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

Birkett — Southern (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Looking Steads (Glaramara)

Looking Steads (Glaramara) (774 m / 2,539 ft) is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells), one of the lesser-known Southern tops.

774 m
Height
+9
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

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774 mBirkett — Southern (not a Wainwright summit)+9 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 774 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 12°C, gusts to 40 mph, 10.3 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
14° / 12°
💨 40 mph
🌧 10.3 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
13° / 10°
💨 33 mph
🌧 11.6 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
11° / 5°
💨 29 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
13° / 1°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
13° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 4.5 mm (82%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
14° / 5°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (35%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
14° / 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 774 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 Steads (Glaramara)

Looking Steads (Glaramara) (774 m / 2,539 ft) is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells), one of the lesser-known Southern tops. It rises Borrowdale. The name is not securely explained, though it is likely Old Norse or Old English in origin, like most fells hereabouts. It also features on the Synge, Nuttall lists. Its nearest tops are Glaramara (0.3 km N); Red Beck Top (Glaramara South Top) (Lincomb Head - Glaramara) (0.6 km SW); Combe Head (0.9 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.

Routes up Looking Steads (Glaramara)

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

Allan Crags & Glaramara
10.9 km · ~3.5 hr
Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
Nuttall
774 m
Height
2,539 ft
In feet
NY 2458 1017
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge), about 2.3 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Looking Steads (Glaramara) (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 SWRed Beck Top (Glaramara South Top) (Lincomb Head - Glaramara)720 m · Southern
0.9 km NNECombe Head735 m · Southern
1.1 km SSWHigh House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)683 m · Southern
1.6 km NEDovenest Top (Dovenest Crag) (Stonethwaite Fell)633 m · Southern
1.7 km NThornythwaite Fell574 m · Southern
1.9 km WSWSeathwaite Fell (Great Slack - Seathwaite Fell)631 m · Southern
1.9 km NNERosthwaite Fell (Rosthwaite Cam)612 m · Southern
2.3 km SSEBlack Crags (Mickleden)588 m · Southern
2.5 km SSEBuck Pike (Mickleden)606 m · Southern

Routes over Looking Steads (Glaramara)

Allan Crags & GlaramaraLive
10.94 km · ~806 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–4.5 h
Summits: Allen CragsHigh House Tarn Top (High House - Allen Crags)Red Beck Top (Glaramara South Top) (Lincomb Head - Glaramara)Looking Steads (Glaramara)Glaramara

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

Best parking to hike Looking Steads (Glaramara)

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

Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale (free verge) — 2.3 km from summit (straight line)
Free verge parking on the Seathwaite lane — the honeypot start for the Scafells, Great Gable and Glaramara. Arrive very early.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (1002m) — Free
Seatoller (NT, paid) — 3.8 km from summit (straight line)
Pay & display at the foot of Honister. Bus terminus for Borrowdale.
Directions
🚺 Rosthwaite Village (1669m) — Free · Accessible🚺 Public toilets (1903m) — Free☕ Honisters Yew Tree Coffee House

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.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Allan Crags & Glaramara route:

⛺ Seathwaite Farm Campsite (185 m)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

Buses to Looking Steads (Glaramara) from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 78 “Borrowdale Rambler”
Keswick – Lodore – Grange – Rosthwaite – Seatoller
Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 or X4/X5)
Year-round, frequent in season. Serves all the Borrowdale starts — Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable via Seathwaite (alight Seatoller, 20 min walk up the lane).
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 Steads (Glaramara)

Maps & guidebooks for Looking Steads (Glaramara)

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