Great End
Great End at 910m (2,985ft) is the northern fortress of the Scafell massif, its great crags plunging dramatically into upper Borrowdale and forming one of the most imposing cliff faces in Lakeland.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 910 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.
Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 910 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
Great End
Routes up Great End
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: Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge), about 3.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Great End (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 Great End
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 Great End
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 Great End, by direction
- North: Crag Hill (12 km), Grisedale Pike (14 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (20 km), Skiddaw Little Man (20 km), Skiddaw South Top (20 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (21 km), Skiddaw (21 km)
- North-east: High Crag (13 km), Nethermost Pike (13 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (13 km), Helvellyn (13 km), White Side (14 km), Raise (15 km), Stybarrow Dodd (16 km), Green Side (16 km), Little Dodd (16 km), Great Dodd (17 km), Knowe Crags (20 km), Gategill Fell Top (21 km), Blencathra (22 km)
- East: Dollywaggon Pike (13 km), Fairfield (14 km), Cofa Pike (14 km), Hart Crag (14 km), St Sunday Crag (15 km), Thornthwaite Crag (20 km), High Street (22 km), Rampsgill Head (22 km), High Raise (23 km)
- South-east: Crinkle Crags (4 km), Swirl How (9 km), Brim Fell (11 km), The Old Man of Coniston (12 km)
- West: Red Pike (6 km), Haycock (8 km)
- North-west: Pillar (7 km), Black Crag (7 km), Scoat Fell (7 km), Steeple (8 km), Grasmoor (13 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (180 km, Ireland), Merrick (111 km, Scotland), Aran Fawddwy (190 km, Wales), Snaefell (85 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (110 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (131 km, England), Cairnsmore of Fleet (93 km, Scotland), Corserine (107 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 Great End
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland and the Isle of Man.
- Merrick Scotland
- Snaefell Isle of Man
- Ingleborough Yorkshire Dales
- Criffel Scotland
- Whernside Yorkshire Dales
- Solway Firth bay/estuary
- Irish Sea open water
All 119 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Allen Crags, Esk Pike, Scafell Pike, Lingmell, Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), Rossett Pike, Great Gable, Bowfell, Green Gable, Glaramara, Base Brown, Brandreth, Kirk Fell, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Grey Knotts, Pike of Stickle, Loft Crag, Thunacar Knott, Yewbarrow, High Raise (High White Stones), Harrison Stickle, Sergeant's Crag, Sergeant Man, Hard Knott, Fleetwith Pike, Eagle Crag, Red Pike (Wasdale), Pillar, Dale Head, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Ullscarf, Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Steeple, Middle Fell, High Spy, Castle Crag, Hindscarth, Haycock, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Great Carrs, High Stile, Grey Friar, Seatallan, Harter Fell (Eskdale), Robinson, Grange Fell (Brund Fell), Swirl How, Buckbarrow, Wetherlam, Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top), High Tove, Dow Crag, Starling Dodd, High Seat, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Rannerdale Knotts, Whiteless Pike, Wandope, Stone Arthur, Sail, Seat Sandal, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Scar Crags, Causey Pike, Loughrigg Fell, Bleaberry Fell, Dollywaggon Pike, Heron Pike (Rydal), Raven Crag, Nab Scar, Grasmoor, Great Borne, Great Rigg, Black Fell, Helvellyn, Barrow, Fairfield, Walla Crag, White Side, Hart Crag, Grisedale Pike, Raise, Low Pike, High Pike (Scandale), Dove Crag, St Sunday Crag, Watson's Dodd, Blake Fell, Great Dodd, Low Fell, Red Screes, Latrigg, Clough Head, Baystones (Wansfell), Lord's Seat, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Dodd (Skiddaw), Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Little Man, Carl Side, Long Side, Thornthwaite Crag, Ullock Pike, Sour Howes, Skiddaw, Ill Bell, Yoke, Sallows, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Rampsgill Head, Kidsty Pike, High Raise (High Street), Great Calva, Kentmere Pike, Souther Fell, Knott, Binsey, High Pike (Caldbeck)
How Great End’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 Great End
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.
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Esk Pike and Great End route:
On the Rosett Pike, Allen Crags, Great End and more route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
Buses to Great End from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Hazard & Incident Information for Great End
The rugged northern bastion of the Scafell range. For summer walkers the issue is navigation on the high, confusing ground around Esk Hause and Calf Cove, and the steep, craggy north face — no place to wander in cloud. In winter its gullies (Central Gully, Window Gully and others) are serious climbing venues with avalanche, cornice and rockfall risk; both Wasdale and Keswick MRT are called here.
