hikes.guideLake District

585 m · Wainwright — Northern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

A large, well-built cairn on a grassy summit in thin mist
Wainwright — Northern FellsAlso a Birkett

Brae Fell

Brae Fell at 586m (1,923ft) is a moorland summit in the Back o' Skiddaw country, its broad top giving wide views north towards the Solway and east to the Pennines.

585 m
Height
~2.5–3 h
Typical time
+7
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →
585 mWainwright — Northern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+7 bonus Birketts within 3 km Serious in Clag

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

Modelled guidance for the 585 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Sat 12 Sep): 14° to 8°C, gusts to 45 mph, 15.7 mm of rain forecast.

Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 8°
💨 45 mph
🌧 15.7 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
13° / 9°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.1 mm (10%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌦️
16° / 12°
💨 30 mph
🌧 1.6 mm (94%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
15° / 9°
💨 32 mph
🌧 5.7 mm (94%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
12° / 7°
💨 29 mph
🌧 1.1 mm (39%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 34 mph
🌧 9.6 mm (84%)
Fri 18 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 35 mph
🌧 2.4 mm (75%)

Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 15:36 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 585 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Brae Fell at a glance

Brae Fell

A large, well-built cairn on a grassy summit in thin mist
© Lee McCoy

Brae Fell at 586m (1,923ft) is a moorland summit in the Back o' Skiddaw country, its broad top giving wide views north towards the Solway and east to the Pennines. Wainwright included it as part of the northern Skiddaw group, noting its quiet character and remote setting. Approached from Longlands or Orthwaite. Most naturally combined with Great Sca Fell and Meal Fell for the full Back o' Skiddaw circuit. A peaceful, unhurried summit away from the main Lakeland crowds.

Routes up Brae Fell

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Northern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
585 m
Height
1,919 ft
In feet
NY 2887 3516
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Brae Fell a Wainwright?

Brae Fell is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Where do you park for Brae Fell?

The nearest car park we hold is Longlands Fell car park, about 2.4 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Roadside parking for Longlands Fell (free), 2.4 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

How hard is Brae Fell?

The shortest way up we hold is North of Skiddaw — 13.2 km, 707 m of ascent, about 3.8 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Hard.

All axes: steepness: Hard · length: Moderate · exposure: Easy · navigation: Easy · terrain: Easy.

My hikes over Brae Fell (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Parking & buses for Brae Fell

Best parking to hike Brae Fell

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

Longlands Fell car park — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Longlands Fell, Lowthwaite Fell, Brae Fell and Little Sca Fell — the 'North of Skiddaw' route starts 1 m away. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Roadside parking for Longlands Fell (free) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
1.1 km from Longlands Fell. Added from the 5 Aug 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Fell Side car park (free) — 2.7 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest published walking: 4.1 km from the 'North of Skiddaw' route start; 2.7 km from Brae Fell. Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Little Cockup car park — 3.3 km from summit (straight line)
1.8 km from Little Cockup.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Green How (layby) — 3.4 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Green How - Aughertree Fell (0.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

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.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Brae Fell by bus

The nearest bus stop we hold is the X4 at Bassenthwaite, at Village turn, 6.4 km of walking from the start — not realistically reachable without a car.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Brae Fell

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Navigating Brae Fell in cloud

Serious in cloud

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 Brae Fell compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Longlands Fell car park, about 2.4 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Brae Fell (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.

0.9 km SLittle Sca Fell633 m · Northern
1.1 km WSWLowthwaite Fell509 m · Northern
1.9 km SFrozen Fell625 m · Northern
2.0 km SEMiller Moss (Little Lingy Hill)610 m · Northern
2.4 km SSWBurn Tod595 m · Northern
2.4 km ESEGreat Lingy Hill616 m · Northern
2.7 km ESEHare Stones627 m · Northern

