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

Wainwright — Western FellsAlso a Birkett

Brandreth

Brandreth at 715m (2,346ft) is a broad, grassy summit on the Gable ridge above Honister, giving excellent views of Great Gable and the Scafells from the north.

715 m
Height
~4.5–5.5 h
Typical time
+4
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Brandreth

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

715 mWainwright — Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 715 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 13°C, gusts to 38 mph, 7.3 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
14° / 13°
💨 38 mph
🌧 7.3 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
13° / 10°
💨 32 mph
🌧 11.0 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 5°
💨 29 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
13° / 1°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
13° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 4.5 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
14° / 6°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
14° / 6°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.4 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 715 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

Brandreth

Brandreth, a Lake District fell
Photo: Shaun Ferguson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Brandreth at 715m (2,346ft) is a broad, grassy summit on the Gable ridge above Honister, giving excellent views of Great Gable and the Scafells from the north. Wainwright noted its pleasant, unhurried character and the fine views it gives south to the high fells. The ascent from Honister is straightforward, combined naturally with Grey Knotts for a short but rewarding Honister circuit. The views of the Gable massif from this northern ridge are very fine.

Routes up Brandreth

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

Great Gable from Honister Slate Mine
9.6 km · ~3.1 hr · Hard
The kindest way to England’s most-loved mountain. Honister starts you at 350 m, so the Grey Knotts–Brandreth–Green Gable ridge does most of the climbing for you before the final stony pull onto Great Gable. Four Wainwrights, a summit war memorial and the finest view in Lakeland down into Wasdale — but the top is a broad boulder plateau, and in cloud it is one of the great navigation traps.
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Western
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
715 m
Height
2,346 ft
In feet
NY 2145 1191
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Honister Pass (paid, slate mine), about 2.0 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Brandreth (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.

2.0 km SWKirk Fell East Top (Kirk Fell North Top)787 m · Western
2.2 km NHonister Crag (Black Star)634 m · Western
2.5 km SSESeathwaite Fell (Great Slack - Seathwaite Fell)631 m · Southern
2.8 km WLooking Stead (Pillar)628 m · Western

Routes over Brandreth

Great Gable from Honister Slate MinePlanned
9.61 km · ~690 m ascent · loop · ~3–4 h · Hard
Summits: Great GableGreen GableBrandrethGrey Knotts

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: The summit plateau in cloud. Gable’s top is a broad sea of boulders with crags on several sides and no handrails. Take a bearing off the summit and follow it precisely — this is where the callouts start.; Do not drift towards the Napes. The southern face is a climbers’ playground of crags and gullies, not a walkers’ descent.; The Windy Gap descent is loose and steep. Take it slowly, especially in the wet.

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

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

The View from Brandreth

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 Brandreth36 labelled tops shown (8 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 13 kmIll Crag · 5 kmSkiddaw · 18 kmGreat End · 4 kmBowfell · 6 kmGreat Gable · 2 kmPillar · 4 kmHigh Crag · 13 kmRaise · 14 kmFairfield · 14 kmBlencathra · 19 kmGreat Dodd · 15 kmGrasmoor · 9 kmStybarrow Dodd · 15 kmScoat Fell · 6 kmCrag Hill · 9 kmRed Pike · 5 kmHigh Stile · 6 kmGrisedale Pike · 11 kmGlaramara · 4 kmRed Screes · 18 kmJenkin Hill · 17 kmHarrison Stickle · 8 kmHindscarth · 5 kmClough Head · 16 kmHigh House Tarn Top · 4 kmMungrisdale Common · 20 kmGreat Borne · 10 kmIllgill Head · 8 kmKirk Fell · 2 kmGreen Gable · 1 kmCombe Head · 4 kmBleaberry Fell · 10 kmCarling Knott · 13 kmCrag Fell · 12 kmMellbreak North Top · 10 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 17 kmDollywaggon Pike · 13 kmSteeple · 6 kmHaycock · 7 kmRampsgill Head · 23 kmDove Crag · 16 kmAllen Crags · 4 kmLooking Steads · 4 kmWandope · 8 kmHigh Raise · 7 kmRed Beck Top · 4 kmLonscale Fell · 17 kmScar Crags · 9 kmCalfhow Pike · 15 kmSouther Fell · 22 kmPillar Rock · 4 kmThirdgill Head Man · 8 kmLow Saddle · 8 kmHeron Pike North Top · 15 kmSeathwaite Fell · 2 kmWhin Rigg · 10 kmHigh Snockrigg · 6 kmBengairn · 62 km · clear daysLow Fell · 13 kmDarling Fell · 14 kmHatteringill Head · 15 kmBowness Knott · 11 kmMerrick · 108 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 106 km · a rare clear dayYr Eifl · 188 km · a handful of days a yearWhite Coomb · 103 km · a rare clear dayAgnew's Hill · 180 km · a handful of days a yearColt Hill · 101 km · a rare clear dayLaw Kneis · 102 km · a rare clear dayWhite Hill · 70 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Brandreth, by direction
  • North: Crag Hill (9 km), Grisedale Pike (11 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (17 km), Skiddaw Little Man (17 km), Skiddaw South Top (17 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (18 km), Skiddaw (18 km)
  • North-east: Raise (14 km), Watson's Dodd (14 km), Stybarrow Dodd (15 km), Great Dodd (15 km), Green Side (15 km), Knowe Crags (18 km), Gategill Fell Top (19 km), Blencathra (19 km), Atkinson Pike (20 km)
  • East: Helvellyn Lower Man (13 km), High Crag (13 km), Nethermost Pike (13 km), Helvellyn (13 km), White Side (13 km), Dollywaggon Pike (13 km), Fairfield (14 km), Cofa Pike (14 km), Dove Crag (16 km), Rampsgill Head (23 km)
  • South-east: Esk Pike (5 km), Bowfell (6 km)
  • South: Great Gable (2 km), Great End (4 km), Ill Crag (5 km)
  • West: Pillar (4 km), Black Crag (5 km), Red Pike (5 km), Scoat Fell (6 km), Steeple (6 km), Haycock (7 km)
  • North-west: High Stile (5 km), High Stile (6 km), Grasmoor (9 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Merrick (108 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (106 km, Scotland), Corserine (104 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (102 km, Scotland), Yr Eifl (188 km, Wales), White Coomb (103 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore [Black Craig of Dee] (90 km, Scotland), Agnew's Hill (180 km, Ireland).

