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

Wainwright — Western FellsAlso a Birkett

Red Pike (Wasdale)

Red Pike (Wasdale) at 826m (2,710ft) is the pointed summit above Overbeck and the Wasdale valley, its russet-red scree slopes visible from Wastwater below giving the fell its name.

826 m
Height
~5–6 h
Typical time
+5
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

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826 mWainwright — Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 826 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 13° to 12°C, gusts to 36 mph, 3.5 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
13° / 12°
💨 36 mph
🌧 3.5 mm (99%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
13° / 10°
💨 30 mph
🌧 12.1 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
11° / 4°
💨 29 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (87%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
13° / 1°
💨 23 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (86%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
12° / 3°
💨 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 826 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

Red Pike (Wasdale)

Red Pike (Wasdale), a Lake District fell
Photo: K A, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Red Pike (Wasdale) at 826m (2,710ft) is the pointed summit above Overbeck and the Wasdale valley, its russet-red scree slopes visible from Wastwater below giving the fell its name. Wainwright noted the excellent views from the summit across Wastwater to Illgill Head and south to the sea. The ascent from Overbeck via Dore Head is a classic Wasdale route, the steep scree above Dore Head giving way to a fine rocky summit. Often combined with Yewbarrow and Scoat Fell for the classic Mosedale Horseshoe — one of the great Wasdale circuit walks.

Routes up Red Pike (Wasdale)

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

Extended Mosedale Horseshoe
16.6 km · ~5.5 hr
Very Long Day Out
26.8 km · ~8.3 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Western
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
826 m
Height
2,710 ft
In feet
NY 1653 1060
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Wasdale Head (NT car park), about 4.3 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Red Pike (Wasdale) (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.

1.1 km NBlack Crag828 m · Western
1.8 km SEYewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)617 m · Western
1.9 km NNEPillar Rock780 m · Western
2.4 km ENELooking Stead (Pillar)628 m · Western
2.5 km WLittle Gowder Crag734 m · Western

Routes over Red Pike (Wasdale)

Extended Mosedale HorseshoeLive
16.55 km · ~1303 m ascent · loop · ~5.5–7.5 h
Summits: PillarBlack CragScoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)SteepleRed Pike (Wasdale)Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)Yewbarrow

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

Very Long Day OutLive
26.76 km · ~1743 m ascent · loop · ~8–11 h
Summits: YewbarrowYewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)Red Pike (Wasdale)Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)SteepleHaycockLittle Gowder CragCaw FellMiddle FellSeatallanGlade HowBuckbarrow

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from Red Pike (Wasdale)

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 Red Pike (Wasdale)36 labelled tops shown (19 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 6 kmScafell · 6 kmHelvellyn · 18 kmGreat End · 6 kmGreat Gable · 5 kmPillar · 2 kmRaise · 19 kmFairfield · 19 kmBlencathra · 23 kmGreat Dodd · 20 kmGrasmoor · 10 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 17 kmHaycock · 2 kmDale Head · 7 kmThirdgill Head Man · 9 kmThunacar Knott · 12 kmBrown Pike · 17 kmCarrock Fell · 29 kmBlack Combe · 25 kmScoat Fell · 1 kmLingmell · 5 kmRed Pike · 5 kmLittle Gowder Crag · 2 kmCriffel · 55 km · clear daysSeatallan · 3 kmHarter Fell · 12 kmYewbarrow · 2 kmIllgill Head · 6 kmMiddle Fell · 4 kmGlade How · 5 kmGreat Worm Crag · 14 kmIrton Fell · 8 kmDarling Fell · 12 kmSwainson Knott · 9 kmPonsonby Fell · 9 kmCold Fell · 11 kmNethermost Pike · 18 kmEsk Pike · 8 kmDollywaggon Pike · 18 kmStybarrow Dodd · 20 kmHigh Stile · 4 kmDove Crag · 21 kmAllen Crags · 7 kmDow Crag · 16 kmSergeant Man · 12 kmClough Head · 21 kmBowscale Fell · 26 kmCalfhow Pike · 20 kmWhite Maiden · 17 kmBuck Barrow · 20 kmWhin Rigg · 7 kmGreen Crag · 13 kmBuckbarrow · 5 kmThe Pike · 17 kmStone Pike · 9 kmSeat How · 14 kmIrton Pike · 10 kmSnowdon · 166 km · a handful of days a yearSlieve Donard · 174 km · a handful of days a yearAran Fawddwy · 191 km · a handful of days a yearBroad Law · 113 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 80 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Fleet · 87 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 126 km · a handful of days a yearSlieve Croob · 175 km · a handful of days a yearYr Eifl · 184 km · a handful of days a yearMoel y Gamelin · 164 km · a handful of days a yearDivis · 177 km · a handful of days a yearCairn Table · 122 km · a handful of days a yearBeneraird · 123 km · a handful of days a yearAgnew's Hill · 175 km · a handful of days a yearWether Hill · 96 km · a rare clear dayFair Snape Fell · 77 km · a rare clear dayWinter Hill · 108 km · a rare clear dayBillinge Hill · 115 km · a rare clear dayMull Hill · 107 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Red Pike (Wasdale), by direction
  • North: Pillar (2 km), High Stile (4 km), Grasmoor (10 km)
  • North-east: Watson's Dodd (19 km), Stybarrow Dodd (20 km), Little Dodd (20 km), Great Dodd (20 km), Green Side (20 km), Knowe Crags (22 km), Gategill Fell Top (23 km), Blencathra (23 km), Atkinson Pike (24 km)
  • East: Great Gable (5 km), Great End (6 km), Allen Crags (7 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (18 km), High Crag (18 km), Nethermost Pike (18 km), Helvellyn (18 km), White Side (18 km), Dollywaggon Pike (18 km), Raise (19 km), Great Rigg (19 km), Fairfield (19 km), Cofa Pike (19 km), Hart Crag (20 km), Dove Crag (21 km), Ill Bell (27 km), High Street (28 km), Rampsgill Head (28 km), High Raise (28 km)
  • South-east: Scafell (6 km), Scafell Pike (6 km), Broad Crag (6 km), Slight Side (7 km), Esk Pike (8 km), Brim Fell (16 km), Dow Crag (16 km), The Old Man of Coniston (17 km)
  • West: Haycock (2 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (166 km, Wales), Slieve Donard (174 km, Ireland), Carnedd Llewelyn (154 km, Wales), Aran Fawddwy (191 km, Wales), Broad Law (113 km, Scotland), Snaefell (80 km, Isle of Man), Moel Siabod (163 km, Wales), Cairnsmore of Fleet (87 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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Red Pike (Wasdale)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
59Wainwrights in view+9 marginal
166 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction
3Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth, Morecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Far horizons
  • Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 166 km clear
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 151 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 80 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNNW · 56 km clear
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 45 km in view
  • Morecambe Bay bay/estuarySSE · 42 km in view
  • Irish Sea open waterWNW · 35 km in view
All 59 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Pillar, Haycock, Yewbarrow, Kirk Fell, Seatallan, Middle Fell, High Stile, Great Gable, Green Gable, Lingmell, Brandreth, Fleetwith Pike, Buckbarrow, Grey Knotts, Scafell, Scafell Pike, Great End, Slight Side, Whin Rigg (Wasdale), Allen Crags, Dale Head, Lank Rigg, Esk Pike, Hindscarth, Whiteless Pike, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Grasmoor, Grange Fell (Brund Fell), Thunacar Knott, Harter Fell (Eskdale), Sergeant Man, Ullscarf, Green Crag, High Seat, Bleaberry Fell, Dow Crag, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Nethermost Pike, Helvellyn, White Side, Dollywaggon Pike, Raise, Great Rigg, Watson's Dodd, Fairfield, Stybarrow Dodd, Great Dodd, Hart Crag, Clough Head, Dove Crag, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Bowscale Fell, Ill Bell, Yoke, High Street, Rampsgill Head, High Raise (High Street), Carrock Fell

