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Birks - a small cairn on a broad top of winter-brown grass, with snow-covered fells ahead and to the left under a clear blue sky

Birks

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624 mWainwright — Eastern Fells+2 bonus Birketts within 3 km Fewer traps in Clag

Birks at 624m (2,047ft) is the lower, north-eastern ridge of St Sunday Crag above Grisedale, its summit giving good views up the valley to Fairfield and across to the Helvellyn range. Wainwright included it as a separate fell.

Summit conditions on Birks

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 57 mph, 18.8 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

64 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 55 mph times our exposure factor of 1.15. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 57 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS 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.

Cloud on the top

Past the line

18 out of 100, the clear-top reading

Averaged over the daylight hours, from the forecast’s humidity and low cloud.

The line Our line: a clear-top reading under 20 out of 100, where our scorer says “summit likely clagged in”. There is no outside threshold to cite; it is our estimate. What cloud does to finding the way: navigating in cloud.

Not an observation: cloud lifts and drops within the hour.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

18.8 mm 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 checked cold: feels like 1 °C, no ice or snow forecast. 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

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

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 →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Routes up Birks

Both start from Patterdale Hotel Car Park (Patterdale Hotel, paid); the last two rows give its parking and bus. Full maps further down.

St Sunday CragGrisedale Tarn, Fairfield, St Sunday Crag from Patterdale
Starts fromPatterdalePatterdale
Distance and climb10.22 km, 838 m of climb15.92 km, 983 m of climb
Time, fast to steady~3¼–4¾ h~4¾–6½ h
ScramblingNot mentioned in the route’s notesHands for a few steps: Cofa Pike (km 8.8–9.3).
ExposureEasyNot assessed
NavigationModerateModerate
Steepest stretchDescent of about 43% at 8.3 km (Severe)Climb of about 41% at 8.1 km (Severe)
After the summitOver St Sunday Crag and Gavel PikeNo further tops
Walked or plannedWalked by Lee, January 2025Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the startPatterdale Hotel Car Park (Patterdale Hotel, paid)Patterdale Hotel Car Park (Patterdale Hotel, paid)
Bus to the start508 at the start508 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 →

How hard is Birks?

The shortest way up we hold is St Sunday Crag — 10.22 km, 838 m of ascent, ~3¼–4¾ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.

All axes: steepness: Severe · length: Moderate · navigation: Moderate · exposure: Easy · terrain: 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 624 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
11° / 5°
57 mph
18.8 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
9° / 6°
47 mph
8.2 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
8° / 7°
25 mph
0.2 mm (33%)
Fri 30 Oct
8° / 6°
28 mph
0.0 mm (23%)
Sat 31 Oct
10° / 3°
14 mph
0.3 mm (18%)
Sun 1 Nov
7° / 2°
11 mph
0.0 mm (10%)
Mon 2 Nov
7° / -2°
16 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Birks

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Patterdale Hotel Car Park (Patterdale Hotel, paid) — at the start of St Sunday Crag and Grisedale Tarn, Fairfield, St Sunday Crag from Patterdale
Walking base for Place Fell, The Knight, Arnison Crag and Birks — the 'Place Fell and The Knight' route starts 23 m away. Also serves 'St Sunday Crag'. Fees: pay and display, coins only (LDNPA directory, read 30 August 2026). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
KGV Playing Field Community Car Park, Patterdale — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)
For Place Fell, St Sunday Crag, the Grisedale fells. Walking base for Arnison Crag, Birks, St Sunday Crag and Gavel Pike — the 'St Sunday Crag' route starts 506 m away. Also serves 'Place Fell and The Knight'. On the King George V Playing Field; Patterdale Parish Council lists it as open all year, postcode CA11 0PJ (Parking in Patterdale map, October 2025). The National Park's car-parks directory (read 12 September 2026) adds that it may be closed to the public on cricket-match, other sports and local community days.
Directions Something changed here?
Public toilets (~705 m straight line) — Free Public toilets (~926 m straight line) White Lion Inn Patterdale Hotel
Bridgend, south (layby) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)
On the A592 at Bridgend, between Patterdale and Hartsop, beside the Bridgend bus stops. The nearest route starts are the two at Cow Bridge, 1.1 km south on foot, and the two in Patterdale, 1.9 km north on foot ('St Sunday Crag', which climbs Arnison Crag, and 'Place Fell and The Knight'). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
2 more places to park near Birks
Bridgend (layby) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)
On the A592 at Bridgend, between Patterdale and Hartsop, beside a bus stop. The nearest route starts are the two at Cow Bridge, 1.2 km south on foot, and the two in Patterdale, 1.7 km north on foot ('St Sunday Crag', which climbs Arnison Crag, and 'Place Fell and The Knight'). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Cow Bridge (layby) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Middle Dodd, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), High Hartsop Dodd and Gale Crag — the 'Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd' route starts 56 m away. Also serves 'Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?

