Place Fell
Place Fell at 657m (2,156ft) is the great ridge fell on the eastern shore of Ullswater, its long summit ridge giving one of the finest views of the lake in all Lakeland.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 657 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 13°C, gusts to 39 mph, 5.1 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 657 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
About the walk
Place Fell
Routes up Place Fell
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Patterdale (paid), about 1.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Place Fell (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.
Routes over Place Fell
✎️ This is the antidote to Helvellyn on an August Saturday. The Nab is one of the least-visited Wainwrights precisely because of the deer forest, and the reward for the boggy trudge out to it is a summit almost nobody stands on. Angletarn Pikes and its tarn are the prettiest thing in the Far Eastern fells.
✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
✎️ A grand tour of the quieter Far Eastern fells, with Angle Tarn and the Ullswater view from Place Fell as the highlights — a long but rewarding round.
✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
The View from Place Fell
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.
What you can see from Place Fell, by direction
- East: Red Crag (5 km)
- South-east: The Knott (5 km), High Raise (6 km), Rampsgill Head (6 km), Low Raise (6 km), High Street (7 km)
- South: Caudale Moor (7 km), Stony Cove Pike (7 km), Thornthwaite Crag (7 km), Red Screes (8 km), Ill Bell (10 km), Yoke (11 km)
- South-west: St Sunday Crag (5 km), Nethermost Pike (7 km), Hart Crag (7 km), High Crag (7 km), Fairfield (7 km), Dollywaggon Pike (7 km), Dove Crag (7 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (20 km)
- West: Green Side (6 km), Catstye Cam (6 km), Raise (6 km), Stybarrow Dodd (6 km), Helvellyn (7 km), White Side (7 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (7 km)
- North-west: Birkett Fell (5 km), Great Dodd (7 km), Blencathra (14 km), Gategill Fell Top (14 km), Knowe Crags (14 km), Atkinson Pike (14 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (17 km), Skiddaw Little Man (18 km), Skiddaw South Top (19 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (19 km), Skiddaw (19 km), Skiddaw North Top (19 km), Broad End (19 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Broad Law (110 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (115 km, England), White Coomb (101 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (93 km, Scotland), Wisp Hill (82 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (84 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (76 km, Scotland), Dun Rig (116 km, Scotland).
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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.
What you can see from Place Fell
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.- Great Dun Fell North Pennines
- Cross Fell North Pennines
All 56 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Arnison Crag, Beda Fell (Beda Head), Glenridding Dodd, The Nab, Brock Crags (Wainwright), Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), Sheffield Pike, Hallin Fell, Birkhouse Moor, Rest Dodd, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), St Sunday Crag, Wether Hill, Hartsop Dodd, Loadpot Hill, The Knott (High Street), Hart Side, Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How), High Raise (High Street), Rampsgill Head, Gray Crag, Bonscale Pike, Catstye Cam, Raise, High Hartsop Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Arthur's Pike, White Side, Hart Crag, High Street, Fairfield, Dollywaggon Pike, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Dove Crag, Great Dodd, Little Mell Fell, Thornthwaite Crag, Middle Dodd, Red Screes, Great Mell Fell, Clough Head, Ill Bell, Yoke, Souther Fell, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Bannerdale Crags, Bowscale Fell, Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Little Man, Carrock Fell, Skiddaw, High Pike (Caldbeck)
How Place Fell’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 Place Fell
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
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 Angletarn Pikes and the Martindale round route:
On the Brock Crags, Angletarn Pikes, Beda Fell & Place Fell route:
On the Place Fell and The Knight route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
Buses to Place Fell from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Hazard & Incident Information for Place Fell
A craggy, much-loved fell rising abruptly above Ullswater opposite Patterdale, presenting an intimidating jumble of crags and steep scree on its western face while its top is gently rolling, boggy moorland dotted with rocky outcrops. The paths thread cleverly through the crags by rakes and gullies, so navigation needs care, and the multi-path junction at Boredale Hause is a well-known place to go astray. Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.
- The crag-and-scree western face above Ullswater: The Ullswater side is steep, rocky and broken; the path only works by weaving through rakes and gullies. Stray off it in cloud and you can quickly be among crags and steep scree. Keep to the established line and don't shortcut down the face.
