Harrison Stickle
Harrison Stickle at 736m (2,415ft) is the highest and most prominent of the Langdale Pikes, a magnificent crag-crowned summit that dominates the head of Great Langdale and is one of the most recognisable profiles in English fell walking.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 735 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Sat 12 Sep): 13° to 6°C, gusts to 42 mph, 34.4 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 18:50 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 735 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
Harrison Stickle at a glance
Harrison Stickle
Field notes
I regret powering through this Wainwright fell as I was anxious to get to Pavey Ark and see what the fuss was about. I recall it being somewhat of a labyrinth of rocks and crags and perfect if you can resist the temptation to be on your way as it is a great place to rest with rocks just the perfect height to perch and refuel. Make the most of this one.Routes up Harrison Stickle
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Classifications & hill data
The short answers
Is Harrison Stickle a Wainwright?
Harrison Stickle is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list and the Fellranger list.
Where do you park for Harrison Stickle?
The nearest car park we hold is Old Dungeon Ghyll (NT, paid), about 1.4 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Side Pike (verge, south), 1.6 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.
My hikes over Harrison Stickle (Strava)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- 8 Wainwrights today - had some catching up to do! (opens in new tab) — 14.5 km · 1013 m ascent · 4h 23m moving · 1 Jun 2024
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Parking & buses for Harrison Stickle
Best parking to hike Harrison Stickle
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.
Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Getting to Harrison Stickle by bus
The 516 stops at New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel (at), 140 m from the start of Langdale Pikes Round — a route we rate Moderate. Last bus: Monday to Friday 20:13 towards Kendal (516) and 18:13 towards Ambleside (516); Saturday 22:33 towards Kendal (516) and 21:13 towards Ambleside (516); Sunday 20:13 towards Kendal (516) and 18:13 towards Ambleside (516). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Hazards on Harrison Stickle
Hazard & Incident Information for Harrison Stickle
The highest of the Langdale Pikes, a rugged fell ringed by crags above Great Langdale. Langdale Ambleside MRT is called here for slips and injuries on the steep, rough ascent and descent, for walkers cragfast on the broken ground around the summit, and for exhaustion and exposure — the climb straight up from the valley is short but relentlessly steep.
- Steep, rough descents to Great Langdale: The ways down toward Dungeon Ghyll and Stickle Ghyll are steep, rocky and hard on tired legs — a common spot for slips and ankle/wrist injuries. Take your time on the descent.
- Crags around the summit: Broken cliffs surround the top, with Pavey Ark's precipice close by. It is easy to stray onto steep ground in mist — keep to the path and away from edges.
- Navigation across the Pikes plateau: The cluster of Langdale Pikes is confusing in cloud; carry map and compass and confirm which top you're on before descending.
Most common causes: Slips and lower-limb injuries on the steep descent · Walkers cragfast on broken ground · Exhaustion and exposure on the steep climb
Local Mountain Rescue: Langdale Ambleside 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 Harrison Stickle in cloud
StraightforwardA rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.
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 Harrison Stickle compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Old Dungeon Ghyll (NT, paid), about 1.4 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Harrison Stickle (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 Harrison Stickle
✎️ 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. How to use this guide.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
On the hill: terrain and water on Harrison Stickle
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Langdale Horseshoe route:
On the Langdale Pikes Round route:
💧 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.
The view from Harrison Stickle
The 360° skyline from Harrison Stickle
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 Harrison Stickle, by direction
- North: Knowe Crags (20 km), Gategill Fell Top (20 km), Blencathra (21 km), Skiddaw South Top (21 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (22 km), Skiddaw (22 km), Skiddaw North Top (22 km)
- North-east: Dollywaggon Pike (9 km), High Crag (9 km), Fairfield (9 km), Cofa Pike (9 km), Nethermost Pike (9 km), Hart Crag (10 km), Helvellyn (10 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (10 km), St Sunday Crag (11 km), Raise (12 km), Stybarrow Dodd (13 km), Great Dodd (14 km)
- East: High Street (16 km)
- South: Swirl How (7 km), The Old Man of Coniston (10 km)
- South-west: Crinkle Crags (4 km), Crinkle Crags (4 km)
- West: Esk Pike (4 km), Great End (6 km), Ill Crag (6 km), Broad Crag (6 km), Scafell Pike (7 km), Great Gable (8 km), Kirk Fell (9 km), Red Pike (12 km), Black Crag (12 km), Scoat Fell (13 km), Steeple (13 km)
- North-west: Green Gable (8 km), High Stile (13 km), High Stile (14 km), Crag Hill (16 km), Grasmoor (17 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (167 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (155 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (163 km, Wales), Corserine (112 km, Scotland), Tinto (131 km, Scotland), Yr Eifl (187 km, Wales), Green Lowther (111 km, Scotland), Craig Cwm Silyn (174 km, Wales).
