hikes.guideLake District

Pinnacle Howe

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383 mBirkett — Far Eastern (not a Wainwright summit)+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km

At 383 m (1,257 ft), Pinnacle Howe is a Birkett (one of the 541 tops in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells) in the Far Eastern Fells. It also features on the Synge list.

Summit conditions on Pinnacle Howe

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 7°C, gusts to 48 mph, 11.5 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Routes up Pinnacle Howe

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

7.55 km · ~300 m ascent · ~2–2¾ h · loop · 2 summits
Moderate effort Hard: navigation
Park: Haweswater, by the dam (verge) (free)

Two low tops above Haweswater — 7.6 km and 300 m, with a short 23% descent over 250 m near the end, and easy for length. Rated hard to navigate on open moor. About 2–2¾ hours.

Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →

How hard is Pinnacle Howe?

The shortest way up we hold is Pinnacle Howe and Four Stones Hill — 7.55 km, 300 m of ascent, ~2–2¾ h. On our scale its hardest axis is navigation — Hard.

All axes: navigation: Hard · steepness: Moderate · length: Easy · terrain: Not assessed · exposure: Not assessed.

These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 383 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
12° / 7°
48 mph
11.5 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
11° / 7°
34 mph
6.3 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
10° / 8°
21 mph
0.2 mm (15%)
Fri 30 Oct
11° / 8°
23 mph
0.0 mm (15%)
Sat 31 Oct
12° / 1°
10 mph
0.0 mm (18%)
Sun 1 Nov
8° / 1°
7 mph
0.0 mm (12%)
Mon 2 Nov
9° / 3°
14 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Parking & buses for Pinnacle Howe

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Haweswater, by the dam (verge) — at the start of Pinnacle Howe and Four Stones Hill
The routes 'Bampton Fell', 'Birketts South of Burnbanks' and 'Pinnacle Howe and Four Stones Hill' start here. Gravel lane parking at the road side; Lee added the OSM feature himself.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Burnbanks (car park) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)
In Burnbanks, at the dam end of the Haweswater lane. The routes from the dam end start at the verge by the dam, 0.8 km away in a straight line. Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Knipescar Common, south-west (layby) — 2.3 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Knipescar Common (Knipe Scar) (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
3 more places to park near Pinnacle Howe
Knipescar Common (verge) — 3.1 km from summit (straight line)
0.7 km from Knipescar Common.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Scalebarrow Knott (layby) — 3.3 km from summit (straight line)
0.9 km from Scalebarrow Knott.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Langhowe Pike North Top (layby) — 3.4 km from summit (straight line)
1.0 km from Langhowe Pike North Top.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
If it is full: Scalebarrow Knott (layby) (1.6 km, 28 m up)

Positions are approximate.

Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.

Buses

The nearest bus stop we hold is the UB2 at Askham, outside Stores, 9.5 km of walking from the start — no bus route we hold serves it. It is a seasonal service too: 1 November 2026 is its last day of the year (confirmed with the operator, 9 October 2026); it returns on 22 March 2027.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Pinnacle Howe

Notes from a planned route, not walked: Pinnacle Howe and Four Stones Hill

If you need to get off (the leg from Haweswater, by the dam): The way back is the way you came.

Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: the note for the leg that reaches Pinnacle Howe.

We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.

If you need Mountain Rescue

Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.

Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.

If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.

From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (opens in new tab) (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Pinnacle Howe

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

0.7 km SWFour Stones Hill415 m · Far Eastern
1.0 km WSWBampton Fell (Bampton Common)489 m · Far Eastern
1.8 km SSENaddle Low Forest426 m · Far Eastern
2.3 km WLow Kop572 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Pinnacle Howe

7.55 km · ~300 m ascent · loop · ~2–2¾ h
Moderate effort Hard: navigation
Summits: Pinnacle HoweFour Stones Hill

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Route guide: Pinnacle Howe and Four Stones Hill →

Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.

On the hill: terrain and water on Pinnacle Howe

Terrain & access

A near-path top (about 383 m): a mapped path comes within about 67 m of the summit. We have not checked a way from it to the top: the figures here are measured along a straight line on a terrain model, not a route. That line climbs about 11 m. The summit is on CRoW open access land.

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 v18.4 (CC BY 4.0); Copernicus GLO-30. CRoW access layer: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. See the terrain & access report for how this is worked out across all 144 fells.

About Pinnacle Howe

Its nearest tops are Four Stones Hill (0.7 km SW); Bampton Fell (Bampton Common) (1.0 km WSW); Wallow Crag (1.8 km SSE). Our Pinnacle Howe and Four Stones Hill loop takes it first. It's a worthwhile objective for anyone working through the Birkett list.

Classifications & hill data

Is Pinnacle Howe a Wainwright?

Pinnacle Howe is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.

Selected lists

383 m
Height
1,257 ft
In feet
NY 4970 1669
Grid ref

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →

Places to stay near this fell

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Other fells near Pinnacle Howe