Routes over Brae Fell

13.22 km · ~707 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

The view from Brae Fell

The 360° skyline from Brae Fell

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 Brae Fell32 labelled tops shown (15 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWSkiddaw · 7 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 8 kmGrasmoor · 19 kmJenkin Hill · 8 kmBowscale Fell · 6 kmTarn Crags Top · 7 kmHigh Pike · 3 kmGreat Sca Fell · 1 kmLittle Sca Fell · 1 kmHare Stones · 3 kmFrozen Fell · 2 kmGreat Lingy Hill · 2 kmBlake Fell · 24 kmCriffel · 43 km · clear daysFellbarrow · 19 kmBengairn · 55 km · clear daysLowthwaite Fell · 1 kmLonglands Fell · 1 kmBinsey · 6 kmSighty Crag · 55 km · clear daysLittle Cockup · 3 kmWisp Hill · 65 km · clear daysCauldcleuch Head · 68 km · clear daysCalkin Rig · 52 km · clear daysBlackwood Hill · 66 km · clear daysBishop Forest Hill · 62 km · clear daysCold Fell · 38 km · clear daysScaw'd Fell · 69 km · clear daysWatch Hill · 14 kmBainloch Hill · 45 km · clear daysWhite Hill · 54 km · clear daysGrange Fell · 47 km · clear daysBroad End · 6 kmEel Crag · 18 kmWhiteside East Top · 17 kmLord's Seat · 12 kmSourfoot Fell · 19 kmMeal Fell · 2 kmLing Fell · 13 kmSt. John's Hill · 10 kmBennan · 63 km · clear daysClints Crags · 13 kmGreatmoor Hill · 68 km · clear daysLarriston Fells · 64 km · clear daysKillyleoch Hill · 62 km · clear daysSlieve Donard · 192 km · a handful of days a yearMerrick · 100 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 101 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 94 km · a rare clear dayThe Cheviot · 106 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Fleet · 85 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 105 km · a rare clear dayWhite Coomb · 81 km · a rare clear dayQueensberry · 71 km · a rare clear dayCairn Table · 105 km · a rare clear dayCairnharrow · 78 km · a rare clear dayTosson Hill · 95 km · a rare clear dayColt Hill · 87 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 96 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 73 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Brae Fell, by direction
  • East: Hare Stones (3 km), High Pike (3 km)
  • South-east: Miller Moss (2 km), Great Lingy Hill (2 km), Bowscale Fell (6 km), Tarn Crags Top (7 km)
  • South: Little Sca Fell (1 km), Great Sca Fell (1 km), Frozen Fell (2 km), Little Calva (4 km), Skiddaw Little Man (8 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (8 km), Jenkin Hill (8 km)
  • South-west: Bakestall (5 km), Broad End (6 km), Skiddaw North Top (7 km), Skiddaw (7 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (7 km), Skiddaw South Top (7 km), Ullock Pike (8 km), Lord's Seat (12 km), Graystones (14 km), Grisedale Pike (16 km), Ladyside Pike (16 km), Hopegill Head (17 km), Sand Hill (17 km), Gasgale Crags (17 km), Whiteside East Top (17 km), Eel Crag (18 km), Whiteside (18 km), Grasmoor (19 km), Loweswater End (22 km), Carling Knott (23 km), Burnbank Fell (23 km), Gavel Fell (23 km), Blake Fell (24 km), Sharp Knott (24 km), Gavel Fell (24 km), Grike (29 km)
  • North-west: Criffel (43 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (192 km, Ireland), Merrick (100 km, Scotland), Snaefell (101 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (94 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (106 km, England), Cairnsmore of Fleet (85 km, Scotland), Corserine (95 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (95 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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Brae Fell

Brae Fell sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (at the March equinox) first light is only 10 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

30°40°50°60°04:30
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
Midsummer04:30 BST ±5.0 min04:36-6 min
Equinox06:25 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+10 min
Midwinter08:42 GMT ±5.0 min08:34+8 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.34°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Brae Fell

Brae Fell holds the light. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does the sun leave this summit before almanac sunset — the ground falls away westward rather than standing over you, and at midsummer it is still in the sun 4 minutes after the valley has lost it.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:58 BST ±5.0 min21:54+4 min
Equinox18:31 GMT ±5.0 min18:26+5 min
Midwinter15:50 GMT ±5.0 min15:48+2 min

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 Brae Fell. 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. 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 Brae Fell

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
24Wainwrights in view+4 marginal
101 kmFurthest sightlineMerrick · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Far horizons
  • Merrick ScotlandWNW · 101 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 101 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNW · 43 km clear
  • Irish Sea open waterWSW · 37 km in view
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNW · 31 km in view
All 24 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

How Brae Fell’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.

Places to stay near this fell

Woodlands Country House & Cottage (opens in new tab) guest house

about 4.5 km from the start, in a straight line

The furthest of the four at 4.45 km and the only one with a restaurant you can eat in whether or not you are staying: "Our restaurant, lounge, bar and gardens are open to non-residents too". Given the route file records nothing mapped at the start or on the round, that is a real option for the evening after — and, unlike Overwater, it does not shut two days a week. It also offers two different shapes of stay from one address: licensed B&B rooms in the house, or the converted stable block as a self-catering cottage, which is the one to ask about if you are bringing the dog. Be clear about what the evidence will and will not carry. The dog line is not a policy statement: it is a caption inside the site's own embedded Instagram feed — "Happy International Cat Day! Your furry friends are most welcome in Woodlands Cottage" — and it names the Cottage, not the House. Treat it as a lead to confirm, not a booking guarantee, and remember the route file's dog verdict is green (three gates, no stiles), so this is worth a phone call rather than a shrug. On children the site publishes a "Family Friendly" page in its own navigation, but our cache holds only the homepage and the contact page, so the policy itself is unread and this record states nothing about it. Pushchairs are out either way: the route's buggy verdict is red.

A Victorian rectory turned licensed B&B, with the old stable block converted into the self-catering cottage; it looks straight out at Skiddaw and Binsey.

  • Evening meal “Our restaurant, lounge, bar and gardens are open to non-residents too; please see our Dine page for more details.”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Brae Fell

Is Brae Fell an easy walk?

Yes — genuinely, and without the usual catch. Brae Fell is a rounded grassy top on the quiet northern edge of the Skiddaw group, the slopes are even, and we grade the navigation on our route over it easy, which is the gentlest grade anything in this batch carries.

Our round north of Skiddaw covers it in 13.2 km with 707 m of ascent. If you want a first Wainwright away from crowds, or a short day when the high tops are in cloud, this side of the district is where to come.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Other fells near Brae Fell