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628 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

Looking Stead (Pillar)

Looking Stead at 627m (2,057ft) is the intermediate summit on the ridge between Black Sail Pass and Pillar, a broad top giving fine views of the Ennerdale valley and the Black Sail Youth Hostel below.

628 m
Height
+5
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Looking Stead (Pillar)

628 mBirkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit)+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 628 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 38 mph, 4.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
14° / 13°
💨 38 mph
🌧 4.8 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 11°
💨 32 mph
🌧 12.0 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 6°
💨 29 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 2°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 4.5 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
15° / 6°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 6°
💨 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 628 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

Looking Stead (Pillar)

Looking Stead at 627m (2,057ft) is the intermediate summit on the ridge between Black Sail Pass and Pillar, a broad top giving fine views of the Ennerdale valley and the Black Sail Youth Hostel below. Wainwright included it as a separate fell on the approach to Pillar from Wasdale or Ennerdale. The views from Looking Stead of Pillar's dramatic south ridge ahead are impressive. Most naturally part of the Pillar approach from Black Sail.

Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
Nuttall
628 m
Height
2,060 ft
In feet
NY 1863 1179
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Gatesgarth Farm, Buttermere (paid), about 3.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Looking Stead (Pillar) (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 WNWPillar Rock780 m · Western
1.6 km NSeat561 m · Western
1.7 km SEKirk Fell East Top (Kirk Fell North Top)787 m · Western
2.0 km WBlack Crag828 m · Western
2.8 km SSWYewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)617 m · Western

Best parking to hike Looking Stead (Pillar)

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

Gatesgarth Farm, Buttermere (paid) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
Farm car park at the foot of Haystacks, Fleetwith Pike and the High Stile ridge.
Directions
Honister Pass (paid, slate mine) — 4.2 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

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 Looking Stead (Pillar) 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 Looking Stead (Pillar)

Maps & guidebooks for Looking Stead (Pillar)

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