Calfhow Pike
Calfhow Pike at 660m (2,165ft) is a Birkett top on the broad moorland ridge above the Matterdale valley east of Ullswater, giving wide views across Ullswater and the eastern fells towards the Pennines.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 660 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 11° to 8°C, gusts to 30 mph, 1.3 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 660 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
Calfhow Pike at a glance
Routes up Calfhow Pike
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Classifications & hill data
The short answers
Is Calfhow Pike a Wainwright?
Calfhow Pike is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.
Where do you park for Calfhow Pike?
The nearest car park we hold is Legburthwaite (United Utilities, small), about 2.0 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Castle Rock (layby), 2.2 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 Calfhow Pike?
The shortest way up we hold is Three Dodds and Calfhow Pike — 11.1 km, 819 m of ascent, about 3.6 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · exposure: Hard · length: Moderate · navigation: Moderate · terrain: Moderate.
My hikes over Calfhow Pike (Strava)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- Crappy Weather Up There But a Nice Leisurely Jaunt Up 6 Wainwrights (opens in new tab) — 22.1 km · 1105 m ascent · 5h 03m moving · 20 Aug 2023
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Parking & buses for Calfhow Pike
Best parking to hike Calfhow Pike
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.
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 Calfhow Pike by bus
The 555 stops at Stanah Dam road end (near), 270 m from the start of Three Dodds and Calfhow Pike. Last bus: Monday to Friday 21:35 towards Ambleside (555) and 20:35 towards Windermere (555) and 18:12 towards Kendal (555); Saturday 21:35 towards Ambleside (555) and 20:35 towards Windermere (555) and 18:12 towards Kendal (555); Sunday 19:42 towards Windermere (555) and 18:12 towards Kendal (555). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Hazards on Calfhow Pike
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.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Legburthwaite (United Utilities, small), about 2.0 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Calfhow Pike (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 Calfhow Pike
✎️ 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. How to use this 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. How to use this guide.
On the hill: terrain and water on Calfhow Pike
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Three Dodds and Calfhow Pike route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
Places to stay near this fell
From Wanthwaite Bridge: 3 places in Keswick
Other fells near Calfhow Pike
- Arnison Crag
- Birkhouse Moor
- Birks
- Catstye Cam
- Clough Head
- Dollywaggon Pike
- Dove Crag
- Fairfield
- Glenridding Dodd
- Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit)
- Great Dodd
- Great Mell Fell
- Great Rigg
- Hart Crag
- Hart Side
- Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag)
- Helvellyn
- Heron Pike (Rydal)
- High Hartsop Dodd
- High Pike (Scandale)
- Little Hart Crag (West Top)
- Little Mell Fell
- Low Pike
- Middle Dodd
- Nab Scar
- Nethermost Pike
- Raise
- Red Screes
- Seat Sandal
- Sheffield Pike
- St Sunday Crag
- Stone Arthur
- Stybarrow Dodd
- Watson's Dodd
- White Side