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640 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

Iron Crag (Ennerdale Fell)

Iron Crag at 640m (2,100ft) is a craggy summit above the Calder valley in the far west of the Lake District, its rocky top giving views across to the coast and inland to the high fells.

640 m
Height
+3
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →
640 mBirkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit)+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 640 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 13°C, gusts to 34 mph, 2.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
14° / 13°
💨 34 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 11°
💨 29 mph
🌧 11.2 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 7°
💨 28 mph
🌧 3.7 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 3°
💨 21 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
13° / 6°
💨 14 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
15° / 8°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 6°
💨 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 640 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

About the walk

Key information

Iron Crag (Ennerdale Fell)

Iron Crag at 640m (2,100ft) is a craggy summit above the Calder valley in the far west of the Lake District, its rocky top giving views across to the coast and inland to the high fells. Wainwright included it in the Western Fells, noting its isolated western position. The ascent from Ennerdale or Calder Bridge is across open fell. A remote, little-visited summit in a quiet corner of the western Lake District.

Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
640 m
Height
2,100 ft
In feet
NY 1232 1192
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 3.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Iron Crag (Ennerdale Fell) (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.

1.9 km ESELittle Gowder Crag734 m · Western
2.2 km NELingmell (Ennerdale)427 m · Western
2.6 km WNWWhoap511 m · Western

Best parking to hike Iron Crag (Ennerdale Fell)

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

Bowness Knott, Ennerdale (Forestry, paid) — 3.7 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 (opens in new tab)
Greendale, Nether Wasdale (roadside, free) — 6.8 km from summit (straight line)
Free verge parking for Middle Fell, Seatallan and Buckbarrow.
Directions (opens in new tab)

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 Iron Crag (Ennerdale Fell) 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 (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Maps & guidebooks for Iron Crag (Ennerdale Fell)

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