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634 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

Honister Crag (Black Star)

At 634 m (2,080 ft), Honister Crag (Black Star) is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells) in the Western Fells — an overlooked summit away from the crowds.

634 m
Height
+1
Bonus Birkett
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Honister Crag (Black Star)

634 mBirkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit)+1 bonus Birkett within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 634 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 13°C, gusts to 33 mph, 3.3 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
15° / 13°
💨 33 mph
🌧 3.3 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 11°
💨 28 mph
🌧 8.5 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 4°
💨 29 mph
🌧 2.9 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 2°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
15° / 5°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 5°
💨 16 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 634 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

Honister Crag (Black Star)

At 634 m (2,080 ft), Honister Crag (Black Star) is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells) in the Western Fells — an overlooked summit away from the crowds. The name comes from crag (Brittonic carreg, a rock or crag). It also features on the Synge, Nuttall lists. Its nearest tops are Fleetwith Pike (0.7 km W); Dale Head (1.6 km NE); Grey Knotts (1.7 km S) — 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
Nuttall
634 m
Height
2,080 ft
In feet
NY 2124 1415
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Honister Pass (paid, slate mine), about 1.3 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Honister Crag (Black Star) (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.

2.8 km WSWSeat561 m · Western

Best parking to hike Honister Crag (Black Star)

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

Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) — 1.3 km from summit (straight line)
Pay & display at the top of the pass — Dale Head, Fleetwith Pike, Grey Knotts with minimal ascent.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (61m) — Free🚺 Public toilets (1787m) — Free☕ Sky Hi Cafe
Gatesgarth Farm, Buttermere (paid) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)
Farm car park at the foot of Haystacks, Fleetwith Pike and the High Stile ridge.
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 Honister Crag (Black Star) from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)
Seasonal (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

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

Other fells near Honister Crag (Black Star)

Maps & guidebooks for Honister Crag (Black Star)

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