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508 m · Wainwright — Eastern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Low Pike, a Lake District fell
Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Low Pike

Low Pike at 508m (1,667ft) is a Wainwright summit in the Eastern Fells, the first top on the Scandale ridge rising above Ambleside towards High Pike and Dove Crag.

508 m
Height
~2.5–3 h
Typical time
+1
Bonus Birkett
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Low Pike

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

508 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+1 bonus Birkett within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 508 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 16° to 14°C, gusts to 35 mph, 14.5 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
16° / 14°
💨 35 mph
🌧 14.5 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌦️
16° / 12°
💨 29 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 27 mph
🌧 0.9 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 3°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
16° / 5°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
17° / 6°
💨 11 mph
🌧 0.2 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 508 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

Low Pike

Low Pike, a Lake District fell
© Lee McCoy

Low Pike at 508m (1,667ft) is a Wainwright summit in the Eastern Fells, the first top on the Scandale ridge rising above Ambleside towards High Pike and Dove Crag. Wainwright included it in his Eastern Fells guide. The summit gives fine views down into Ambleside and across Windermere, and marks the beginning of the long Fairfield Horseshoe ridge. A popular start point for the classic horseshoe walk.

Routes up Low Pike

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

Fairfield Horseshoe
16.9 km · ~4.9 hr · Moderate
One of the classic Lakeland rounds and a fine first big horseshoe. From the car park at Rydal it's a steady, moderate climb with only a minor amount of scrambling — my kids, then 7 and 10, managed it, though they found it a long day. You can easily start from Ambleside instead: stock up at the shops on the way out and finish at the Royal Oak for a well-earned pint. The full round takes in eight tops, with Fairfield's broad summit the high point and Windermere laid out behind you on the descent.
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
508 m
Height
1,667 ft
In feet
NY 3735 0784
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Pelter Bridge, Rydal (paid), about 2.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Low Pike (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.

1.8 km WNWHeron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)621 m · Eastern

Routes over Low Pike

Fairfield HorseshoeRevised
16.92 km · ~925 m ascent · loop · ~4.5–6.5 h · Clockwise · Moderate
Summits: Nab ScarHeron Pike (Rydal)Heron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)Great RiggFairfieldHart CragDove CragHigh Pike (Scandale)Low Pike

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Any season in good conditions; save the broad, featureless summit for a clear day.

⚠️ Warnings: Fairfield's broad summit plateau is confusing in cloud — carry a map and compass and take a bearing before descending.; A little easy scrambling in places, but nothing obligatory.

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from Low Pike

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys
Computed 360-degree skyline from Low Pike24 labelled tops shown (5 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 16 kmCrinkle Crags · 13 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 14 kmSwirl How · 12 kmLittle Stand · 13 kmLoadpot Hill · 13 kmHarter Fell · 18 kmGreat Rigg · 3 kmWansfell Pike · 4 kmHigh Pike · 1 kmIngleborough · 50 km · clear daysLittle Hart Crag · 3 kmHeron Pike North Top · 2 kmHigh Wythow · 12 kmWhernside · 45 km · clear daysHeron Pike · 2 kmWard's Stone · 54 km · clear daysTop o' Selside · 17 kmGummer's How · 19 kmLang How · 6 kmBeacon Fell · 20 kmLatterbarrow · 9 kmWhitbarrow · 22 kmRaven's Barrow · 20 kmGreat End · 15 kmBrim Fell · 14 kmLittle Carrs · 12 kmHartsop Dodd · 6 kmGreat Knott · 12 kmBlake Rigg · 10 kmGreat Intake · 9 kmCarron Crag · 14 kmNewton Fell South · 27 kmSnowdon · 171 km · a handful of days a yearArenig Fawr · 179 km · a handful of days a yearPendle Hill · 79 km · a rare clear dayMoel y Gamelin · 162 km · a handful of days a yearBillinge Hill · 108 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Low Pike, by direction
  • North: High Pike (1 km)
  • North-east: Little Hart Crag (3 km), Hartsop Dodd (6 km), Loadpot Hill (13 km)
  • South-east: Wansfell Pike (4 km), Ingleborough (50 km)
  • South-west: Wetherlam (11 km), High Wythow (12 km), Long Crag (12 km), Kitty Crag (12 km), Little Carrs (12 km), Swirl How (12 km), Great Carrs (12 km), Brim Fell (14 km), The Old Man of Coniston (14 km), Harter Fell (18 km)
  • West: Pavey Ark (9 km), Harrison Stickle (9 km), Thunacar Knott (9 km), Thorn Crag (9 km), Loft Crag (10 km), Pike of Blisco (11 km), Cold Pike (12 km), Great Knott (12 km), Crinkle Crags (13 km), Shelter Crags (13 km), Crinkle Crags (13 km), Crinkle Crags (13 km), Crinkle Crags (13 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (13 km), Bowfell (13 km), Little Stand (13 km), Esk Pike (14 km), Great End (15 km), Ill Crag (15 km), Broad Crag (16 km), Scafell Pike (16 km), Scafell (17 km)
  • North-west: Heron Pike North Top (2 km), Great Rigg (3 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (171 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (159 km, Wales), Arenig Fawr (179 km, Wales), Craig Cwm Silyn (179 km, Wales), Pendle Hill (79 km, England), Moel y Gamelin (162 km, Wales), Cadair Berwyn (178 km, Wales), Carnedd y Filiast (171 km, Wales).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Low Pike

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
32Wainwrights in view+5 marginal
171 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction
1Sea in viewMorecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.

Far horizons
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 171 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 156 km clear
  • Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSE · 50 km clear
  • Whernside Yorkshire DalesSE · 45 km clear
  • Morecambe Bay bay/estuaryS · 34 km in view
All 32 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

High Pike (Scandale), Heron Pike (Rydal), Nab Scar, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Great Rigg, Loughrigg Fell, Baystones (Wansfell), Silver How, Hartsop Dodd, Sour Howes, Black Fell, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Pavey Ark, Harrison Stickle, Holme Fell, Thunacar Knott, Loft Crag, Wetherlam, Pike of Blisco, Cold Pike, Swirl How, Great Carrs, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Bowfell, Loadpot Hill, Esk Pike, Brim Fell, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Great End, Scafell Pike, Scafell, Harter Fell (Eskdale)

How Low Pike’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Best parking to hike Low Pike

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

Pelter Bridge, Rydal (paid) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)
For Loughrigg and the Rydal side of the Fairfield Horseshoe.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (254m) — Free🚺 White Moss (1555m) — Free☕ The Tea Room☕ The Old School Room Tea Shop🍺 Badger Bar & Restaurant
Kirkstone Pass (laybys / inn) — 2.8 km from summit (straight line)
High start for Red Screes (30 min!), Caudale Moor and Middle Dodd.
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.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Fairfield Horseshoe route:

🚌 Church for Rydal Mount (146 m)⛺ map (432 m)⛺ Rydal Hall Youth Centre Bunkhouse (441 m)

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

Buses to Low Pike from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 555
Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.
Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

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

My hikes over Low Pike (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Navigating Low Pike in cloud

Straightforward

Walkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How Low Pike compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near Low Pike

Maps & guidebooks for Low Pike

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