509 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells+8 bonus Birketts within 3 km
Beda Fell at 509m (1,670ft) is a long ridge above Martindale, its summit giving outstanding views of Ullswater and the northern Eastern Fells. The ridge runs north from the summit to Winter Crag above Martindale.
Summit conditions on Beda Fell (Beda Head)
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 55 mph, 11.8 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.
Wind on the top
Past the line
49mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour
The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 44 mph times our exposure factor of 1.12. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 55 mph, before any exposure factor.
under 25
25–35
35–45
45–55
55+
The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS (opens in new tab) describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.
Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.
Rain, and the becks
Past the line
11.8mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight
The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.
The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.
Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.
Also checkedcold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 41 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.
Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.
Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data
Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Choose the way up before the car park: these three routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.
Hands for a few steps: the highest rock of Angletarn Pikes' North Top (about km 11.4).
Exposure
Easy
Easy
Not assessed
Navigation
Moderate
Hard
Hard
Steepest stretch
Descent of about 27% at 15.7 km (Hard)
Climb of about 30% at 1.2 km (Hard)
Descent of about 31% at 4.0 km (Hard)
After the summit
Over Place Fell
Over Place Fell
Over Place Fell
Walked or planned
Walked in part; km 2.8–3.3, km 10.0–14.9, km 16.7–19.3 from the map
Walked in part; km 0.3–1.7, km 19.4–22.1 from the map
Walked by Lee, August 2026
Car park at the start
Hartsop village (donation)
Hartsop village (donation)
Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid)
Bus to the start
508, 580 m walk from Hartsop, adjacent to road end
508, 560 m walk from Hartsop, adjacent to road end
508 at the start
Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.
Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →
Is Beda Fell an easy walk?
Yes, by the standards of the fells around it. Beda Fell is a long grassy ridge running out above Martindale, and walking the crest of it is about as pleasant and straightforward as ridge walking gets in this corner of the district.
The catch is that we have not mapped a short way up it. Our routes over Beda Fell are big days that use it as one link in a chain: 19.7 km with 1072 m of ascent over Brock Crags, Angletarn Pikes and Place Fell, which we rate Hard. Taken on its own from Martindale it is a far gentler proposition than those numbers imply.
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
Hartsop village (donation) — at the start of Brock Crags, Angletarn Pikes, Beda Fell & Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes and the Martindale round
For Hartsop Dodd, Gray Crag, High Street via Hayeswater, Brock Crags. It asks an optional donation, not a charge (Lee, who walked past it on 14 August 2026). People also use the Cow Bridge car park, 0.9 km away, if they would rather not drive down the lane.
If it is full: Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) (0.9 km, 32 m up)
Cow Bridge, Hartsop (paid) — 0.3 km from the start of Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells (straight line)
Paid car park by Brothers Water — Hartsop above How, Dovedale, Caudale Moor. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37323 (LDNPA, checked August 2026).
Hallin Fell, south-east car park (free) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Hallin Fell, Sleet Fell, Low Birk Fell and Birk Fell (Bleaberry Knott - Birk Fell) — the 'Hallin Fell' route starts 8 m away. Also serves 'Birketts to the South of Ullswater'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Of the pay-and-display machine tickets sold at Cow Bridge from 17 August 2024 to 31 March 2026, 34% were bought before 10am (our count of FOI/2026.500 ticket data). Contains public sector information provided by the Lake District National Park Authority and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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 508 and 509 stop at Hartsop, in road end, a 20 m walk from the start of Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: distance). The last bus is 17:44 towards Penrith (508) and 15:50 towards Keswick (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
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.
Notes from the Finishing of the Far Eastern Fells route
If you need to get off (the leg from Angletarn Pikes): Turn around and head south back toward Boredale Hause for a valley descent.
Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Beda Fell (Beda Head).
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.
Navigating in cloud
Not graded by the model
Our terrain model finds nothing to grade on this summit, so it gives no cloud grade here — that is not a sign of easy navigation. Read this fell’s hazard notes and the route pages before a day in cloud. Carry map and compass, and know how to use them.
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 Beda Fell (Beda Head) compares with all 214: the Clag Index (experimental).
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.
This is the antidote to Helvellyn on an August Saturday. The Nab is one of the least-visited Wainwrights, and the reward for the boggy trudge out to it is a summit almost nobody stands on. Angletarn Pikes and its tarn are the prettiest thing in the Far Eastern fells.
Download GPXWalked in part, August 2026 · km 0.3–1.7, km 19.4–22.1 from the map
Best season: Late spring to autumn. The ground between Rest Dodd and The Nab is notoriously boggy and the navigation is committing in cloud — save this one for a clear day with dry ground underfoot. The Dalemain Estate says the deer forest may be closed between September and February, so check with the estate before an autumn or winter walk.