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.
Sunrise and sunset on Harrison Stickle
Harrison Stickle sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 July) first light is only 7 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.
| First light | Almanac sunrise | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 04:41 BST ±5.0 min | 04:37 | +4 min |
| Equinox | 06:15 GMT ±5.0 min | 06:15 | — |
| Midwinter | 08:27 GMT ±5.0 min | 08:33 | -6 min |
A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.11°).
Last light — when the sun leaves Harrison Stickle
The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 March) last light is only 16 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Harrison Stickle.
| Last light | Almanac sunset | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 21:56 BST ±5.0 min | 21:52 | +4 min |
| Equinox | 18:11 GMT ±5.0 min | 18:26 | -15 min |
| Midwinter | 15:41 GMT ±5.0 min | 15:49 | -8 min |
Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Harrison Stickle. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes. These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.
What you can see from Harrison Stickle
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.
- Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) Wales
- Carnedd Llewelyn Wales
- Solway Firth bay/estuary
- Ingleborough Yorkshire Dales
- Whernside Yorkshire Dales
- Morecambe Bay bay/estuary
All 92 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Loft Crag, Thunacar Knott, Pavey Ark, Pike of Stickle, Sergeant Man, Blea Rigg, High Raise (High White Stones), Tarn Crag (Easedale), Rossett Pike, Pike of Blisco, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Bowfell, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Cold Pike, Gibson Knott, Silver How, Esk Pike, Allen Crags, Glaramara, Helm Crag, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Great End, Wetherlam, Great Carrs, Scafell Pike, Stone Arthur, Swirl How, Loughrigg Fell, Grey Friar, Nab Scar, Green Gable, Seat Sandal, Heron Pike (Rydal), Holme Fell, Great Gable, Great Rigg, Brandreth, Black Fell, Dollywaggon Pike, Fairfield, Nethermost Pike, Kirk Fell, Low Pike, High Pike (Scandale), Hart Crag, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Helvellyn, Dove Crag, Dow Crag, Dale Head, High Spy, St Sunday Crag, Red Screes, Raise, Middle Dodd, High Crag (Buttermere), Baystones (Wansfell), Robinson, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Stybarrow Dodd, Cat Bells (Catbells), Steeple, Watson's Dodd, High Stile, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Great Dodd, Ard Crags, Causey Pike, Scar Crags, Thornthwaite Crag, Sour Howes, Sail, Wandope, Ill Bell, Yoke, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Sallows, Clough Head, High Street, Grasmoor, Grisedale Pike, Dodd (Skiddaw), Barf, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Lord's Seat, Carl Side, Long Side, Broom Fell, Ullock Pike, Skiddaw, Bannerdale Crags, Binsey
How Harrison Stickle’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.
Places to stay near this fell
From Great Langdale: 3 places in Grasmere
Frequently asked questions about Harrison Stickle
Is Harrison Stickle hard to climb?
Steep and rough rather than technical — there is no move on the ordinary way up that needs hands, but it is relentless. It is the highest of the Langdale Pikes and it is ringed by crags, so the paths are rocky and the descent is where people come unstuck.
Our Langdale Pikes round is 12.3 km with 830 m of ascent and we rate it Moderate, with navigation graded hard — the plateau behind the Pikes is far less obvious than the front of them. Come down the way you came up unless you are certain of the alternative.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)
Other fells near Harrison Stickle
- Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top)
- Blea Rigg
- Bleaberry Fell
- Calf Crag
- Eagle Crag
- Gibson Knott
- Grange Fell (Brund Fell)
- Great Crag (Stonethwaite)
- Helm Crag
- High Raise (High White Stones)
- High Rigg (Naddle Fell)
- High Seat
- High Tove
- Loft Crag
- Loughrigg Fell
- Pavey Ark
- Pike of Stickle
- Raven Crag
- Sergeant Man
- Sergeant's Crag
- Silver How
- Steel Fell (Dead Pike)
- Tarn Crag (Easedale)
- Thunacar Knott
- Ullscarf
- Walla Crag