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745 m · Birkett — Southern (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — Southern (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Black Sails

Black Sails at 745m (2,444ft) is an intermediate top on the ridge between Swirl How and Wetherlam, a rocky summit that sits at the head of Greenburn Beck above Little Langdale.

745 m
Height
+14
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Black Sails

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

745 mBirkett — Southern (not a Wainwright summit)+14 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 745 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 12°C, gusts to 36 mph, 4.2 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
14° / 12°
💨 36 mph
🌧 4.2 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 10°
💨 29 mph
🌧 4.1 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 5°
💨 28 mph
🌧 1.3 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 0°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 2°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.1 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
16° / 6°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 6°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 745 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

Black Sails

Black Sails at 745m (2,444ft) is an intermediate top on the ridge between Swirl How and Wetherlam, a rocky summit that sits at the head of Greenburn Beck above Little Langdale. Wainwright included it as a separate fell, noting the fine views it gives across the Coniston Fells and down into the Little Langdale valley. The summit is most naturally reached as part of the Coniston horseshoe circuit via Swirl How. The views north to the Langdale Pikes and east to Wetherlam make it a worthwhile pause on an already excellent ridge walk.

Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
Nuttall
745 m
Height
2,444 ft
In feet
NY 2828 0075
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Three Shire Stone, Wrynose Pass (verge), about 1.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Black Sails (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 SWGreat How (Swirl Band)775 m · Southern
1.4 km WNWLittle Carrs692 m · Southern
1.5 km NEBirk Fell Man - Birk Fell528 m · Southern
1.6 km WNWHell Gill Pike662 m · Southern
1.8 km ENEHawk Rigg441 m · Southern
1.9 km ENEBlake Rigg (Tilberthwaite)423 m · Southern
1.9 km ENEHaystacks (Tilberthwaite)423 m · Southern
2.0 km ENEHigh Fell (Hawk Rigg)428 m · Southern
2.2 km SEKitty Crag435 m · Southern
2.2 km ESEBrackeny Crag364 m · Southern
2.3 km SELong Crag - Yewdale Fells421 m · Southern
2.4 km NEGreat Intake - Low Fell408 m · Southern
2.5 km SEHigh Wythow410 m · Southern
2.5 km SELow Wythow372 m · Southern

Best parking to hike Black Sails

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

Three Shire Stone, Wrynose Pass (verge) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)
High-level start for Pike o' Blisco, Cold Pike, Wet Side Edge and the Greenburn fells.
Directions
Tilberthwaite (free) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
Quarry car park for Wetherlam and the Tilberthwaite fells.
Directions

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.

Buses to Black Sails from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).

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

My hikes over Black Sails (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Other fells near Black Sails

Maps & guidebooks for Black Sails

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