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

Heron Pike - early light on Ullswater from the summit rocks, shafts of sun breaking through onto the lake, with mist in the valley and the fells of the far shore in silhouette
Birkett — Eastern (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Heron Pike (Glenridding)

Heron Pike at 612m (2,008ft) — distinct from the Heron Pike above Grasmere — is a Birkett top on the ridge above Glenridding in the Eastern Fells, giving fine views across Ullswater and towards the main Helvellyn massif.

612 m
Height
+6
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Heron Pike (Glenridding)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy

612 mBirkett — Eastern (not a Wainwright summit)+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 612 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 8°C, gusts to 31 mph, 1.1 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 31 mph
🌧 1.1 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 9°
💨 46 mph
🌧 16.4 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.1 mm (62%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
14° / 8°
💨 32 mph
🌧 7.0 mm (100%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
14° / 8°
💨 35 mph
🌧 4.4 mm (89%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 32 mph
🌧 1.0 mm (78%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 37 mph
🌧 4.2 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 612 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

Heron Pike (Glenridding) at a glance

Heron Pike (Glenridding)

Heron Pike - early light on Ullswater from the summit rocks, shafts of sun breaking through onto the lake, with mist in the valley and the fells of the far shore in silhouette
© Lee McCoy

Heron Pike at 612m (2,008ft) — distinct from the Heron Pike above Grasmere — is a Birkett top on the ridge above Glenridding in the Eastern Fells, giving fine views across Ullswater and towards the main Helvellyn massif. Part of the high ground south of the Glenridding valley. A good viewpoint for the upper reaches of Ullswater.

Routes up Heron Pike (Glenridding)

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

Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse Moor
15.6 km · ~5.1 hr
A hard round above Glenridding by every measure the site records — 1,209 m of ascent in 15.6 km. A steep pull straight out of the valley leads over Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike, then the notoriously wet ground at Nick Head, the fine cone of Catstye Cam, and a long 554 m descent that tells on tired knees.

Classifications & hill data

Birkett
Synge
612 m
Height
2,008 ft
In feet
NY 3735 1781
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Heron Pike (Glenridding) a Wainwright?

Heron Pike (Glenridding) is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.

Where do you park for Heron Pike (Glenridding)?

The nearest car park we hold is Glencoyne Bay (NT, paid), about 1.4 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Stybarrow Crag layby (free), 1.4 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.

How hard is Heron Pike (Glenridding)?

The shortest way up we hold is Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse Moor — 15.6 km, 1209 m of ascent, about 5.1 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.

All axes: steepness: Severe · navigation: Hard · exposure: Hard · length: Hard · terrain: Hard.

My hikes over Heron Pike (Glenridding) (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Parking & buses for Heron Pike (Glenridding)

Best parking to hike Heron Pike (Glenridding)

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

Glencoyne Bay (NT, paid) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Glenridding Dodd (0.8 km), Heron Pike (Glenridding) (1.4 km), Birk Fell (Bleaberry Knott - Birk Fell) (1.6 km). Fees: £6 for 2 hours; £8 for 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked Aug 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Stybarrow Crag layby (free) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Glenridding Dodd (0.7 km), Heron Pike (Glenridding) (1.4 km), Birk Fell (Bleaberry Knott - Birk Fell) (1.6 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Glenridding Dodd, north-east (layby) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Glenridding Dodd (0.9 km), Heron Pike (Glenridding) (1.4 km), Brown Hills (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Beckside Car Park (paid) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Birkhouse Moor, Helvellyn, Catstye Cam and Glenridding Dodd — the 'Helvellyn via Striding Edge & Swirral Edge' route starts 30 m away. Also serves 'Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse Moor'. Paid parking (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Glenridding Dodd (layby) — 1.5 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Glenridding Dodd (1.1 km), Brown Hills (1.5 km), Heron Pike (Glenridding) (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?

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.

