⛰️ Orrest Head

238 m · Outlying Fell — South Lakeland · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

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238 mOutlying Fell — South Lakelandsummit is not a Birkett top+0 bonus Birketts within 3 km

📖 Key Information

Orrest Head at 238m (781ft) is the famous viewpoint above Windermere, the first fell the young Alfred Wainwright climbed when he arrived in Lakeland — and the view that changed his life. He wrote movingly of the panorama spread before him: Windermere gleaming below, and the full sweep of the Lakeland fells from Coniston to the Helvellyn range. The short ascent from Windermere is an essential pilgrimage for any Wainwright admirer. The view remains as transformative as ever.

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

🎯 Bonus Birketts within 3 km

No bonus Birketts within 3 km — every Birkett near here is already a Wainwright summit, so just enjoy the walk.

⚠️ Hazard & Incident Information

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🦶 My hikes over Orrest Head (Strava)

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🅿️ Potential parking

Church Bridge, Troutbeck (limited) — 3.4 km from summit (straight line)
For Wansfell, Troutbeck Tongue and the Ill Bell ridge via Garburn Pass.
Directions ↗
Staveley village (paid/free mix) — 5.7 km from summit (straight line)
For Reston Scar, Hugill Fell and Potter Fell.
Directions ↗

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

🚌 Buses 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.

🌦️ 7-day summit forecast

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Other fells in this region

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