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

Bonscale Pike - grassy fellsides framing a steep combe that drops to Ullswater, with green fields and haze beyond
Wainwright — Far Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Bonscale Pike

Bonscale Pike at 524m (1,719ft) stands above Ullswater's western shore, its grassy summit giving fine views of the lake's southern reach and across to the Helvellyn range.

524 m
Height
~2.5–3 h
Typical time
+2
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Bonscale Pike

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

524 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+2 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 524 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 524 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

Bonscale Pike

Bonscale Pike - grassy fellsides framing a steep combe that drops to Ullswater, with green fields and haze beyond
© Lee McCoy

Bonscale Pike at 524m (1,719ft) stands above Ullswater's western shore, its grassy summit giving fine views of the lake's southern reach and across to the Helvellyn range. Wainwright noted its pleasant position above the lake and the views it gives of the Loadpot Hill plateau to the south. The ascent from Howtown is short and straightforward, often combined with Arthur's Pike as a short Ullswater circuit.

Routes up Bonscale 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.
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Far Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
524 m
Height
1,719 ft
In feet
NY 4534 2008
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 2.1 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Bonscale 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.

0.5 km SSwarth Fell (Ullswater)545 m · Far Eastern
2.9 km SSWBrownthwaite Crag444 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Bonscale 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.

The View from Bonscale 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 Bonscale Pike24 labelled tops shown (8 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 12 kmSkiddaw · 21 kmHigh Crag · 13 kmRaise · 11 kmFairfield · 13 kmBlencathra · 15 kmGreat Dodd · 11 kmStybarrow Dodd · 11 kmHigh Raise · 7 kmDove Crag · 12 kmRed Screes · 13 kmStony Cove Pike · 11 kmThe Knott · 8 kmClough Head · 12 kmKnott · 20 kmCarrock Fell · 18 kmCross Fell · 27 kmLittle Hart Crag · 12 kmDodd · 22 kmSwarth Fell · 0 kmArthur's Pike · 1 kmSighty Crag · 63 km · clear daysCalkin Rig · 70 km · clear daysCold Fell · 39 km · clear daysHelvellyn Lower Man · 12 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 20 kmWhite Side · 12 kmDollywaggon Pike · 13 kmSt Sunday Crag · 11 kmHart Crag · 12 kmRampsgill Head · 7 kmHart Side · 10 kmCaudale Moor · 11 kmRanderside · 10 kmTarn Crags Top · 16 kmHigh Pike · 20 kmHigh Brow · 9 kmAngletarn Pikes South Top · 7 kmBrock Crags · 7 kmDunmallet · 5 kmGrange Fell · 65 km · clear daysBroad Law · 108 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 125 km · a handful of days a yearGreen Lowther · 107 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 80 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 81 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 113 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 82 km · a rare clear dayBlackwood Hill · 76 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Bonscale Pike, by direction
  • South: High Raise (7 km), Rampsgill Head (7 km), The Knott (8 km), Gray Crag (9 km), Stony Cove Pike (11 km), Caudale Moor (11 km)
  • South-west: Gavel Pike (10 km), St Sunday Crag (11 km), Helvellyn (12 km), Hart Crag (12 km), Cofa Pike (12 km), Nethermost Pike (12 km), Dove Crag (12 km), Fairfield (13 km), High Crag (13 km), Red Screes (13 km), Dollywaggon Pike (13 km)
  • West: Birkett Fell (9 km), Hart Side (10 km), Green Side (10 km), Randerside (10 km), Stybarrow Dodd (11 km), Great Dodd (11 km), Catstye Cam (11 km), Raise (11 km), White Side (12 km), Clough Head (12 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (12 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (20 km), Skiddaw Little Man (20 km)
  • North-west: Blencathra (15 km), Atkinson Pike (15 km), Gategill Fell Top (15 km), Knowe Crags (16 km), Bowscale Fell (16 km), Knott (20 km), Skiddaw South Top (21 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (21 km), Skiddaw (21 km), Skiddaw North Top (21 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Broad Law (108 km, Scotland), Tinto (125 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 (80 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 Bonscale Pike

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
33Wainwrights in view+18 marginal
28 kmFurthest sightlineGreat Dun Fell
—Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 28 km clear
  • Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 27 km clear
All 33 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

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

How Bonscale 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 Bonscale 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) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
Quiet side of Ullswater — Hallin Fell, Steel Knotts, Beda Fell, Pikeawassa.
Directions
Pooley Bridge (paid) — 4.6 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)

💧 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 Bonscale 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 Bonscale Pike (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Navigating Bonscale 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 Bonscale 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 Bonscale Pike

Maps & guidebooks for Bonscale Pike

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