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 508 and 509 stop at Patterdale Hotel (opposite), a 20 m walk from the start of Grisedale Tarn, Fairfield, St Sunday Crag from Patterdale — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). The last bus is 19:46 towards Windermere (508) and 15:09 towards Hartsop (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.

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

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Birks

Hazard & Incident Information for Birks

Checked by Lee McCoy, . Draws on published material from Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team. Editorial background, not a live callout feed.

Hazard: Moderate

A subsidiary top on St Sunday Crag's broad back above Patterdale, between the deep valleys of Grisedale and Deepdale. The ridge itself is straightforward, but its flanks are steep and broken on both sides — and the firm advice here is to stick to the ridge: descents off the flanks are difficult at best and dangerous at worst. Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Steep flanks — stay on the ridge: Birks falls away steeply into Grisedale and Deepdale, with broken, rough ground on both sides. Any descent off the flanks is fraught with difficulty and can be dangerous — keep to the ridge and use the proper paths down, especially in cloud.
  • Proximity to St Sunday Crag's crags: The steep arête up to St Sunday Crag, and that fell's dramatic Pinnacle Ridge buttresses and gullies, lie close by. If continuing, keep to the ridge line and don't stray toward the steep northern crags.
  • Navigation in cloud: The broad ridge can be misread in mist, and a wrong line leads onto the dangerous flanks. Take a compass bearing and keep to the crest.
Who should attempt this fell: Birks is easy along its ridge but unforgiving off it — the single most important thing is to stay on the ridge and use the proper paths, because the flanks into Grisedale and Deepdale are difficult and potentially dangerous to descend. Navigate by compass in cloud, keep clear of St Sunday Crag's steep northern ground, and take care in winter.

What to watch for: Dangerous or difficult descents attempted off the steep Grisedale/Deepdale flanks · Walkers drifting toward St Sunday Crag's steep northern ground · Navigation errors off the broad ridge in cloud · Slips on steep, rough or wet ground

Local Mountain Rescue: Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team

Safety: 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 in cloud

Fewer traps in cloud

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of near-level ground around the summit. This top is in the lowest of the index’s four bands, and a low band never means “safe”: 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 Birks 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.

From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Birks

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

1.2 km SWGavel Pike784 m · Eastern
2.3 km SSEGale Crag512 m · Eastern

Routes over Birks

Grisedale Tarn, Fairfield, St Sunday Crag from Patterdale
Summits: FairfieldCofa PikeSt Sunday CragBirks

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide →

St Sunday Crag
Summits: Arnison CragBirksSt Sunday CragGavel Pike

Download GPX Walked by Lee, January 2025

Warnings: Birks falls away steeply into Grisedale and Deepdale, with broken, rough ground on both sides. Any descent off the flanks is fraught with difficulty and can be dangerous — keep to the ridge and use the proper paths down, especially in cloud.

Route guide →

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.

On the hill: terrain and water on Birks

Water & shelter on the way up

On the St Sunday Crag route:

Patterdale Hotel (E bound) (12 m from the start, straight line) Patterdale Hotel (W bound) (32 m from the start, straight line) Youth Hostel (N bound) (462 m from the start, straight line) Youth Hostel (S bound) (468 m from the start, straight line)

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

About Birks

Birks - a small cairn on a broad top of winter-brown grass, with snow-covered fells ahead and to the left under a clear blue sky
© Lee McCoy

Most naturally combined with St Sunday Crag as the starting point of the approach from Patterdale via the Birks ridge. A worthwhile fell in its own right, particularly for the views of Grisedale and its dark, glaciated valley. The highest point is an unmarked grassy mound; the Wainwright summit is the cairn about 200 m to the north-east, which is slightly lower.

Field notes

There's nothing much to say about this Wainwright fell. It's essentially just a stopping point on the way up to St. Sunday Crag. The good thing is that this is a moderately challenging family friendly climb at around 2.5 miles each way from Patterdale either via the other Wainwright summit of Arnison Crag which is the way I came up or to the north side which is the way I descended. It is 624 metres so not in the Latrigg or that Arnison Crag stroll.

— Lee McCoy, who walked it on our St Sunday Crag route in January 2025

My Strava hikes over Birks

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Birks a Wainwright?

Birks is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list and the Fellranger list.