Warnings:The Nab is in the Martindale deer forest, owned by the Dalemain Estate. The estate says the area may be closed between September and February for deer management, and at other times as needed, and asks walkers to check before they visit. It asks everyone to keep away from the deer, especially at calving time. This route reaches The Nab along the ridge from Rest Dodd and comes back the same way. It does not go down into Rampsgill or Bannerdale. The top of The Nab is open access land. On open access land, dogs must be on a lead of no more than 2 m from 1 March to 31 July, and near livestock at any time (GOV.UK: use your right to roam). The ground either side of The Nab is genuinely boggy — peat hags and wet channels that swallow the path. Expect wet feet and slow going, and do not judge your timings by the distance alone. A big day: over 22 km and 1,350 m of ascent, with navigation graded hard. The high ground is broad, rolling and short of landmarks — in cloud this is a compass-and-pacing exercise. Long and remote: carry what you need to get yourself out.
A grand tour of the quieter Far Eastern fells, with Angle Tarn and the Ullswater view from Place Fell as the highlights — a long but rewarding round.
Download GPXWalked in part, August 2026 · km 2.8–3.3, km 10.0–14.9, km 16.7–19.3 from the map
Best season: Year-round in good conditions, best in clear weather for the Ullswater and High Street views. A long day — the ridges and cols are boggy in places and slow when wet.
Warnings: A long day (nearly 20 km, over 1,000 m of ascent) — start early, carry food, water and layers, and keep an eye on the time and the light. Boggy in places, especially along the Beda Fell ridge and the cols — slow when wet. The higher ground can be confusing in mist — carry map and compass. Livestock on the lower fells and valleys; keep dogs under close control.
Warnings:The Nab is in the Martindale deer forest, owned by the Dalemain Estate. The estate says the area may be closed between September and February for deer management, and at other times as needed, and asks walkers to check before they visit. It asks everyone to keep away from the deer, especially at calving time. The top of The Nab is open access land. On open access land, dogs must be on a lead of no more than 2 m from 1 March to 31 July, and near livestock at any time (GOV.UK: use your right to roam).
Often combined with Angletarn Pikes and The Nab for a fine Martindale circuit.
Field notes
The journey over from Angletarn Pikes seemed endless, although in reality it's about two miles. It's a gentle stroll and the view over Ullswater was good, but interrupted by Hallin Fell which pokes its diminutive self up and crowds your attention. Because it's so remote it's actually one of the better places around Ullswater to relax in solitude. There's some grassy patches should you want to recline on a sunny day, while the craggy rocks are aligned the wrong way to comfortably rest on a wet day.
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
The summit is also a Birkett.
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 →
The view from Beda Fell (Beda Head)
The 360° skyline from Beda Fell (Beda Head)
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
The skyline as a list, by direction
East: Wether Hill (3 km), Loadpot Hill (3 km)
South-east: Red Crag (3 km), High Raise (4 km)
South: Rest Dodd (4 km), Rampsgill Head (4 km), The Knott (5 km), Gray Crag (6 km), Stony Cove Pike (7 km), Caudale Moor (7 km), Red Screes (9 km)
South-west: Gavel Pike (7 km), St Sunday Crag (7 km), Hart Crag (8 km), Dove Crag (9 km), Cofa Pike (9 km), Fairfield (9 km), Dollywaggon Pike (9 km)
West: Hart Side (7 km), Green Side (8 km), Stybarrow Dodd (9 km), Nethermost Pike (9 km), High Crag (9 km), Great Dodd (9 km)
North-west: Randerside (9 km), Clough Head (11 km), Blencathra (15 km), Gategill Fell Top (15 km), Bannerdale Crags (15 km), Atkinson Pike (15 km), Knowe Crags (15 km), Bowscale Fell (16 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (19 km), Skiddaw Little Man (19 km), Skiddaw South Top (20 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (20 km), Skiddaw (21 km), Skiddaw North Top (21 km), Knott (21 km), Broad End (21 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Broad Law (110 km, Scotland), White Coomb (102 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (93 km, Scotland), Wisp Hill (82 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (76 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (84 km, Scotland), Dun Rig (116 km, Scotland), Calkin Rig (72 km, Scotland).
Beda Fell (Beda Head) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when the sun is up for 38 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:10 against an almanac sunrise of 08:32. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (139.6°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.45°.
Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.
Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
First light
Almanac sunrise
Difference
Midsummer
04:42 BST ±5.0 min
04:36
+6 min
Equinox
06:37 GMT ±5.0 min
06:15
+22 min
Midwinter
09:10 GMT ±5.0 min
08:32
+38 min
A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.03°).
Last light — when the sun leaves Beda Fell (Beda Head)
Beda Fell (Beda Head) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls at the September equinox, when last light is 25 minutes before almanac sunset — 18:46 against 19:11. The sun goes down to the west from here (266.4°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.27°.
The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last light
Almanac sunset
Difference
Midsummer
21:39 BST ±5.0 min
21:52
-13 min
Equinox
18:01 GMT ±5.0 min
18:25
-24 min
Midwinter
15:29 GMT ±5.0 min
15:48
-19 min
These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.
What you can see from Beda Fell (Beda Head)
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
How the view from Beda Fell (Beda Head) compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.
How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed
Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Beda Fell (Beda Head). Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes.
Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. 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.
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).
Frequently asked questions about Beda Fell (Beda Head)
