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

Broad End - a broad stony plateau leading to a shapely conical peak ahead, under a wide blue sky with wispy cirrus
Birkett — Northern (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Broad End

Broad End at 832m (2,730ft) is the broad north ridge of Skiddaw, a Birkett top giving views across the Solway Firth to Scotland and along the northern fells.

832 m
Height
+10
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Broad End

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

832 mBirkett — Northern (not a Wainwright summit)+10 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 832 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 34 mph, 5.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
14° / 12°
💨 34 mph
🌧 5.8 mm (77%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
13° / 10°
💨 26 mph
🌧 14.3 mm (79%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌧️
12° / 4°
💨 31 mph
🌧 1.9 mm (76%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
13° / 0°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (69%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
13° / 2°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (63%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
14° / 1°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (25%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
13° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (20%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 832 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

Broad End

Broad End - a broad stony plateau leading to a shapely conical peak ahead, under a wide blue sky with wispy cirrus
© Lee McCoy

Broad End at 832m (2,730ft) is the broad north ridge of Skiddaw, a Birkett top giving views across the Solway Firth to Scotland and along the northern fells. Part of the massive Skiddaw massif, it is normally traversed on the long ridge walk from Skiddaw towards Ullock Pike or the Back o' Skiddaw country. The northern views on a clear day extend remarkably far.

🗒️ My notes
This is a Birkett that flummoxed me. I tried to bag it (do I actually claim it as I was so close) on my second trip to Skiddaw and then down along the Cumbria Way. At the time I had no way of really seeing where the Birketts are (hence why I created this website), so I was walking around the flat, featureless mass looking for any sign of a summit marker. How I didn't actually notice what I can now see on the photo I took amazes me. This goes to show that we rely on technology too much and should have used my own eyes. As you can see from my track below, I was too far north by about 50 metres. So at least you can see where it is if you ever venture up here. As with Bakestall, a short distance away, the views are splendid and the footfall light and could be a nice gentle hike up from the parking near Low Melbecks if you want to venture out on a busy summer's day.

Routes up Broad End

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

Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun!
19.3 km · ~5.7 hr
Classifications & hill data
Birkett
832 m
Height
2,730 ft
In feet
NY 2610 2984
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside), about 2.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Broad End (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.

1.0 km SSkiddaw Middle Top929 m · Northern
1.2 km SSkiddaw South Top926 m · Northern
1.6 km NCockup505 m · Northern
1.6 km EHare Crag538 m · Northern
1.9 km SESale How666 m · Northern
2.1 km WNWWatches333 m · Northern
2.4 km SSESkiddaw Lesser Man824 m · Northern
2.7 km NELittle Calva642 m · Northern
2.7 km SSEJenkin Hill735 m · Northern
2.8 km NNEWhite Hause464 m · Northern

Routes over Broad End

Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun!Revised
19.25 km · ~1116 m ascent · loop · ~5.5–7.5 h
Summits: Lonscale FellLonscale Pike (Lonscale Fell East Top)Jenkin HillSkiddaw Lesser ManSkiddaw Little ManSkiddaw South TopSkiddaw Middle TopSkiddawBroad EndBakestall

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

Best parking to hike Broad End

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

Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) — 2.7 km from summit (straight line)
Dash Falls track — Bakestall, Great Calva, Skiddaw the quiet way.
Directions
Dodd Wood (paid) — 3.6 km from summit (straight line)
Forestry car park for Dodd, Carl Side and the Ullock Pike ridge onto Skiddaw.
Directions
🚺 Dodd Wood Car Park (79m) — Free☕ The Old Sawmill Tearoom

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 Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! route:

🛖 map (8 m)

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

Buses to Broad End 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 Broad End (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 Broad End

Maps & guidebooks for Broad End

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