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 Heron Pike (Glenridding) by bus

The 508 stops at Glenridding, at Bus Shelter, 140 m from the start of Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse Moor. The last bus is 19:41 towards Windermere (508) and 17:55 towards Penrith (508) and 17:45 towards Grasmere (559) and 17:29 towards Patterdale (509) and 16:00 towards Keswick (509) and 15:04 towards Hartsop (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

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

Hazards on Heron Pike (Glenridding)

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Glencoyne Bay (NT, paid), about 1.4 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Heron Pike (Glenridding) (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.

1.6 km NNEBrown Hills551 m · Eastern
2.0 km NNESwineside Knott553 m · Eastern
2.2 km NNWBirkett Fell725 m · Eastern
2.3 km WNWGreen Side (White Stones)794 m · Eastern
2.8 km NNECommon Fell552 m · Eastern
2.9 km EBirk Fell (Bleaberry Knott)512 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Heron Pike (Glenridding)

Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse MoorRevised
15.58 km · ~1209 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h
Summits: Glenridding DoddHeron Pike (Glenridding)Sheffield PikeCatstye CamBirkhouse Moor

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route 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 Heron Pike (Glenridding)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse Moor route:

🛖 map (51 m)🚺 map (71 m)🚌 Glenridding, at Bus Shelter (51 m)

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

Places to stay near this fell

Greenbank Farm Bed and Breakfast guest house

about 2.5 km from the start, in a straight line

The only property in this radius that answers the whole evening for a family off Striding Edge in one page: a three-person family room, an evening meal from £14, a £6 packed lunch ordered for tomorrow, and somewhere to dry kit — all four stated by the property itself and priced. That is why it outranks nearer B&Bs at 0.5 km whose pages answer nothing. Book knowing the bathroom is shared, not en-suite.

A working sheep farm B&B directly below Arnison Crag, run by Beverley and Peter Iredale, looking across to Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes; the guest sitting room has a log burner and there are only three rooms sharing one bathroom.

  • Drying room “We also have drying facilities and a large patio and garden to enjoy the view.”
  • Family rooms “Family: Room for three with a double and one single bed.”
  • Evening meal “We offer hearty home-cooked breakfasts and evening meals as well as packed lunches if required.”
  • Packed lunch “Packed Lunches £6.00 Evening Meals From £14.00”

YHA Helvellyn hostel

about 2.0 km from the start, in a straight line

Under-12s cannot take a dorm bunk (book a private room instead — a cot is available and ground-floor rooms exist), and dogs are barred from everything except the Landpods. With that understood it is the strongest wet-boots answer in the radius: a shared drying room, breakfast from 07:30, meals until 20:00, free on-site parking and reception open 17:00-22:00 for a late arrival — and it is already 963 ft up the hill you are climbing. Filed as a recommendation, not a refusal, because the same page says "People of all ages are welcome at YHA" and "A cot is available": the dorm rule rules out a bunk bed, not the family.

Worth knowing: “Pets are not permitted at YHA Helvellyn, except in our Camping & Cabins accommodation or when hiring the whole hostel through YHA Exclusive Hire.”

The hostel is the old Greenside lead mine site 963 ft up the fellside, 17 bedrooms sleeping 64, and in winter there is a ski slope with a drag lift about forty minutes' walk from the door.

  • Drying room “Shared drying room”
  • Family rooms “A cot is available.”
  • Evening meal “Meals are also available from 17:00 - 20:00”
  • Packed lunch “With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something delicious to eat at YHA Helvellyn”
  • Parking “The property has a free car park on-site for guests and patrons. This car park is controlled by an ANPR parking system.”
  • Children “Under 12s are not permitted in dorm rooms.”

YHA Patterdale (and Patterdale Youth Hostel camp site) hostel

about 1.8 km from the start, in a straight line

This row exists for two reasons only: it is the nearest hostel to the start at 1.83 km (its campsite 1.87 km), and it publishes a direct address. Nothing else here has been verified, because the fetch of its hostel page returned YHA's generic national search page instead of the hostel's own — the word "Patterdale" does not appear once in 154,598 characters of cached text. Assume nothing about its drying room, rooms or meals from the YHA Helvellyn row above; the two hostels are separate buildings. YHA's site-wide policy that under-12s cannot take dorm beds does apply, but it is a chain policy and not evidence about this building.

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap.

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