Selected lists

Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
624 m
Height
2,047 ft
In feet
NY 3801 1435
Grid ref

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 Birks

The 360° skyline from Birks

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 Birks35 labelled tops shown (6 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWNethermost Pike · 4 kmRaise · 5 kmWhite Side · 5 kmGreat Dodd · 7 kmStybarrow Dodd · 6 kmHigh Street · 7 kmHart Crag · 3 kmHigh Raise · 7 kmRampsgill Head · 6 kmDove Crag · 4 kmThornthwaite Crag · 7 kmRed Screes · 6 kmStony Cove Pike · 6 kmHart Side · 6 kmBirkett Fell · 6 kmRed Crag · 7 kmLoadpot Hill · 8 kmWether Hill · 8 kmCross Fell · 37 km · clear daysHelvellyn · 4 kmSt Raven's Edge · 6 kmHigh Crag · 4 kmDollywaggon Pike · 4 kmSt Sunday Crag · 2 kmGreat Mell Fell · 11 kmGavel Pike · 1 kmPlace Fell · 4 kmLittle Hart Crag · 4 kmHeron Pike · 4 kmSwineside Knott · 5 kmCommon Fell · 6 kmThe Knight · 4 kmBirk Fell · 4 kmGale Crag · 2 kmLittle Mell Fell · 11 kmCaudale Moor · 5 kmBirkhouse Moor · 2 kmMiddle Dodd · 5 kmCatstye Cam · 4 kmThe Knott · 6 kmBeda Fell · 6 kmGowbarrow Fell · 8 kmWhite Hill · 63 km · clear daysThe Cheviot · 119 km · a rare clear daySighty Crag · 70 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 85 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 118 km · a rare clear dayPikethaw Hill · 83 km · a rare clear dayBlackwood Hill · 83 km · a rare clear day
The skyline as a list, by direction
  • North: Heron Pike (4 km), Sheffield Pike (4 km), Birkett Fell (6 km), Hart Side (6 km), Great Mell Fell (11 km), Carrock Fell (20 km)
  • North-east: Place Fell (4 km), Loadpot Hill (8 km), Cross Fell (37 km)
  • East: Rest Dodd (5 km), The Knott (6 km), Rampsgill Head (6 km), High Raise (7 km), Red Crag (7 km), Wether Hill (8 km)
  • South-east: Hartsop Dodd (4 km), Caudale Moor (5 km), Gray Crag (5 km), Stony Cove Pike (6 km), St Raven's Edge (6 km), Thornthwaite Crag (7 km), High Street (7 km)
  • South: Hart Crag (3 km), Dove Crag (4 km), Little Hart Crag (4 km), Middle Dodd (5 km), Red Screes (6 km)
  • South-west: Gavel Pike (1 km), St Sunday Crag (2 km)
  • West: Dollywaggon Pike (4 km), Nethermost Pike (4 km), Helvellyn (4 km), High Crag (4 km)
  • North-west: Birkhouse Moor (2 km), Catstye Cam (4 km), Raise (5 km), White Side (5 km), Green Side (5 km), Stybarrow Dodd (6 km), Great Dodd (7 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: The Cheviot (119 km, England), Sighty Crag (70 km, England), Wisp Hill (85 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (87 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (79 km, Scotland), Dun Rig (118 km, Scotland), Calkin Rig (74 km, Scotland), Pikethaw Hill (83 km, Scotland).

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Birks

Birks sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 November) first light is only 14 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

0°30°40°50°60°04:38
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 lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer04:38 BST ±5.0 min04:36+2 min
Equinox06:20 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+5 min
Midwinter08:39 GMT ±5.0 min08:32+7 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.33°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Birks

Birks loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 December, when last light is 74 minutes before almanac sunset — 14:38 against 15:52. The sun goes down to the south-west from here (216.3°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 6.93°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:22 BST ±5.0 min21:52-30 min
Equinox17:55 GMT ±5.0 min18:26-31 min
Midwinter14:40 GMT ±5.0 min15:48-68 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 Birks

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
38Wainwrights in view+4 marginal
38 kmFurthest sightlineGreat Dun Fell
—Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 38 km clear
  • Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 36 km clear
All 38 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

St Sunday Crag, Birkhouse Moor, Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How), Glenridding Dodd, Hart Crag, Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Catstye Cam, Dollywaggon Pike, Nethermost Pike, Brock Crags (Wainwright), Helvellyn, High Hartsop Dodd, Dove Crag, Sheffield Pike, Hartsop Dodd, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Raise, White Side, Middle Dodd, Rest Dodd, Gray Crag, The Nab, Beda Fell (Beda Head), Red Screes, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Hart Side, Stybarrow Dodd, The Knott (High Street), Rampsgill Head, Thornthwaite Crag, High Street, High Raise (High Street), Wether Hill, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Loadpot Hill, Little Mell Fell, Great Mell Fell, Carrock Fell

How the view from Birks 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 Birks. 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.

Places to stay near this fell

Also nearby, but not independent

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.

Other fells near Birks

Places nearby: Patterdale · Glenridding