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

Birkett — Northern (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Hare Crag

Hare Crag at 538m (1,765ft) is a Birkett top on the broad Skiddaw massif above the Mosedale valley, its open summit giving views across the northern fells and towards the Solway Firth.

538 m
Height
+10
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →
538 mBirkett — Northern (not a Wainwright summit)+10 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 538 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 14°C, gusts to 34 mph, 5.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
15° / 14°
💨 34 mph
🌧 5.8 mm (61%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
15° / 11°
💨 26 mph
🌧 14.3 mm (71%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌧️
14° / 6°
💨 31 mph
🌧 1.9 mm (76%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 2°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (76%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (55%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
16° / 3°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (28%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 6°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (22%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 538 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

Key information

Hare Crag

Hare Crag at 538m (1,765ft) is a Birkett top on the broad Skiddaw massif above the Mosedale valley, its open summit giving views across the northern fells and towards the Solway Firth. Part of the sprawling Back o' Skiddaw fell country north of the main Skiddaw summit. A remote and atmospheric fell rarely visited except by Birkett baggers.

Routes up Hare Crag

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

Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
538 m
Height
1,765 ft
In feet
NY 2772 2989
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside), about 3.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Hare Crag (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.

1.3 km SSale How666 m · Northern
1.6 km WBroad End832 m · Northern
1.7 km NNELittle Calva642 m · Northern
2.0 km WSWSkiddaw Middle Top929 m · Northern
2.1 km SWSkiddaw South Top926 m · Northern
2.4 km NWCockup505 m · Northern
2.4 km SJenkin Hill735 m · Northern
2.5 km SSWSkiddaw Lesser Man824 m · Northern
2.6 km NNWWhite Hause464 m · Northern
2.8 km SSELonscale Pike (Lonscale Fell East Top)703 m · Northern

Routes over Hare Crag

23.02 km · ~1434 m ascent · loop · ~7–9.5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

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 Hare Crag

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

Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Dash Falls track — Bakestall, Great Calva, Skiddaw the quiet way.
Directions (opens in new tab)
Gale Road / Latrigg top (free) — 4.7 km from summit (straight line)
Free car park at the road end behind Latrigg — shortest way up Skiddaw via Jenkin Hill.
Directions (opens in new tab)

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

Buses to Hare Crag 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.

Maps & guidebooks for Hare Crag

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