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

Wainwright — Western FellsAlso a Birkett

Burnbank Fell

Burnbank Fell at 475m (1,558ft) is a heathery moorland summit above Loweswater giving fine views of the lake below and the Grasmoor massif above.

475 m
Height
~3.5–4.5 h
Typical time
+13
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →
475 mWainwright — Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+13 bonus Birketts within 3 km Serious in Clag

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

Modelled guidance for the 475 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 14°C, gusts to 33 mph, 1.9 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
15° / 14°
💨 33 mph
🌧 1.9 mm (90%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
15° / 12°
💨 27 mph
🌧 13.2 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 28 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (75%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 3°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (76%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 6°
💨 15 mph
🌧 1.2 mm (73%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌤️
16° / 6°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (27%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 5°
💨 15 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (22%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 475 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

Key information

Burnbank Fell

Burnbank Fell, a Lake District fell
Photo: Mick Knapton, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Burnbank Fell at 475m (1,558ft) is a heathery moorland summit above Loweswater giving fine views of the lake below and the Grasmoor massif above. A Birkett fell on the lower western slopes above Loweswater. The ascent from Loweswater is pleasant and gives steadily improving lake views throughout.

Routes up Burnbank Fell

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

Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Western
Birkett
Synge
475 m
Height
1,558 ft
In feet
NY 1100 2095
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, free), about 2.4 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Burnbank 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 SSWSharp Knott482 m · North Western
0.9 km WOwsen Fell409 m · Western
1.0 km SECarling Knott544 m · North Western
1.1 km ESELoweswater End - Carling Knott519 m · Western
1.6 km WSWHigh Hows (Lamplugh)313 m · Western
2.1 km SHigh Pen475 m · North Western
2.1 km SSWLow Pen435 m · North Western
2.3 km SSEGavel Fell - High Nook (Gavel Fell North Top)488 m · North Western
2.4 km SWMurton Fell (Knock Murton)446 m · North Western
2.5 km NEDarling Fell392 m · Western
2.8 km SELittle Dodd (Loweswater)362 m · North Western
2.8 km SSWGodworth365 m · Western
2.9 km ENELoweswater Fell (Low Fell South Top)417 m · Western

Routes over Burnbank Fell

19.13 km · ~1019 m ascent · loop · ~5.5–7.5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

18.69 km · ~995 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h

⬇️ Download GPX

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.

14.03 km · ~732 m ascent · loop · ~4–5.5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from Burnbank 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 Burnbank Fell26 labelled tops shown (16 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWSkiddaw · 17 kmBlencathra · 22 kmGrasmoor · 6 kmHaycock · 11 kmHopegill Head · 8 kmGreat Sca Fell · 22 kmCarling Knott · 1 kmLank Rigg · 9 kmLoweswater End · 1 kmCriffel · 44 km · clear daysGrike · 7 kmLonglands Fell · 22 kmBinsey · 19 kmMurton Fell · 2 kmBlakeley Raise · 8 kmBlake Fell · 1 kmBengairn · 48 km · clear daysCairnharrow · 68 km · clear daysOwsen Fell · 1 kmBengray · 62 km · clear daysCalkin Rig · 69 km · clear daysHigh Hows · 2 kmCaermote Hill · 18 kmBainloch Hill · 42 km · clear daysWhite Hill · 63 km · clear daysWatch Hill · 12 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 17 kmEel Crag · 8 kmWandope · 8 kmLadyside Pike · 8 kmBrae Fell · 23 kmDent · 11 kmFaulds Brow · 27 kmLow Fell · 3 kmFellbarrow · 4 kmBennan · 63 km · clear daysPibble Hill · 70 km · clear daysMochrum Fell · 66 km · clear daysGrange Fell · 62 km · clear daysSlieve Donard · 171 km · a handful of days a yearMerrick · 94 km · a rare clear dayBroad Law · 103 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 78 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 93 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Fleet · 76 km · a rare clear daySlieve Croob · 170 km · a handful of days a yearGreen Lowther · 94 km · a rare clear dayDivis · 171 km · a handful of days a yearCulter Fell · 108 km · a rare clear daySighty Crag · 78 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 83 km · a rare clear dayRoan Fell · 80 km · a rare clear dayColt Hill · 88 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 112 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 94 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Burnbank Fell, by direction
  • North: Criffel (44 km)
  • North-east: Graystones (9 km), Ullock Pike (16 km), Long Side (16 km), Carl Side (16 km), Skiddaw South Top (17 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (17 km), Skiddaw (17 km), Skiddaw Little Man (17 km), Skiddaw North Top (17 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (17 km), Broad End (18 km), Great Cockup (20 km), Burn Tod (21 km), Frozen Fell (22 km), Lowthwaite Fell (22 km), Longlands Fell (22 km), Great Sca Fell (22 km), Little Sca Fell (22 km), Brae Fell (23 km)
  • East: Loweswater End (1 km), Whiteside (6 km), Grasmoor (6 km), Whiteside East Top (7 km), Thirdgill Head Man (8 km), Hopegill Head (8 km), Ladyside Pike (8 km), Sand Hill (8 km), Wandope (8 km), Eel Crag (8 km), Hobcarton End (9 km), Jenkin Hill (18 km), Lonscale Fell (19 km), Blencathra (22 km), Atkinson Pike (23 km)
  • South-east: Carling Knott (1 km)
  • South: Crag Fell (7 km), Grike (7 km), Lank Rigg (9 km), Haycock (11 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (171 km, Ireland), Merrick (94 km, Scotland), Broad Law (103 km, Scotland), Snaefell (78 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (93 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Fleet (76 km, Scotland), Corserine (90 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (88 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.

What you can see from Burnbank Fell

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
23Wainwrights in view+11 marginal
95 kmFurthest sightlineMerrick
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

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

Far horizons
  • Merrick ScotlandNW · 95 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 79 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNNW · 45 km clear
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 33 km in view
  • Irish Sea open waterWNW · 19 km in view
All 23 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

How Burnbank 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.

Best parking to hike Burnbank Fell

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

Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, free) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)
Small free car park for Mellbreak, Hen Comb and the Loweswater fells.
Directions (opens in new tab)
Lanthwaite Green (NT) — 4.9 km from summit (straight line)
At the foot of Grasmoor and Whiteside, Crummock Water.
Directions (opens in new tab)

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

Maps & guidebooks for Burnbank Fell

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