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 Brandreth

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
69Wainwrights in view+14 marginal
109 kmFurthest sightlineMerrick · possible under favourable refraction
1Sea in viewIrish Sea

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland.

Far horizons
  • Merrick ScotlandNW · 109 km clear
  • Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSE · 65 km clear
  • Irish Sea open waterSW · 48 km in view
All 69 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Grey Knotts, Green Gable, Base Brown, Great Gable, Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), Kirk Fell, Fleetwith Pike, Haystacks (Buttermere), Glaramara, Great End, Allen Crags, High Crag (Buttermere), Pillar, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, High Spy, Esk Pike, Red Pike (Wasdale), Robinson, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), High Stile, Steeple, Sergeant's Crag, Eagle Crag, Bowfell, Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Grange Fell (Brund Fell), Haycock, High Raise (High White Stones), Ullscarf, Whiteless Pike, Ard Crags, Rannerdale Knotts, Harrison Stickle, Wandope, Illgill Head, Sail, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Scar Crags, High Tove, Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top), Grasmoor, Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), High Seat, Great Borne, Bleaberry Fell, Whin Rigg (Wasdale), Grisedale Pike, Walla Crag, Crag Fell, Seat Sandal, Nethermost Pike, Grike, Helvellyn, White Side, Dollywaggon Pike, Low Fell, Raise, Great Rigg, Fairfield, Stybarrow Dodd, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Dove Crag, High Pike (Scandale), Red Screes, Froswick, Rampsgill Head, Yoke, Kidsty Pike, Carrock Fell

How Brandreth’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 Brandreth

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

Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
Pay & display at the top of the pass — Dale Head, Fleetwith Pike, Grey Knotts with minimal ascent.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (61m) — Free🚺 Public toilets (1787m) — Free☕ Sky Hi Cafe
Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
Free verge parking on the Seathwaite lane — the honeypot start for the Scafells, Great Gable and Glaramara. Arrive very early.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (1002m) — Free

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 Great Gable from Honister Slate Mine route:

🚌 Honister Youth Hostel / Slate Quarry (E) (88 m)🚌 map (91 m)⛺ Honister Pass YHA (39 m)

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

Buses to Brandreth from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)
Seasonal (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.
Stagecoach 78 “Borrowdale Rambler”
Keswick – Lodore – Grange – Rosthwaite – Seatoller
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 or X4/X5)
Year-round, frequent in season. Serves all the Borrowdale starts — Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable via Seathwaite (alight Seatoller, 20 min walk up the lane).

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

My hikes over Brandreth (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Hazard & Incident Information for Brandreth

Hazard: Moderate

A boggy, fairly featureless top on the high ground between Honister and Great Gable, its summit a scatter of stones and rusted fence posts. There are no real crags on the fell itself, so the hazard is navigation: in cloud the broad, sodden plateau is easy to misjudge, and the steep crags of neighbouring Gillercomb lie just to the east. The old fence line is the handrail to follow. Keswick Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Featureless boggy plateau (navigation): The broad top has few landmarks beyond the ruined fence posts, and the ground is wet and confusing in mist. Use the fence line as a handrail (and know which side to be on), take a compass bearing, and don't trust a vague trod across the bog.
  • Gillercomb crags to the east: Steep crags drop into the deep bowl of Gillercomb just east of the col toward Grey Knotts. Don't drift down into the Gillercomb hollow in cloud — keep to the broad col and the gentle rise.
  • Deep bog & exposure: The ground between Brandreth and Green Gable / Grey Knotts is among the boggiest around, and this is high, shelterless ground. Pick careful lines, allow extra time, and dress for fast-changing high-fell weather.
Who should attempt this fell: Brandreth is gentle underfoot but a navigation fell — follow the old fence line as a handrail, keep to the correct side, and take a compass bearing in cloud so you don't drift toward the Gillercomb crags. Expect deep bog, allow time, and treat it as exposed winter ground when there is snow. There's little here to catch you if you wander, except the steep edge into Gillercomb.

Most common causes: Navigation errors on the featureless boggy plateau in cloud · Drifting toward or into the Gillercomb crags/hollow · Floundering in deep bog along the fence line · Exposure in poor weather on high open ground

Local Mountain Rescue: Keswick Mountain Rescue Team · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026

Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. 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 Brandreth in cloud

Care needed

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. Take care in poor visibility — 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 Brandreth 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 Brandreth

Maps & guidebooks for Brandreth

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