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311 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

Kelton Fell

Kelton Fell (311 m / 1,020 ft) is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells), one of the lesser-known Western tops.

311 m
Height
+11
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →
311 mBirkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit)+11 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 311 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 17° to 15°C, gusts to 31 mph, 1.4 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
17° / 15°
💨 31 mph
🌧 1.4 mm (90%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
16° / 13°
💨 26 mph
🌧 11.4 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
14° / 6°
💨 28 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (75%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
16° / 4°
💨 22 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (76%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
16° / 7°
💨 15 mph
🌧 1.2 mm (73%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌤️
17° / 7°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (27%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
17° / 6°
💨 15 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 311 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

Kelton Fell

Kelton Fell (311 m / 1,020 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 comes from fell (Old Norse fjall, a mountain or hill). It also features on the Synge list. Its nearest tops are Godworth (0.7 km E); Murton Fell (Knock Murton) (0.9 km N); Low Pen (1.3 km NE) — 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
311 m
Height
1,020 ft
In feet
NY 0944 1814
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 3.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Kelton 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.

0.7 km ENEGodworth365 m · Western
0.9 km NMurton Fell (Knock Murton)446 m · North Western
1.3 km NELow Pen435 m · North Western
1.7 km ENEHigh Pen475 m · North Western
2.1 km NHigh Hows (Lamplugh)313 m · Western
2.3 km ESEBanna Fell455 m · Western
2.3 km NNESharp Knott482 m · North Western
2.7 km ENEGavel Fell - High Nook (Gavel Fell North Top)488 m · North Western
2.9 km NOwsen Fell409 m · Western
2.9 km ESEFloutern Cop451 m · Western
2.9 km SEHerdus562 m · Western

Terrain & access

A near-path top (about 311 m): a mapped path comes within about 100 m of the summit, with a last stretch of open ground (about 10 m of ascent, up to ~13°). The summit is not on CRoW open access land, and the direct approach crosses land that is neither access land nor a right of way — there may be no public right to the top, so check access before you go. The direct line crosses 2 walls.

Computed from open data, not walked — pathless ground needs confident navigation, and mapped paths, barriers and access boundaries can be incomplete. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass); Natural England CRoW Access Land; DoBIH; Copernicus GLO-30. See the terrain & access report for how this is worked out across all 145 fells.

Best parking to hike Kelton 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) — 3.2 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 (opens in new tab)
Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, free) — 4.9 km from summit (straight line)
Small free car park for Mellbreak, Hen Comb and the Loweswater fells.
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 Kelton 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 Kelton Fell

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