Birkett Fell
Birkett Fell at 725m (2,379ft) is a broad summit on the eastern shoulder of Hart Side, 0.6 km east of Hart Side's top, west of Ullswater and above Glencoyne. Both our routes over it also take in Hart Side.
Summit conditions on Birkett Fell
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 4°C, gusts to 62 mph, 19.5 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 Birkett Fell
Choose the way up before the car park: these two 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.
| Compared | Hart Side, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, Watson's Dodd and more | Birketts above Ullswater |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | High Row | High Cascades (NT, paid) |
| Distance and climb | 21.89 km, 1,281 m of climb | 16.45 km, 766 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~6½–8¾ h | ~4½–6¼ h |
| Scrambling | Not mentioned in the route’s notes | Not mentioned in the route’s notes |
| Exposure | Moderate | Not assessed |
| Navigation | Hard | Hard |
| Steepest stretch | Descent of about 32% at 16.6 km (Hard) | Descent of about 21% at 16.3 km (Moderate) |
| After the summit | Over Hart Side, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Watson's Dodd, Great Dodd and Clough Head | Over Brown Hills, Round How and Bracken How |
| Walked or planned | Walked by Lee, August 2023 | Planned: drawn, not yet walked |
| Car park at the start | Low How (layby) | High Cascades (NT, paid) |
| Bus to the start | 509, 1.6 km walk from Dockray, outside The Royal Hotel. The UB1 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. | 509, 750 m walk from Dockray, outside The Royal Hotel. The UB1 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. |
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 →
How hard is Birkett Fell?
The shortest way up we hold is Birketts above Ullswater — 16.45 km, 766 m of ascent, ~4½–6¼ 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 725 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Birkett Fell
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
3 more places to park near Birkett Fell
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 509, 559 and UB1 stop at Dockray, outside The Royal Hotel, a 750 m walk from the start of Birketts above Ullswater — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and navigation). The UB1 runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. The last bus is 19:09 towards Troutbeck (UB1) and 18:02 towards Grasmere (559) and 16:12 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.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Hazards on Birkett Fell
Notes from the Hart Side, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, Watson's Dodd and more route
- Almost all grass with few features, the Dodds are a notorious place to go wrong in mist or whiteout — easy to drift off a vague bearing into the wrong valley. Take and trust a compass bearing before leaving the summit; don't navigate by the feel of the slope.
If you need to get off (the leg from the start): Turn round at any point on the climb and go back the way you came, to High Row.
Quoted from the route page: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Birkett Fell.
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 Birkett Fell
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Birkett Fell
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Download GPX Walked by Lee, August 2023
Route guide: Hart Side, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, Watson's Dodd and more →
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 Birkett Fell
My Strava hikes over Birkett Fell
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- Crappy Weather Up There But a Nice Leisurely Jaunt Up 6 Wainwrights (opens in new tab) — 22.1 km · 1105 m ascent · 5h 03m moving · 20 August 2023
Data from Strava.
Classifications & hill data
Is Birkett Fell a Wainwright?
Birkett Fell is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett 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
- Lowthwaite Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 3.9 km
- Low Gale (opens in new tab) self-cateringabout 4.4 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).