How Red Pike (Wasdale)’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 Red Pike (Wasdale)

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

Wasdale Head (NT car park) — 4.3 km from summit (straight line)
National Trust, pay & display (free for members). The classic base for Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Yewbarrow. Fills very early.
Directions
🍺 Wasdale Head Inn
Overbeck Bridge, Wastwater (NT, free) — 4.6 km from summit (straight line)
Small free NT car park at the foot of Yewbarrow on the lakeshore road.
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 Extended Mosedale Horseshoe route:

💧 possible water source (3 m)🛖 map (15 m)🚌 Wasdale Head Green (12 m)⛺ Wasdale Head Campsite (163 m)

💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.

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

Buses to Red Pike (Wasdale) from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).

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

Hazard & Incident Information for Red Pike (Wasdale)

Hazard: Moderate

A fine peak on the Mosedale Horseshoe, with a gentle grassy western slope but a sharp eastern edge falling in crags to Mosedale. The summit sits right on the brink of that drop. Its main dangers are navigational — the broad tops and forking paths around Red Pike, Scoat Fell and the link to Pillar are a known place to go wrong in mist, in remote country a long way from the road. Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground and has searched here for walkers and fell-runners who lost their way.

  • The eastern crags above Mosedale (summit edge): The summit and the ridge northward run along the lip of steep crags dropping into Mosedale. In wind or cloud a slip near the edge is serious. Keep to the western side of the crest and well back from the brink.
  • Navigation around Red Pike / Scoat Fell in cloud: The ground here is broad and confusingly similar, and the path forks on the ascent of Red Pike — walkers have taken the wrong line in mist. The link between Red Pike, Little Scoat Fell and Pillar is easy to misjudge, and a fell-runner died after becoming separated on this descent toward Mosedale. Navigate deliberately by compass and account for the steep drops to the east.
  • Remoteness of the Mosedale Horseshoe: This is committing, far-from-the-road terrain with a long walk-out in any direction. A minor injury or navigation error becomes a major problem here. Carry full kit, food and a means of calling for help, and allow plenty of daylight.
Who should attempt this fell: From the west Red Pike is an easy grassy climb, but never forget the cliffs on its eastern side — keep back from the edge along the top. The real skill here is navigation: the broad, similar-looking tops around Red Pike and Scoat Fell catch people out in cloud, and it is remote, serious country. Be confident with map and compass, set bearings before you move, and treat the full horseshoe as a big mountain day.

Most common causes: Slips over the eastern crags above Mosedale near the summit edge · Navigation errors in mist where the paths fork around Red Pike and Scoat Fell · Walkers and runners becoming separated or lost on the remote ridge · Underestimating the length and commitment of the Mosedale Horseshoe

Local Mountain Rescue: Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team · Reviewed 13 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.

Report incorrect information

Navigating Red Pike (Wasdale) in cloud

Care needed

Walkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. Take care in poor visibility — carry map and compass, and know how to use them.

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 Red Pike (Wasdale) 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 Red Pike (Wasdale)

Maps & guidebooks for Red Pike (Wasdale)

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