Buckbarrow
Buckbarrow at 423m (1,388ft) is a craggy little summit above Wastwater, its western crags giving a dramatic profile from the road below and excellent views of the lake from the summit.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 423 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 29 mph, 2.9 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 423 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
About the walk
Buckbarrow
Routes up Buckbarrow
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Greendale, Nether Wasdale (roadside, free), about 1.1 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Buckbarrow (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.
Routes over Buckbarrow
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
The View from Buckbarrow
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.
What you can see from Buckbarrow, by direction
- North-east: Middle Fell (2 km), Red Pike (5 km), Scoat Fell (6 km), Black Crag (6 km), Great Gable (9 km)
- East: Illgill Head (4 km), Scafell (7 km), Slight Side (8 km), Lingmell (8 km), Scafell Pike (8 km), Broad Crag (8 km), Great End (9 km), Seathwaite Fell (10 km), Looking Steads (12 km), Glaramara (12 km)
- South-east: Whin Rigg (3 km)
- South: Irton Fell (4 km), Irton Pike (5 km), Muncaster Fell (8 km), White Pike (11 km), Woodend Height (11 km), The Knott (11 km), Yoadcastle (11 km), Stainton Pike (12 km), Hesk Fell (12 km), Whitfell (13 km), Burn Moor (14 km), Black Combe (21 km)
- West: Ponsonby Fell (5 km), Swainson Knott (6 km), Stone Pike (6 km)
- North-west: Glade How (0 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (161 km, Wales), Slieve Donard (171 km, Ireland), Carnedd Llewelyn (149 km, Wales), Aran Fawddwy (186 km, Wales), Snaefell (76 km, Isle of Man), Moel Siabod (158 km, Wales), Arenig Fawr (172 km, Wales), Mynydd Mawr (163 km, Wales).
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.
What you can see from Buckbarrow
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales and the Isle of Man.
- Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) Wales
- Carnedd Llewelyn Wales
- Snaefell Isle of Man
- Irish Sea open water
All 11 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Middle Fell, Whin Rigg (Wasdale), Illgill Head, Red Pike (Wasdale), Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Scafell, Slight Side, Lingmell, Scafell Pike, Great End, Glaramara
How Buckbarrow’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 Buckbarrow
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
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 Buckbarrow 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 (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Navigating Buckbarrow in cloud
Serious in cloudA 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 Buckbarrow 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 Buckbarrow
- Base Brown
- Blake Fell
- Brandreth
- Burnbank Fell
- Caw Fell
- Crag Fell
- Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell
- Fleetwith Pike
- Gavel Fell
- Great Borne
- Great Gable
- Green Gable
- Grey Knotts
- Grike
- Haycock
- Haystacks (Buttermere)
- Hen Comb
- High Crag (Buttermere)
- High Stile
- Kirk Fell
- Lank Rigg
- Low Fell
- Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)
- Middle Fell
- Pillar
- Red Pike (Buttermere)
- Red Pike (Wasdale)
- Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)
- Seatallan
- Starling Dodd
- Steeple
- Yewbarrow
Maps & guidebooks for Buckbarrow
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