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

Birkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

High Pen

At 475 m (1,558 ft), High Pen is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells) in the North Western Fells — an overlooked summit away from the crowds.

475 m
Height
+14
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

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475 mBirkett — North Western (not a Wainwright summit)+14 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 475 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 33 mph, 1.9 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
15° / 14°
💨 33 mph
🌧 1.9 mm (90%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
15° / 12°
💨 27 mph
🌧 13.2 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 28 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (75%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 3°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (76%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 6°
💨 15 mph
🌧 1.2 mm (73%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌤️
16° / 6°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (27%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 5°
💨 17 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 475 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

High Pen

At 475 m (1,558 ft), High Pen is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells) in the North Western Fells — an overlooked summit away from the crowds. It rises the south side. The name combines high (Old English heah, the higher of two tops), and pen (Brittonic pen, a head or hill, a Celtic survival). It also features on the Synge list. Its nearest tops are Low Pen (0.6 km W); Gavel Fell (0.8 km SE); Blake Fell (0.8 km N) — 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.

Routes up High Pen

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

Birketts by Loweswater
18.7 km · ~5.4 hr
Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
475 m
Height
1,558 ft
In feet
NY 1099 1889
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, free), about 3.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near High Pen (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 WLow Pen435 m · North Western
1.0 km EGavel Fell - High Nook (Gavel Fell North Top)488 m · North Western
1.1 km SWGodworth365 m · Western
1.2 km NNWSharp Knott482 m · North Western
1.5 km WMurton Fell (Knock Murton)446 m · North Western
1.6 km NNECarling Knott544 m · North Western
1.6 km SSEBanna Fell455 m · Western
1.7 km WSWKelton Fell311 m · Western
1.9 km NWHigh Hows (Lamplugh)313 m · Western
2.0 km SEFloutern Cop451 m · Western
2.0 km NNELoweswater End - Carling Knott519 m · Western
2.2 km ELittle Dodd (Loweswater)362 m · North Western
2.3 km NNWOwsen Fell409 m · Western
2.7 km SSEHerdus562 m · Western

Routes over High Pen

Birketts by LoweswaterPlanned
18.69 km · ~995 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h
Summits: High PenMurton Fell (Knock Murton)Low PenCarling KnottLoweswater End - Carling KnottBlake FellSharp KnottOwsen FellBurnbank Fell

⬇️ 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 High Pen

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

Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, free) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
Small free car park for Mellbreak, Hen Comb and the Loweswater fells.
Directions
Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid) — 3.5 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

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 High Pen 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 High Pen

Maps & guidebooks for High Pen

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