⛰️ Great Gable

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

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899 mWainwright — Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km

📖 Key Information

Great Gable at 899m (2,949ft) is perhaps the most beloved mountain in Lakeland — its profile appears on the badge of the Lake District National Park, and its summit is the site of an annual Remembrance Sunday service by the Fell and Rock Climbing Club. Wainwright was passionate about it, noting the incomparable view from the Westmorland Cairn looking south to Wasdale Head and its surrounding ring of fells. The ascent from Wasdale via Sty Head is a classic Lakeland mountain day. The summit gives outstanding views in every direction, particularly north to the Ennerdale fells and south across Wastwater.

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

🎯 Bonus Birketts 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.

1.2 km WNWKirk Fell East Top (Kirk Fell North Top)787 m · Western
1.7 km ESESeathwaite Fell (Great Slack - Seathwaite Fell)631 m · Southern
2.9 km SSEBroad Crag935 m · Southern
2.9 km WNWLooking Stead (Pillar)628 m · Western

⚠️ Hazard & Incident Information

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🦶 My hikes over Great Gable (Strava)

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🅿️ Potential parking

Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) — 3.5 km from summit (straight line)
Pay & display at the top of the pass — Dale Head, Fleetwith Pike, Grey Knotts with minimal ascent.
Directions ↗
Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge) — 4.0 km from summit (straight line)
Free verge parking on the Seathwaite lane — the honeypot start for the Scafells, Great Gable and Glaramara. Arrive very early.
Directions ↗

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

🚌 Buses from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)
Seasonal (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.
Stagecoach 78 “Borrowdale Rambler”
Keswick – Lodore – Grange – Rosthwaite – Seatoller
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 or X4/X5)
Year-round, frequent in season. Serves all the Borrowdale starts — Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable via Seathwaite (alight Seatoller, 20 min walk up the lane).

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

🌦️ 7-day summit forecast

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Other fells in this region

Open Great Gable in the interactive explorer ↗