale Crags · 15 kmTarn Crags Top · 16 kmLord's Seat · 26 kmWhernside · 48 km · clear daysThe Knight · 6 kmHigh Wether Howe · 11 kmFaulds Brow · 26 kmLow How · 9 kmDunmallet · 4 kmGrange Fell · 65 km · clear daysBroad Law · 108 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 124 km · a handful of days a yearGreen Lowther · 107 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 79 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 113 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 81 km · a rare clear dayBlackwood Hill · 76 km · a rare clear dayKirkland Hill · 120 km · a handful of days a year
What you can see from Arthur's Pike, by direction
  • South: Rest Dodd (8 km)
  • South-west: Gavel Pike (11 km), Caudale Moor (12 km), St Sunday Crag (12 km), Catstye Cam (12 km), Helvellyn (13 km), Hart Crag (13 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (13 km), Nethermost Pike (13 km), Cofa Pike (13 km), Dove Crag (13 km), Red Screes (14 km), Fairfield (14 km), High Crag (14 km), Dollywaggon Pike (14 km)
  • West: Birkett Fell (10 km), Hart Side (10 km), Green Side (11 km), Randerside (11 km), Great Dodd (12 km), Stybarrow Dodd (12 km), Raise (12 km), Clough Head (13 km), White Side (13 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (20 km), Skiddaw Little Man (21 km), Skiddaw South Top (22 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (22 km)
  • North-west: Bannerdale Crags (15 km), Blencathra (15 km), Atkinson Pike (16 km), Gategill Fell Top (16 km), Tarn Crags Top (16 km), Bowscale Fell (16 km), Knowe Crags (16 km), Carrock Fell (18 km), High Pike (20 km), Knott (20 km), Skiddaw (22 km), Skiddaw North Top (22 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Broad Law (108 km, Scotland), Tinto (124 km, Scotland), Green Lowther (107 km, Scotland), White Coomb (99 km, Scotland), Queensberry (92 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (91 km, Scotland), Cairn Table (127 km, Scotland), Wisp Hill (79 km, Scotland).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Arthur's Pike

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
39Wainwrights in view+10 marginal
47 kmFurthest sightlineWhernside
—Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Whernside Yorkshire DalesSE · 47 km clear
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 28 km clear
  • Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 26 km clear
All 39 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Bonscale Pike, Hallin Fell, Beda Fell (Beda Head), Little Mell Fell, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Place Fell, Great Mell Fell, Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Hart Side, Birkhouse Moor, St Sunday Crag, Great Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, Catstye Cam, Clough Head, White Side, Helvellyn, Hart Crag, Nethermost Pike, Dove Crag, Fairfield, Souther Fell, Dollywaggon Pike, Bannerdale Crags, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Bowscale Fell, Carrock Fell, Lonscale Fell, High Pike (Caldbeck), Knott, Skiddaw Little Man, Skiddaw, Dodd (Skiddaw), Barf, Lord's Seat, Broom Fell, Ling Fell

How Arthur's Pike’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Best parking to hike Arthur's Pike

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Martindale, St Peter's church (free, limited) — 3.1 km from summit (straight line)
Quiet side of Ullswater — Hallin Fell, Steel Knotts, Beda Fell, Pikeawassa.
Directions
Pooley Bridge (paid) — 3.8 km from summit (straight line)
For Heughscar Hill, Dunmallard Hill, Arthur's Pike and the Roman road onto High Street's north end.
Directions
🚺 Pooley Bridge (254m) — Accessible · RADAR key🚺 Public toilets (1369m) — Free☕ Secret Garden☕ Pooley Bridge Pier House☕ Granny Dowbekins Tea Rooms🍺 The Sun Inn🍺 Pooley Bridge Inn🍺 Crown Inn🏪 The Barn

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Fusedale Circuit route:

💧 possible water source (99 m)🛖 map (89 m)🚺 map (95 m)🚺 map (99 m)🚌 Hause Farm (166 m)

On the Heughscar Hill & Arthur's Pike route:

💧 possible water source (60 m)💧 possible water source (60 m)💧 possible water source (88 m)💧 possible water source (102 m)🚺 map (94 m)🚺 map (94 m)🚌 The Crown Hotel (24 m)🚌 Ullswater Guest House (68 m)🚌 Steamer Pier (350 m)

💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

Buses to Arthur's Pike from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

My hikes over Arthur's Pike (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Hazard & Incident Information for Arthur's Pike

Hazard: Moderate

A fell on the eastern shore of Ullswater above Howtown, whose grassy, flat-topped summit hides an extensive craggy face dropping in tiers to the lower lake. To the west the ground falls steeply to Swarthbeck Gill, and the direct approach from Howtown is steep and rough with some scrambling over loose ground. Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • The craggy north-west face above Ullswater: Below the flat summit, tiers of crag drop steeply toward the lake. The grassy top is set back, so keep well clear of the edge — don't approach the lip for the view, especially in wind or cloud.
  • Steep Swarthbeck Gill flank & rough approach: The west side falls steeply to Swarthbeck Gill, and the direct approach from Howtown is steep and very rough, with some scrambling over loose ground and no single clear path. Take care with footing; avoid the steepest, looser lines if unsure.
  • Boggy ground & navigation: Paths can be boggy and indistinct on the broad moorland top (toward Loadpot Hill), easy to misjudge in mist. Wear proper footwear and navigate by compass in cloud, keeping back from the western crags.
Who should attempt this fell: Arthur's Pike looks gentle on top but is undercut by crags above Ullswater — keep well back from the north-west edge, and take the steep, rough, loose approach from Howtown carefully. Navigate the broad boggy top by compass in cloud, wear sturdy footwear, and treat the edges as serious in winter.

Most common causes: Walkers straying over the craggy north-west face above the lake · Slips on the steep, loose, rough approach from Howtown · Navigation errors on the boggy moorland top in cloud · Winter ice on the crag edges and steep flank

Local Mountain Rescue: Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026

Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Report incorrect information

Navigating Arthur's Pike in cloud

Severe

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How Arthur's Pike compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near Arthur's Pike

Maps & guidebooks for Arthur's Pike

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