- Boredale Hause (confusing path junction): Several paths meet at Boredale Hause and it is a notorious spot for taking the wrong one, especially in mist. Know which path you want before you arrive, and use a compass — the stone-pitched Steel Edge path is the reliable line down to Patterdale.
- The boggy, outcrop-dotted summit in cloud: The rolling top has rocky knolls, bog and little to navigate by, and there is virtually no shelter. In poor visibility stick to the path and take a bearing for your chosen descent.
Most common causes: Walkers straying onto the steep crags/scree of the western face in cloud · Taking the wrong path at the Boredale Hause junction · Navigation errors on the featureless, boggy summit · Exposure with no shelter in bad weather
Local Mountain Rescue: Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026
Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Navigating Place Fell in cloud
StraightforwardA rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. 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 Place Fell compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Frequently asked questions about Place Fell
Is Place Fell hard to climb?
It's a steep but straightforward climb with no scrambling — a rewarding 657 m (2,156 ft) summit above Ullswater. The effort is a fairly relentless pull up to Boredale Hause and on to the rocky top, rather than anything technical.
The thing to watch is navigation: the rocky, knolly summit and the busy path junction at Boredale Hause catch people out in cloud.
What is the easiest route up Place Fell?
The usual route climbs from Patterdale up to Boredale Hause, then up the fell's western shoulder to the summit. The stone-pitched Steel Edge path is the reliable line on that side.
A classic round combines the summit with the beautiful Ullswater shoreline path back to Patterdale (or you can ride the Ullswater 'Steamer' one way).
How long does it take to climb Place Fell?
A direct up-and-down from Patterdale takes around 2.5–3 hours. The popular fuller circular over the summit and back along the Ullswater shoreline is just under 13 km and takes 4+ hours.
Can you combine Place Fell with the Ullswater shoreline walk?
Yes — and it's one of the finest outings in the area. The east-shore path between Patterdale/Side Farm and Howtown is widely rated among the best lakeside walks in England, winding through birch woods beneath Place Fell's craggy flank.
A popular plan takes the Ullswater 'Steamer' from Glenridding to Howtown, walks the shoreline, then climbs Place Fell back to Patterdale — or simply links the summit and the shore into a circuit.
Is it easy to get lost on Place Fell?
It can be. The rolling, rocky summit has little to navigate by, and Boredale Hause is a notorious tangle of paths where it's easy to take the wrong one in mist. The western face above Ullswater is steep and craggy, threaded only by rakes.
Carry a map and compass, know which path you want at Boredale Hause (the stone-pitched Steel Edge path is the dependable descent to Patterdale), and keep to the paths on the steep western side.
Is Place Fell suitable for beginners, families and dogs?
Yes — it's a popular fell for fit beginners, older children and dogs, with a clear (if steep) path and no scrambling, plus the easy shoreline option for gentler legs. The summit views over Ullswater are a big reward.
Keep children and dogs close on the rocky top and away from the steep western edge, keep dogs on a lead around sheep, and pick a clear day so Boredale Hause and the summit don't confuse you.
What should I wear and take up Place Fell?
Wear walking boots or sturdy shoes with good grip for the steep, rocky path, and carry warm and waterproof layers — the top is exposed and shelterless. Take a map and compass for the rocky summit and the Boredale Hause junction, plus food, water and a charged phone.
Check the forecast, and remember the summit is far colder and windier than the lakeshore.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-06-14 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)
Other fells near Place Fell
- Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top)
- Arthur's Pike
- Baystones (Wansfell)
- Beda Fell (Beda Head)
- Bonscale Pike
- Branstree
- Brock Crags (Wainwright)
- Froswick
- Gray Crag
- Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell)
- Hallin Fell
- Harter Fell (Mardale)
- Hartsop Dodd
- High Raise (High Street)
- High Street
- Ill Bell
- Kentmere Pike
- Kidsty Pike
- Loadpot Hill
- Mardale Ill Bell
- Rampsgill Head
- Rest Dodd
- Sallows
- Selside Pike
- Shipman Knotts
- Sour Howes
- Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts)
- Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor)
- Tarn Crag (Sleddale)
- The Knott (High Street)
- The Nab
- Thornthwaite Crag
- Troutbeck Tongue
- Wether Hill
- Yoke
Maps & guidebooks for Place Fell
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