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Harrop Pike - a tall column-like cairn on a rocky outcrop, rough moorland rolling to hazy fells under grey cloud

Harrop Pike

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637 mBirkett — Far Eastern (not a Wainwright summit)+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Harrop Pike at 637m (2,090ft) is a Birkett top on the high moorland south of Haweswater in the Far Eastern Fells, between Longsleddale and Wet Sleddale, its grassy summit giving wide views east to the Pennines. Part of the remote fell country above Longsleddale.

Summit conditions on Harrop Pike

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 57 mph, 14.4 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Routes up Harrop Pike

Choose the way up before the car park: these three routes start from three places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.

ComparedHarrop Pike & Ancrow Brow - BirkettsCrookdale BirkettsBannisdale Fell - Long Crag
Starts fromSadgill (Longsleddale)Shap SummitBannisdale
Distance and climb20.03 km, 660 m of climb20.95 km, 666 m of climb21.61 km, 809 m of climb
Time, fast to steady~5–7 h~5¼–7¼ h~5½–7¾ h
ScramblingNot mentioned in the route’s notesNot mentioned in the route’s notesNot mentioned in the route’s notes
ExposureNot assessedNot assessedNot assessed
NavigationHardHardHard
Steepest stretchClimb of about 38% at 0.4 km (Severe)Descent of about 18% at 18.6 km (Moderate)Climb of about 26% at 3.5 km (Hard)
After the summitOver Ancrow Brow North Top, Swinklebank Crag (Ancrow Brow), Capplebarrow, Todd Fell and Whiteside PikeOver Great Saddle Crag, Wasdale Pike, Sleddale Pike, Great Yarlside, Little Yarlside and Whatshaw CommonOver Great Yarlside, Little Yarlside and Whatshaw Common
Walked or plannedPlanned: drawn, not yet walkedPlanned: drawn, not yet walkedPlanned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the startSadgill, Longsleddale (free, limited)Whatshaw Common (layby) (free)Lamb Pasture (layby)
Bus to the startNearest stop 8.5 km on footNearest stop 17.9 km on footNearest stop 11.9 km on foot

Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.

Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →

How hard is Harrop Pike?

The shortest way up we hold is Harrop Pike & Ancrow Brow - Birketts — 20.03 km, 660 m of ascent, ~5–7 h. On our scale its hardest axes are distance and steepness — Severe.

All axes: length: Severe · steepness: Severe · navigation: Hard · terrain: Not assessed · exposure: Not assessed.

These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 637 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
11° / 5°
57 mph
14.4 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
9° / 5°
41 mph
11.7 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
9° / 7°
28 mph
0.2 mm (15%)
Fri 30 Oct
8° / 5°
29 mph
0.0 mm (15%)
Sat 31 Oct
10° / 0°
10 mph
0.0 mm (18%)
Sun 1 Nov
7° / 0°
8 mph
0.0 mm (12%)
Mon 2 Nov
7° / -1°
14 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Parking & buses for Harrop Pike

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Sadgill, Longsleddale (free, limited) — at the start of Harrop Pike & Ancrow Brow - Birketts
Head of Longsleddale — Kentmere Pike, Shipman Knotts, Grey Crag, Tarn Crag.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Whatshaw Common (layby) — 0.2 km from the start of Crookdale Birketts (straight line)
Walking base for Robin Hood, Lord's Seat (Crookdale), Harrop Pike and Great Saddle Crag — the 'Crookdale Birketts' route starts 237 m away. Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Lamb Pasture (layby) — at the start of Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag
1.7 km from Lamb Pasture.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
1 more place to park near Harrop Pike
Swinklebank Crag (layby) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Swinklebank Crag (Ancrow Brow) (1.0 km), Cocklaw Fell (1.4 km), Ancrow Brow North Top (1.7 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.

Buses

The nearest bus stop we hold is the 6 and 555 stop at Staveley, outside Abbey Square, 8.5 km of walking from the start — no bus route we hold serves it.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Harrop Pike

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag

If you need to get off (the leg from Ancrow Brow North Top): We have not checked a line down from Harrop Pike for this guide, so none is offered here. The way back is the way you came.

Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Harrop Pike.

We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.

If you need Mountain Rescue

Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.

Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.

If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.

From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (opens in new tab) (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Harrop Pike

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

1.8 km SWGreat Howe (Longsleddale)494 m · Far Eastern
2.9 km WSWGoat Scar626 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Harrop Pike

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: Road walking: about 1.4 km of this route is on the A6, a main road — the first 0.4 km and the last kilometre. Take care with traffic.

Route guide: Bannisdale Fell - Long Crag →

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: The Crookdale crossing is trackless — over 2 km of tussock and wet ground with no path; much of the round is faint at best. The old county-boundary fence is a useful handrail over most tops — use it in mist.

Route guide: Crookdale Birketts →

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: The Bannisdale watershed section holds a 2 km+ pathless stretch of tussock and peat hag — featureless in mist and slow in any weather. The plotted line there is a bearing, not a path.

Route guide: Harrop Pike & Ancrow Brow - Birketts →

Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.

About Harrop Pike

Harrop Pike - a tall column-like cairn on a rocky outcrop, rough moorland rolling to hazy fells under grey cloud
© Lee McCoy

My Strava hikes over Harrop Pike

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Harrop Pike a Wainwright?

Harrop Pike is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Nuttall list.

Selected lists

637 m
Height
2,090 ft
In feet
NY 5006 0779
Grid ref

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →

Places to stay near this fell

Also nearby, but not independent

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Other fells near Harrop Pike