- North face gullies (winter): Classic but serious winter climbs prone to avalanche, cornice collapse and rockfall — full winter skills and judgement required. Not a walkers' descent in any season.
- Esk Hause / Calf Cove in cloud or dark: A maze of paths on featureless ground where walkers regularly get lost — including after dark and in snow. Know your bearing for the onward route before you set off.
- Summit edge and north-facing crags: Steep ground drops abruptly from the boulder summit; keep back from the edge in poor visibility.
Most common causes: Lost walkers around Esk Hause / Calf Cove in cloud or dark · Winter avalanche and rockfall in the gullies · Navigation errors off the rocky summit
Local Mountain Rescue: Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · Reviewed 13 Jun 2026
Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Navigating Great End in cloud
Serious in cloudA rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. 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 Great End compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Frequently asked questions about Great End
Is Great End hard to climb?
It looks fearsome — a 600 ft cliff face towering over the Esk Hause path — but the walkers' way to the top, looping round from Esk Hause, is a straightforward (if rough) ascent with no scrambling. At 910 m (2,986 ft) it's the northern bastion of the Scafell massif.
The catch is that it's high, remote and reached across the confusing Esk Hause/Sty Head crossroads, and in winter its snow-holding gullies make it serious mountaineering ground.
What is the best route up Great End?
Most walkers approach via Esk Hause, from Seathwaite in Borrowdale (often by Sty Head or Grains Gill) or from Great Langdale. From Esk Hause a path doubles back up the gentler southern slopes to the twin-topped summit — avoiding the cliffs entirely.
It's commonly combined with Scafell Pike, which lies just beyond. Don't approach the summit from the north-east cliff side as a walker.
How long does it take to climb Great End?
It's a long day wherever you start. From Seathwaite (Borrowdale) allow around 6–7 hours for the round, with the approach to Esk Hause being most of the work. Combining it with Scafell Pike makes a full, big mountain day of 7+ hours.
Start early and leave plenty of margin — this is committing, high ground far from the road.
Is Great End a winter climbing venue?
Yes — its north-east face holds some of the best-known winter gullies in the Lakes (South-East, Central and Cust's Gully), which keep snow and ice well into spring and are a serious draw for winter climbers, not walkers.
For hillwalkers, that same face means real danger in winter: cornices, hard snow and avalanche-prone gullies. Keep well back from the cliff edge near the summit, and only go in snow with an ice axe, crampons and winter experience.
Can you climb Great End and Scafell Pike together?
Yes — they're often combined, as Great End sits on the high ground just north of Scafell Pike, close to the Esk Hause approach. A common big day takes in both (and sometimes Lingmell), but it's a long, rough, high-mountain outing.
Navigation across the Scafell Pike plateau is notoriously hard in cloud, so only link them with good visibility, fitness and full kit.
Is Great End suitable for beginners?
Not really. The walkers' ascent has no scrambling, but Great End is high, remote, rough underfoot and reached across the Esk Hause crossroads — a serious navigation test. It's better once you've some mountain days behind you.
In good summer weather a fit walker can manage it with map, compass and full kit; in winter it's strictly for those with winter skills. Keep well back from the north-east cliffs at all times.
What should I wear and take up Great End?
Wear proper walking boots for the rough, rocky, often boggy ground, and carry full warm and waterproof layers — it's high, exposed and far from shelter. A map and compass (and the skill to use them) are essential for the Esk Hause area, which is a classic place to take the wrong path in cloud.
Take ample food and water, a charged phone, and check the mountain forecast. In winter add ice axe and crampons and the experience to use them.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-06-14 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)
Other fells near Great End
- Allen Crags
- Black Fell
- Bowfell
- Brim Fell
- Cold Pike
- Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle)
- Dow Crag
- Esk Pike
- Glaramara
- Great Carrs
- Green Crag
- Grey Friar
- Hard Knott
- Harter Fell (Eskdale)
- Holme Fell
- Illgill Head
- Lingmell
- Lingmoor Fell (Brown How)
- Pike of Blisco
- Rossett Pike
- Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot
- Scafell
- Scafell Pike
- Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit)
- Slight Side
- Swirl How
- The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man)
- Wetherlam
- Whin Rigg (Wasdale)
Maps & guidebooks for Great End
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