Dunnerdale Fells
The Dunnerdale Fells are a cluster of low, rough volcanic tops and hidden tarns between Broughton Mills and Ulpha, on the quiet eastern side of the Duddon valley.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 280 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 18° to 16°C, gusts to 33 mph, 1.8 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 280 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
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Seathwaite, Duddon Valley (roadside), about 5.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Dunnerdale Fells (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.
Terrain & access
A near-path top (about 280 m): a mapped path comes within about 62 m of the summit, with a last stretch of open ground (about 5 m of ascent, up to ~7°). The summit is on CRoW open access land.
Computed from open data, not walked — pathless ground needs confident navigation, and mapped paths, barriers and access boundaries can be incomplete. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass); Natural England CRoW Access Land; DoBIH; Copernicus GLO-30. See the terrain & access report for how this is worked out across all 145 fells.
Best parking to hike Dunnerdale Fells
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 Dunnerdale Fells 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.
Other fells near Dunnerdale Fells
Maps & guidebooks for Dunnerdale Fells
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you. How affiliate links work →