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

Birkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Herdus

Herdus (562 m / 1,844 ft) is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells), one of the lesser-known Western tops.

562 m
Height
+10
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

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562 mBirkett — Western (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 562 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 32 mph, 1.6 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
15° / 14°
💨 32 mph
🌧 1.6 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 11°
💨 26 mph
🌧 12.5 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
13° / 4°
💨 28 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 2°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 6°
💨 15 mph
🌧 1.2 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌤️
16° / 5°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 562 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

About the walk

Key information

Herdus

Herdus (562 m / 1,844 ft) is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells), one of the lesser-known Western tops. It rises the south side. The name is not securely explained, though it is likely Old Norse or Old English in origin, like most fells hereabouts. It also features on the Synge list. Its nearest tops are Brown How (Ennerdale) (0.6 km SW); Great Borne (0.6 km E); Bowness Knott (1.0 km SW) — it's usually taken in on a round of these neighbours. It's a worthwhile objective for anyone working through the Birkett list, or as a short extension to a bigger day on the higher neighbouring fells.

Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
562 m
Height
1,844 ft
In feet
NY 1176 1634
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid), about 1.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Herdus (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.

0.6 km SSWBrown How (Ennerdale)330 m · Western
1.0 km SSWBowness Knott333 m · Western
1.1 km NBanna Fell455 m · Western
1.1 km NNEFloutern Cop451 m · Western
1.6 km EGale Fell518 m · Western
2.6 km NWGodworth365 m · Western
2.6 km NGavel Fell - High Nook (Gavel Fell North Top)488 m · North Western
2.7 km NNWHigh Pen475 m · North Western
2.9 km NNWLow Pen435 m · North Western
2.9 km NWKelton Fell311 m · Western

Best parking to hike Herdus

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

Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)
Forestry England car park at the end of the Ennerdale valley road, on the lake's north shore (OS NY 110 154; parking charges apply since 2023) — Great Borne, Starling Dodd, and the long walk-ins to Pillar and Steeple.
Directions
Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, free) — 5.0 km from summit (straight line)
Small free car park for Mellbreak, Hen Comb and the Loweswater fells.
Directions

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.

Buses to Herdus 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 or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Other fells near Herdus

Maps & guidebooks for Herdus

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