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

Birkett — Southern (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Crinkle Crags - Fourth Crinkle

Crinkle Crags at 859m (2,818ft) is exactly what its name suggests — a jagged, entertaining ridge of five distinct tops above the head of Great Langdale.

832 m
Height
+13
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

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832 mBirkett — Southern (not a Wainwright summit)+13 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): 13° to 12°C, gusts to 39 mph, 11.9 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
13° / 12°
💨 39 mph
🌧 11.9 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
12° / 10°
💨 33 mph
🌧 11.9 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌧️
11° / 4°
💨 28 mph
🌧 1.4 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
13° / 0°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
13° / 2°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.6 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌫️
14° / 4°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.2 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 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

Crinkle Crags - Fourth Crinkle

Crinkle Crags at 859m (2,818ft) is exactly what its name suggests — a jagged, entertaining ridge of five distinct tops above the head of Great Langdale. Wainwright was enthusiastic about it as a fell of real mountaineering character, and the traverse of the full ridge — including the Bad Step scramble on the second crinkle — is one of the classic expeditions in the Lake District. The views from the crest are superb: Bowfell, the Scafells, the Coniston fells and the sea all visible on a good day. Best approached from the Old Dungeon Ghyll via Red Tarn and the Three Tarns col, combining easily with Bowfell for a full day's circuit.

Routes up Crinkle Crags - Fourth Crinkle

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

Langdale Horseshoe
20.2 km · ~6.5 hr · Severe
The full Langdale Horseshoe — fifteen tops, 1,500 m of ascent and one of the hardest days in the Lakes that involves no rope. The Langdale Pikes, Bowfell, the whole Crinkle Crags ridge and Pike of Blisco in a single round. It is long, rough, and the Crinkles will try to lead you down the wrong side. Do not start it late.
Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
832 m
Height
2,730 ft
In feet
NY 2497 0506
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Three Shire Stone, Wrynose Pass (verge), about 3.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Crinkle Crags - Fourth Crinkle (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.

0.1 km NNECrinkle Crags - Gunson Knott (Fifth Crinkle)822 m · Southern
0.3 km NShelter Crags815 m · Southern
0.5 km SCrinkle Crags South Top (First Crinkle)834 m · Southern
0.9 km SStonesty Pike765 m · Southern
1.3 km SEGreat Knott695 m · Southern
1.5 km NEWhite Stones - The Band568 m · Southern
1.7 km SLittle Stand740 m · Southern
2.1 km WNWHigh Gait Crags572 m · Southern
2.2 km NWPike de Bield810 m · Southern
2.4 km WSWThrostlehow Crag404 m · Southern
2.4 km WScar Lathing439 m · Southern
2.7 km SWYew Bank499 m · Southern
2.7 km NBuck Pike (Mickleden)606 m · Southern

Routes over Crinkle Crags - Fourth Crinkle

Langdale HorseshoePlanned
20.2 km · ~1497 m ascent · loop · ~6.5–8.5 h · Severe
Summits: Pavey ArkHarrison StickleThorn CragLoft CragPike of StickleBlack Crags (Mickleden)Rossett PikeBowfellShelter CragsCrinkle Crags - Gunson Knott (Fifth Crinkle)Crinkle Crags - Fourth CrinkleCrinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle)Crinkle Crags South Top (First Crinkle)Cold PikePike of Blisco

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: The Bad Step (Crinkle Crags, Long Top). A short, awkward rock step that turns a walk into a scramble and regularly stops people dead. There is a bypass path to the left — use it if you are unsure.; Do not attempt Jack’s Rake on Pavey Ark unless you know what you are taking on. It is a graded scramble with real exposure, not a path. The walkers’ line goes round.; 20 km, 1,497 m and fifteen tops. This is a full, committing day. Start early, and decide your turn-back time before you leave the car.; The Crinkles are the classic place to descend the wrong side in cloud. Know which valley you want before you are in it.

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.

Best parking to hike Crinkle Crags - Fourth Crinkle

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

Three Shire Stone, Wrynose Pass (verge) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
High-level start for Pike o' Blisco, Cold Pike, Wet Side Edge and the Greenburn fells.
Directions
Old Dungeon Ghyll (NT, paid) — 3.8 km from summit (straight line)
Head of Great Langdale — Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Pike o' Blisco, the Langdale Pikes.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (510m) — Free🚺 Public toilets (649m) — Free🍺 Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel🍺 Sticklebarn

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 Langdale Horseshoe route:

💧 possible water source (5 m)💧 possible water source (6 m)💧 possible water source (81 m)🚺 map (10 m)🚺 map (11 m)🚌 New Dungeon Ghyll (144 m)

💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.

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

Buses to Crinkle Crags - Fourth Crinkle from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 516 “Langdale Rambler”
Ambleside – Skelwith Bridge – Elterwater – New Dungeon Ghyll – Old Dungeon Ghyll
Catch it from: Ambleside · Windermere (change at Ambleside)
The Langdale bus — Pikes, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Pike o' Blisco all walkable from the Dungeon Ghyll stops. Seasonal frequency varies; check before relying on the last bus back.

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

Other fells near Crinkle Crags - Fourth Crinkle

Maps & guidebooks for Crinkle Crags - Fourth Crinkle

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